Latin American Legal Studies

Abstract

This article, through case studies, analyses the experiences of Truth Commissions (TC) in Canada, Colombia, Norway and Australia (Victoria), which have addressed violations of the rights of indigenous peoples and the measures in which these can be redressed. The review of this comparative experience expresses to what extent transitional justice (TJ) mechanisms have been implemented to address injustices of a structural nature, with a long historical continuity and which require profound transformations to overcome them. The transformative nature of transitional justice with regard to indigenous peoples is a feature of a recent and expanding worldwide practice. The practices of so-called indigenous transitional justice indicate that the possibilities for transformation have been associated with the leading role of indigenous peoples in the design and participation in the methodologies and ways of working of the Truth Commissions, as well as the incorporation of the values, normative systems and epistemic perspectives of these peoples when determining the damages and reparations proposed in the recommendations of transitional justice and their implementation.