UN Human Rights Council – 12th Session
Thank you, Mr. President.
The United States is pleased to join consensus on this resolution. The United States strongly supports transitional justice initiatives and has long supported efforts to hold responsible the perpetrators of atrocities, such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious human rights abuses. We are among the largest donors and supporters of post-conflict justice initiatives in the world and will continue our leading role in this regard.
With respect to Operative Paragraph 17 and treatment of amnesties in the Secretary General report entitled “The rule of law and transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict societies” (S/2004/616), we note that transitional justice necessarily incorporates the full range of judicial and non-judicial measures, including individual prosecutions, reparations, truth-seeking, institutional reform, vetting procedures, or a combination thereof. As a fundamental part of this, truth-seeking mechanisms may, under certain circumstances, grant pardon to certain perpetrators based on their credible participation in a legitimate truth-seeking process.
Thank you.