Repairing Symbolic Reparations: Assessing the Effectiveness of Memorialization in the Inter-American System of Human Rights

Abstract

ABSTRACT∞ The power of memorialization is widely recognized as a form of symbolic reparation aimed at overcoming deep social divisions in the aftermath of mass violence. Yet memorialization as a juridical tool of repair lacks systematic conceptual elaboration, and its potential remains underutilized. This often results in ineffective, even detrimental monuments, and in programmatic failures to integrate memorial practices into multilayered strategies for justice and social reconciliation. This article explores three case studies from the Inter-American Human Rights System in order to examine the strengths and shortcomings of existing approaches to memorialization. We then offer recommendations for expanding the reparative and transformative capacities of symbolic reparations. We conclude by summarizing our observations on how the fundamentally expressive nature of symbolic reparations provides a potentially powerful tool of repair and transformation.

Implementing Reparations in the Al Mahdi Case

“…in ineffective, even detrimental monuments'. 103 Something similar could have happened in the Al Mahdi implementation since, motivated by the urge to deliver visible results, there were voices proposing an erection of a memorialization monument in Timbuktu. Cautions were conveyed that decisions around memorialization had to be approached with circumspection.…”

Moral Repair: Toward a Two-Level Conceptualization

“…Therefore, in line with definitions provided by scholars of moral repair (e.g., Hamber 2006; Sharpe 2007; Walker 2006), these actions can typically be categorized as either material or symbolic amends. Both types of amends can serve as “markers of redress” (Mégret 2009, 6), but they have slightly different purposes: whereas material amends usually aim to compensate for the specific tangible or intangible harm resulting from a wrong (Sharpe 2007, 27), symbolic ones give meaning to the material conditions of human existence (Greeley et al 2020, 187) and therefore cater to broader needs for recognition and respect (Mégret 2009, 6). Because victim needs can be complex (Walker 2001), especially when several are involved, amends often combine material and symbolic aspects.…”

“…For example, the #MeToo movement, which sparked public debate about sexual harassment in the workplace, has raised questions about the use of nondisclosure agreements (Chilton 2020;Topping 2021). Implementation issues may also exist for symbolic amends (Greeley et al 2020), such as timing (e.g., a one-off vs. a recurring event, duration), aesthetics (e.g., decoration, use of audiovisual technology), delivery (e.g., who represents the offending firm, choice of media outlets), and tone (e.g., choice of wording, nonverbal communication). Facebook's poorly received apology for manipulating newsfeeds in 2014 illustrates how easily mistakes can be made in this area (Schweitzer, Brooks, and Galinsky 2015).…”

“…Moral repair, especially as symbolic amends, is relatively new in the management literature (Greeley et al 2020), but the literature on firms’ moral agency is not. In the 1980s, business ethicists argued that firms can establish moral relationships (Donaldson 1982), intentionally act in and reflect on them (Werhane 1985), and therefore bear moral responsibilities (May 1987; Meyers 1983).…”

“Don't cry, it doesn't belong to us”; critical thoughts on commemoration as a means of inclusion: Mizrahi Jews and Holocaust memory in Israel

“…However, elements of a counterparadigm are recently beginning to emerge. Studies of the effects of memorialisation and the mandating of memory laws on the different communities in areas of post‐conflict—particularly but not limited to the context of the European Union—point to the strengthening of nationalist and exclusionary perspectives (David, 2020; Greeley et al, 2020; Gutman & Tirosh, 2021) and to the neglect of other more material practices of remuneration, such as economic investment and financial reparations (Aiken, 2016; Miller, 2008; Suh et al, 2015). Indeed, in the context of the Balkans, the concept of stabilitocracies has been introduced to highlight the extent that states will promote policies aimed at addressing European Union demands for stability by relying on clientelist, antidemocratic structures (Bieber, 2018).…”