Restoring Harmony

Description

In this talk, Restoring Harmony: Rethinking Human Rights Accountability through the Nasa Indigenous Justice System, Mattia Pinto examines the role of traditional grassroots justice mechanisms (TGJMs) within international human rights law (IHRL), focusing on the Nasa Indigenous community in Cauca, Colombia. While IHRL provides various accountability mechanisms, it tends to prioritise individual criminal responsibility, often sidelining alternative justice practices. TGJMs, prominent in many traditional and Indigenous communities, are frequently dismissed or conditionally accepted if they do not hinder criminal accountability. The Nasa Indigenous jurisdiction, recognised by Colombia’s 1991 Constitution, operates autonomously alongside the state criminal justice system. Under Nasa derecho propio, actions defined as criminal offences by state law are viewed as ‘disharmonies’ or ‘diseases’, with justice focused on restoring balance and harmony within individuals, families, the community, and the territory rather than punitive retribution. Drawing on insights from a review of existing literature and fieldwork in Colombia, Mattia Pinto argues that conventional legal frameworks fail to capture the complexities of the situation in Northern Cauca. He contends that the Nasa experience provides a valuable framework for rethinking collective, structural, and individual dimensions of human rights violations and reparation,
emphasising restorative rather than punitive justice.

DISCUSSANT: Andrew M Jefferson, Senior Researcher, DIGNITY

Period	8 Apr 2025
Event title	VERNAC TALKS series: VERNAC TALKS series hosted by the Vernacular Accountability Project Team to inspire critical reflection about accountability practices
Event type	Seminar
Location	Copenhagen, DenmarkShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International