Participants of the conference Ecperiences of Reconciliation in Barcelona

Prof. Brandon Hamber, John Hume and Thomas P. O'Neill Chair in Peace, Ulster University

After an episode of violent conflict, societies face a period in which the reconstruction of the relations fractured by violence is a key step to move towards future coexistence. These are peacebuilding processes full of difficulties in which many important issues are at stake, such as the search for truth and justice, and in which different actors intervene; victims and perpetrators, civil society and institutions.

Is it possible for peace to exist without reconciliation? What is the meaning of reconciliation? Which are the social and institutional responsibilities in the reconciliation processes? How have these complex processes been dealt with in different countries all over the world? Which has been the role of the victims? And the role of perpetrators? These were some of the questions that were debated at the seminar “Experiences of reconciliation”. The seminar was organized by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the International Catalan Institute for Peace (ICIP), aiming to explore, debate and compare the cases of Northern Ireland, Nepal, Rwanda, Cambodia, Myanmar, Colombia, the Basque Country, the Balkans and Spain, which were presented by experts.