Protecting the Minority: A Place for Impunity? An Illustrated Survey of Amnesty Legislation, Its Conformity with International Legal Obligations, and Its Potential as a Tool for Minority-Majority Reconciliation
Publisher: Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe Volume: 54 pages, pdf Description: Over the past two decades the twin aims of peaceful political transitions and accountability for past abuses have come into conflict. Dictatorships have given way to democracies across the globe. Violent conflicts have led to death and destruction on all corners of the planet. Individual states and the international community as a whole have had to address the almost unavoidable policy paradox of holding former regimes liable for human rights abuses while facilitating transitions of power and social reconciliation. On the one hand, former regimes are understandably loath to leave office if they fear prosecution and imprisonment for their actions. On the other, national and international interest groups have good reason to demand the resignation and accountability of former dictators and war criminals.