In 2012, the European Court of Human Rights endorsed the recognition Essay - 1

In 2012, the European Court of Human Rights endorsed the recognition of the right to truth. Does this open the way for greater accountability in future cases of abuse Critically Discuss - Essay Example The ruling in El-Masri differed from precedential rulings on extraordinary renditions in that it clearly broke the wall of secrecy which normally follows such cases at domestic level. The ruling was intended to ensure that justice was done and the European Conventions of Human Rights (ECHR) was protected, it can be interpreted as the recognition of the right of truth. Furthermore, it has provided the court direction in dealing with similar and related issues of human rights violations and will continue to strive effectively in safeguarding human rights. Prior to this landmark ruling, truth had not been taken or recognized as a right to both victims and nations2. The court in most instances only considered and recognized access to information when dealing with such cases. However, with the widespread secrecy of most of the extraordinary extraditions associated with terrorist suspects, cases of injustices, abuse of rights and lack of accountability continued to be on the rise. The ruling therefore motivates greater accountability in future cases dealing with human rights violation. Before ECtHR recognized truth as a right, there has been clamor for the right to truth in Europe3 due to public anguish towards the high number of cases caused by severe human rights violation and the impunity that the perpetrators of such acts have continued to enjoy even after having contravened the ECHR. Today, the right to truth is one of the most fundamental issues in Europe. It is taken to be the most recent human right construction. The recognition of it is a promising shift from conventional justice model towards a victim based remedy that is intended to benefit both survivors of human rights violation and European societies as a whole. To look at the right of truth and its impact in terms of accountability, decades of nation sponsored terror in European countries should be considered.