Right to the truth is essential to healing in any society that has experienced war, gross violations of human rights or totalitarian repression.
Latvia is one of the countries that have emerged from the bloodiest war of the 20th century and oppression by two totalitarian regimes. Almost two hundred thousands of Latvian citizens perished during World War II, including almost the totality of Latvia's Jewish community in the Holocaust. Tens of thousands were imprisoned, deported or shot without trial before, during and after the war by the two regimes.
Since the reestablishment of independence Latvia has worked to establish the full picture of what happened during the war and during Nazi and Stalinist repressions and to honour all victims of the totalitarian regimes. A number of institutions have been established that are active in the area, including the Centre for Documenting the Consequences of Totalitarianism, as well as an international Historian's Commission under the auspices of the President of Latvia. The latter has published 25 volumes of research papers since its establishment in 1998.
There are still a number of issues where further work is necessary, including through more effective international cooperation.
The gravesites of victims should be marked so that the relatives can honour their loved ones. To the extent possible, individual graves should be established and marked.
The archives should be open both to relatives of the victims and to the researchers; no undue restrictions should be placed on the access to the files. While protecting personal information of the victims is important, this should not hamper understanding of what happened 70 years ago.
Attempts to whitewash past crimes should be countered. One can not only speak about the right to truth but also of the duty of memory. Establishing the truth and remembering it is essential for the sustainability of democracy and respect for human rights in any society. Unless the duty of memory is upheld, unless there is clarity about the crimes of the past, unless there is clarity about the victims and the perpetrators of these crimes, there is no guarantee for preventing gliding back. Attempts at glorification of the totalitarian past or of totalitarian leaders show the need for continued free and honest discussion. Today's discussion on the right to the truth is a valuable contribution to upholding our collective duty of memory.
UN summary of the panel discussion:
http://www.unog.ch/unog/website/news_media.nsf/(httpNewsByYear_en)/38FB083EFA9B70F6C12576E100485D96?OpenDocument
