Right and duty of memory as a new right
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https://revistas.ustabuca.edu.co/index.php/IUSTITIA/article/view/3292
10.15332/iust.v24iEspecial.3292
10.15332/iust.v24iEspecial.3292
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Universidad Santo Tomás Seccional Bucaramanga
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El presente artículo analiza la evolución del deber de memoria en el sistema interamericano de derechos humanos y su transformación en una exigencia jurídica derivada del derecho a la verdad. Aunque la Convención Americana sobre Derechos Humanos no reconoce expresamente un “derecho a la memoria”, la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, mediante una interpretación evolutiva de los artículos 1.1, 8, 25 y 13, ha establecido que la preservación de la memoria colectiva es indispensable para el pleno ejercicio de los derechos humanos. Así, el derecho a la verdad se extiende más allá de las víctimas individuales e involucra a la sociedad en su conjunto, imponiendo a los Estados obligaciones de preservación, difusión y enseñanza del pasado.
La consolidación jurisprudencial de este deber se ha dado progresivamente a través de tres decisiones clave: Velásquez Rodríguez vs. Honduras (1988), que afirmó el derecho social a conocer la verdad; Gomes Lund vs. Brasil (2010), que reconoció la difusión de la verdad como reparación colectiva y garantía de no repetición; y Rodríguez Vera vs. Colombia (2014), que incorporó la conmemoración y la enseñanza de los hechos como reparación simbólica y estableció la preservación de la memoria histórica como obligación internacional. De este modo, el deber de memoria deja de ser un mandato moral para convertirse en un derecho convencional emergente y vinculante.
Este derecho implica obligaciones estatales positivas, como el acceso a archivos, la protección frente al negacionismo y la incorporación de la memoria en políticas públicas. En Colombia, la jurisprudencia interamericana ha influido decisivamente en la institucionalización de políticas de memoria, pese a resistencias estructurales y culturales. Finalmente, los órganos interamericanos y de la ONU coinciden en que la memoria es hoy una obligación jurídica internacional y un pilar esencial de las democracias contemporáneas.
The article analyzes the evolution of the duty of memory within the Inter-American human rights system and its transformation into a legal requirement derived from the right to the truth. Although the American Convention on Human Rights does not expressly recognize a “right to memory,” the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, through an evolutive interpretation of Articles 1(1), 8, 25, and 13, has established that the preservation of collective memory is indispensable for the full exercise of human rights. Accordingly, the right to the truth extends beyond individual victims to encompass society as a whole, imposing on States obligations to preserve, disseminate, and teach the past. The jurisprudential consolidation of this duty has occurred progressively through three key decisions: Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras (1988), which affirmed society’s right to know the truth; Gomes Lund v. Brazil (2010), which recognized the dissemination of truth as a form of collective reparation and a guarantee of non-repetition; and Rodríguez Vera v. Colombia (2014), which incorporated commemoration and the teaching of events as symbolic reparation and established the preservation of historical memory as an international obligation. In this way, the duty of memory ceases to be a moral mandate and becomes an emerging and binding conventional right. This right entails positive State obligations, such as access to archives, protection against denialism, and the incorporation of memory into public policies. In Colombia, Inter-American jurisprudence has had a decisive influence on the institutionalization of memory policies, despite structural and cultural resistance. Finally, Inter-American bodies and the United Nations agree that memory today constitutes an international legal obligation and an essential pillar of contemporary democracies.
The article analyzes the evolution of the duty of memory within the Inter-American human rights system and its transformation into a legal requirement derived from the right to the truth. Although the American Convention on Human Rights does not expressly recognize a “right to memory,” the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, through an evolutive interpretation of Articles 1(1), 8, 25, and 13, has established that the preservation of collective memory is indispensable for the full exercise of human rights. Accordingly, the right to the truth extends beyond individual victims to encompass society as a whole, imposing on States obligations to preserve, disseminate, and teach the past. The jurisprudential consolidation of this duty has occurred progressively through three key decisions: Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras (1988), which affirmed society’s right to know the truth; Gomes Lund v. Brazil (2010), which recognized the dissemination of truth as a form of collective reparation and a guarantee of non-repetition; and Rodríguez Vera v. Colombia (2014), which incorporated commemoration and the teaching of events as symbolic reparation and established the preservation of historical memory as an international obligation. In this way, the duty of memory ceases to be a moral mandate and becomes an emerging and binding conventional right. This right entails positive State obligations, such as access to archives, protection against denialism, and the incorporation of memory into public policies. In Colombia, Inter-American jurisprudence has had a decisive influence on the institutionalization of memory policies, despite structural and cultural resistance. Finally, Inter-American bodies and the United Nations agree that memory today constitutes an international legal obligation and an essential pillar of contemporary democracies.
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Duty of memory, Right to the truth, Inter-American Court of Human Rights, justice, Reparation, Deber de memoria, Derecho a la verdad, Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, Justicia, Reparación
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http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0