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Truth Recovery & Acknowledgement - Overview

Original Recommendation

The Healing Through Remembering Report of 2002 recommended that all organisations and institutions that have been engaged in the conflict, including the British and Irish States, the political parties and loyalist and republican paramilitaries, should honestly and publicly acknowledge responsibility for past political violence due to their acts of omission and commission. This would be seen as the first and necessary step having the potentiality of a larger process of truth recovery. When acknowledgement is forthcoming, we recommend that measured, inclusive and in-depth consideration be given to establishing an appropriate and unique truth recovery process. For this to develop, a team with local and international expertise should be established using a fair and transparent method to explore the specific feasibility of such a process.

Specific Purpose

The specific purpose of a truth recovery process, if it were to be developed, would be to:
- Promote reconciliation, peace and healing; and to reduce tensions resulting from past violence;
- Clarify and acknowledge as much unresolved truth about the past as possible;
- Respond to the needs and interests of victims;
- Contribute to justice in a broad sense, ensure accountability and responsibility for past actions from organisations and institutions, as well as potentially from individuals;
- Identify the responsibilities of States, of republican and loyalist organisations, and of other institutions and organisations for the violence of the past; and to make recommendations for change that will reduce the likelihood of future conflict.

Please click here to find out what current projects the Truth Recovery and Acknowledgement Sub Group are working on.