The Komagata Maru incident: 376 passengers of mostly Sikh descent arrived in Vancouver and were refused entry into Canada due to the discriminatory laws of the time 102 years ago. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced he will apologise in the House of Commons on May 18: “As a nation, we should never forget the prejudice suffered by the Sikh community at the hands of the Canadian government of the day. We should not – and we will not.”

“An apology made in the House of Commons will not erase the pain and suffering of those who lived through that shameful experience. But an apology is not only the appropriate action to take, it’s the right action to take, and the House is the appropriate place for it to happen.”

The BBC reports that Chilean judges have issued an apology for their lack of action in response to motions seeking to save victims of the Pinochet Regime. The statement by the National Association of Magistrates of the Judiciary states: “the time has come to ask for the forgiveness of the victims … and of Chilean society.”

The visit of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. is an opportune occasion to return to the “saying sorry” series. Full coverage by the BBC.

A  brave and reconciliatory response by the mother of Northern Irish police man Ronan Kerr , who was killed April second by a bomb as reported by BBC:

“We don’t want to go back into the dark days again of fear and terror.”

“This is at a time when we are striving for a neutral police force for the good of our country and I urge all Catholic members not to be deterred.”

“We all need to stand up and be counted and to strive for equality.”

The BBC provides a moving account of children that were forcefully taken from their parents during the military rule in Argentina and are now reuniting with their parents: the intimate side of reconciliation, an important and challenging part in the aftermath of human rights violations.

Based on a 5.000 page, 10 volume report of 12 years, the British Prime Minister, David Cameron apologized for the “unjustified and unjustifiable” killings of 14 civil rights activists on Bloody Sunday, reports the Guardian.

In early December the United States of America reached an agreement with a string of American Indian tribes who had been battling the government’s faulty practices towards them by way of a class action since 1996. The statement by President Obama did not focus on offering an apology but did venture to state that it was “an important step towards a sincere reconciliation.”

The Celebration of the Fall of the Wall on 9 November 2009:

Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of Britain

This wall was torn down not by the demands of political leaders, not by dictat from on high, not by the force of military might but by the greatest force of all – the unbreakable spirit of the men and women of Berlin. You dared to dream in the darkness. You know that while force has temporary power to dominate, it can never ultimately decide. You proved that there is nothing that cannot be achieved by people inspired by the power of common purpose, and let me thank you, the people of Berlin, for sending a message to every continent that no abuse, no crime, no injury need endure forever.

(…) injustice is not the final word on the human condition (…) in a troubled world, with an Africa in poverty, Darfur in agony, Zimbabwe in tears, Burma in chains, individuals, even when in pain, need not suffer forever without hope (…)we can advance prosperity not just for some but for all.

The tides of history may ebb and flow, but across the ages, history is moving towards our best hopes, not our worst fears, towards light and not darkness, towards the fulfilment of our humanity, not its denial, so as we stand here, as free people, gathered today in the shadow of history, let us pledge that we will work together to write the next chapter of the human story. Let us write a chapter of liberty, and of prosperity, and of peace.

Barack Obama, President of the United States of America

There could be no clearer rebuke of tyranny. There could be no stronger affirmation of freedom. This anniversary is a reminder that human destiny will be what we make of it.

Even as we celebrate these values, even as we mark this day, we know that the work of freedom is never finished.

Today, there are still those who live within wall of tyranny. Human beings were denied the very human rights that we celebrate today. And that is why this day is for them as it is for us. It is for those who believe even in the face of cynicism and doubt and oppression that walls can truly come down.

Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany

For us Germans November 9 is also a day of remembrance. 71 years ago today the Reichsprogromnacht opened the darkest chapter of our history: the systematic persecution and murder of European Jews and many other human beings. We do not forget this on a day like today.

Both facts show us: freedom does not develop by itself. One has to fight for freedom and liberty. Freedom has to be defended regularly. Then freedom remains what it is: the most valuable good of our political and societal order. Without freedom no democracy, without freedom no diversity, no tolerance and therewith also no common Europe.

We honor and we apologize, states the editorial of the Meridian Star today. Opening with a quote by Martin Luther King – “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy” – the editorial board says sorry: 

“There was a time when this newspaper – and many others across the south — acted with gross neglect by largely ignoring the unfairness of segregated schools, buses, restaurants, washrooms, theaters and other public places. We did it through omission, by not recording for our readers many of the most important civil rights activities that happened in our midst, including protests and sit-ins. That was wrong. We should have loudly protested segregation and the efforts to block voter registration of black East Mississippians. Current management understands while we can’t go back and undo some past wrongs, we can offer our sincere apology — and promise never again to neglect our responsibility to inform you, our readers, about the human rights and dignity every individual is entitled to in America — no matter their religion, their ethnic background or the color of their skin.”

The Australian government plans to make a public apology to the “stolen generation.” After years of debate, there is to be official recognition for the wrongs done to indigenous peoples.

Undealt injustices committed by a public body – no matter at what scale – have a negative impact on the human rights culture and therewith on the social fabric of a country. Many countries struggle to come to terms with such wrongs.

Obviously, there is no “right” way of getting the wrong “right.” Actually, I don’t think that there is a “right” after wrong but rather accommodation of the “wrong” through recognition. What I find interesting in the Australian debate is that – a bit like the Austrian, which, however, is not comparable – under political considerations, only part of the recognition takes place. How so? If one were to try and do this as completely as possible, as holistically as feasible, it should go like this: come up with a common history between the two sides (there is usually two distinct sides although there are obviously many shades of grey at play). That common history needs to be based on mutually agreeable facts. Truth, in essence, cannot be agreed upon; so it is publicly discussed and settled facts. That is a long, painful but very meaningful process.

Based on facts, one should try and come up with a meaningful apology. Then one may want to commence the parallel process of sustainably including the common-history into public discourse as well as addressing the marginalization of those who suffered the injustices as well as their descendants.

The need for a holistic approach to this is underestimated in most post-injustice situations, no matter what the scale. Ultimately the recognition of past wrongs is another variant of acknowledging that for everyone to enjoy and show mutual respect, their dignity has to be ensured. If there is a shadow of injustice, there is no dignity. If there is no dignity there is a violation of the sum of human rights.