ALBA joins Truth Commission platform
On July 3, ALBA became the first organization from the United States to join the Plataforma por la Comisión de la Verdad sobre los Crímenes del Franquismo (Platform for the Truth Commission about the Crimes of Francoism). This initiative is the first step toward creating a United Nations Truth Commission in pursuit of justice for the families of victims of the involuntary disappearances that took place in Spain during the 1936-1939 civil war and the ensuing Franco dictatorship. The Platform aims to expose and remedy the situation of legal and political defenselessness that families of victims of enforced disappearances are still suffering.
“We are proud to be a part of this important project,” says ALBA Chair Sebastiaan Faber. “Over the past 20 or so years, truth commissions—provided they are set up properly, with sufficient resources and legitimacy—have proven to be a very effective tool for societies to come to terms with the legacies of civic violence while strengthening their democratic culture and establishing a permanent record of the crimes committed.”
The Platform intends to produce a comprehensive collection of evidence on the disappearances of tens of thousands of people and the mass graves that still remain, as well as on the obstruction of investigations into these crimes by Spanish authorities, which breaches the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 47/133 of December 18, 1992, and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, signed by the Spanish State. This information will be presented to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances in September 2013, as well as to the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances.
