Table Of ContentUS FOREIGN POLICY ON
TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE
US FOREIGN
POLICY ON
TRANSITIONAL
JUSTICE
A N N I E R . B I R D
1
1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bird, Annie R.
US foreign policy on transitional justice / Annie R. Bird.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0–19–933841–2 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Transitional justice—Government policy—United
States. 2. United States—Foreign relations. 3. Transitional justice—Cambodia. 4. Truth commissions—
Cambodia. 5. Transitional justice—Liberia. 6. Truth commissions—Liberia.
7. Transitional justice—Colombia. 8. Truth commissions—Colombia. I. Title. II. Title: United States foreign
policy on transitional justice.
JC580.B57 2015
327.73—dc23
2014032892
Dr. Annie Bird authored this work in her private capacity before beginning employment with the U.S. government and
does not advise on policy for the countries referenced. The views and analysis presented do not necessarily reflect U.S.
government policy views on conflict situations, peace negotiations or transitional justice agreements.
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
For Mom and Yuuki
C O N T E N T S
Acknowledgments ix
List of Abbreviations xi
Introduction 1
1 The US Approach to Transitional Justice 10
2 The Development of US Foreign Policy on
Transitional Justice 30
3 US Involvement in the Khmer Rouge
Tribunal 55
4 US Involvement in the Taylor Trial and
the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation
Commission 86
5 US Involvement in the Colombian Justice
and Peace Process 123
Conclusion 150
Appendix 1 Interview Data 157
Appendix 2 Case Study Timelines 179
viii Contents
Appendix 3 List of Transitional Justice
Actors 183
Bibliography 187
Index 211
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
Three UC Berkeley professors—Eric Stover, David Cohen, and Rita
Maran—inspired my interest and lasting commitment to human
rights over a decade ago. I am forever grateful.
The research for this book was undertaken at the London
School of Economics and supported by a Marshall Scholarship.
Chris Brown provided helpful supervision along the way, and
Jens Meierhenrich and Kieran McEvoy served as thoughtful PhD
examiners. Erik Voeten provided guidance while I was a visiting
researcher at Georgetown University. Leslie Vinjamuri and other
members of the London Transitional Justice Network afforded a
supportive transitional justice community in London. Financial
support for fieldwork was generously provided by the Marshall
Commission, LSE’s International Relations department, and the
Abbey Santander Group.
I benefited from the valuable insights of nearly 200 people
who agreed to be interviewed for my research. US war crimes
ambassadors, embassy officials, and many others in Washington
helped me understand the landscape of US transitional justice
policy. Officials at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of
Cambodia, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the Liberian Truth
and Reconciliation Commission, the Colombian Justice and Peace
Unit and National Commission for Reparations and Reconciliation,
and the courts in The Hague helped me understand their experi-
ences in working with the US government. Academic experts, along
with staff from numerous international organizations, NGOs, local
