Peer-reviewed article
Connecting Truth Commissions, Socioeconomic Harms and Child Participation
Sean Molloy ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This article examines how truth commissions in transitional justice settings can better include children and young people. It argues that when truth commissions address socioeconomic harms (such as poverty and lack of services) alongside human rights violations, more children are able to participate meaningfully. The article connects two separate debates: expanding what transitional justice covers, and finding ways to involve children more directly in these processes.
Key points
- Child participation in truth commissions increases when mechanisms address socioeconomic harms alongside civil and political rights violations
- Socioeconomic harms create broader opportunities for child engagement in transitional justice
- Inclusion of children in truth commissions produces multiple benefits
- The article contributes to discussions on both the scope of transitional justice and methods to improve child participation
Limitations
The document is a conceptual argument rather than an empirical study, so it does not provide data on actual child participation rates or specific outcomes from truth commissions. It does not identify particular countries or describe implemented examples in detail.
Abstract
Abstract This article sits at the intersection of two debates in the field of transitional justice. The first concerns the extent to which and how children and young people should participate in transitional justice mechanisms, particularly truth commissions. The second addresses whether the field and its mechanisms should cover socioeconomic harms, alongside civil and political rights violations. The primary argument advanced is that the inclusion of the latter impacts positively on the realization of the former. That is, when transitional justice mechanisms address socioeconomic harms, they create broader opportunities for child participation, increasing the number of children who can engage and amplifying the many benefits that come from their inclusion. This article both lends support to those who advocate for addressing socioeconomic harms in transitional justice, while also contributing to discussions on how to increase and improve child participation in truth commissions.