Destruction of cultural heritage and armed conflicts focus on South America

The end of protracted armed conflicts or the end of a period of atrocities and human rights abuses committed by (military, authoritarian) governemnts is usually brought about by external intervention (which could initiate a process of mediation) or by the peace process (including negotiations, post-conflict peace building mechanisms and measures, and diplomatic peace making efforts). However, the mere signing of a peace agreement and the launching of a complex peace process do not automatically induce nationwide reconciliation. As shown by Marie-Joëlle Zahar, “peace agreements are in essence elite pacts” and the implementation of peace is first and foremost a political process.1 Reconciliation, on the other hand, is a rather societal process. It touches upon all individuals’ lives after the conflict ended and it is not based on a political decision (to agree with a ceasefire or to commit to negotiations), but on an emotional, psychological readiness to tackle the past, the traumatized self, and the relation with the other.