CVR Final Report. Annex 10. Printed Edition. The Impact of Public Hearings on Participants

The Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación (CVR) held public hearings convinced that establishing historical truth would be an incomplete task if, at the same time, an effort were not made to restore dignity to the victims — that is, to achieve society's recognition of the value that belongs to every citizen, acknowledging their voices and their hopes. The vast majority of victims of the serious violations studied by the CVR come from marginalized sectors that receive little attention from the country. In addition to the discrimination they suffer because of their social conditions, they must also bear the distrust and social stigma that attaches to those affected by violence. Their accounts of what happened have frequently been ignored, manipulated, or met with violence and contempt. One way to restore their bonds with society on equal terms, therefore, required taking them seriously — making gestures of recognition and respect for their status as citizens. The public hearings were designed to show that it was possible, through a body established by the State, to treat all citizens as equal persons, to treat victims as persons with rights, and not as objects of pity or suspicion.