The Frontiers of Memory: Human Rights as Potential Limits to the Construction of Memory in Colombia's Law on Victims

Abstract

Increasing demands for the international recognition of a human right to memory tend to disregard the potential conflict between this right and other recognized human rights in transitional justice processes. Relying on the lessons learned from the Colombian Victims and Land Restitution Law, this article provides an overview of the rights (both of the victims themselves and of the perpetrators) that might collide with, and impose restrictions on, an eventual right to memory, while discussing the practical safeguards in the design and implementation of the policies of memory that are necessary to accommodate the rights in conflict.