ICA SAHR – An overview of the Brazilian truth commissions - Mônica Tenaglia

An overview of the Brazilian truth commissions and the contributions of archives to investigations into human rights violations during the military dictatorship In this presentation, Mônica Tenaglia aims to provide a contextual overview of transitional justice measures in Brazil, with an emphasis on the National Truth Commission (CNV) and the local truth commissions that were established following the creation of the CNV. The focus of the lecture is to present an overview of the relationship between Brazilian truth commissions and archival institutions, the challenges encountered, and the strategies developed to facilitate access to and use of these archives, as well as the collections produced by the commissions themselves. Finally, she will discuss the initiatives that have been undertaken in Brazil since the conclusion of the truth commissions. Mônica Tenaglia is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Information Science at the Fluminense Federal University and teaches in the Graduate Program in Information Science at the Federal University of Pará. She holds a Ph.D. in Information Science from the University of Brasília, a master’s degree in Archival Studies from the University of London, and a bachelor’s degree in History from the University of São Paulo. She was a faculty member in the Archival Studies programs at the Federal University of Pará and the University of Brasília. Before teaching, she worked as an archivist in Brazil and the United Kingdom, including for the Brazilian National Truth Commission. Her research focuses on the relationship between archives and human rights, transitional justice and truth commissions, the Brazilian military dictatorship, and the centrality of access to information in investigations of human rights violations. Her book Truth Commissions and the Archives of the Brazilian Military Dictatorship (2023) won the Jabuti Academic Prize and received second place in the ABEU Prize – awarded by the Brazilian Association of University Presses.