Remembering to Forget: Issues to Consider when Establishing Structures for Dealing with the Past

This paper moves from the premise that when countries are attempting to overcome a violent past it is better to deal with the past through investigation, truth recovery, justice and support for victims or survivors of violence than to ignore it. The paper is geared toward countries that are undergoing processes of social and political transformation. Specifically it is targeted at countries that are coming out of protracted periods of political violence.