Justice on Hold: Explaining the Reluctance of Victims to Seek Accountability

ABSTRACT∞ This article addresses a critical puzzle in transitional justice – why victims’ groups refrain from using their legal right to seek truth and accountability, despite possessing the evidence to do so. We examine the work of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP), a bicommunal initiative operating in Cyprus that facilitates truth seeking through exhumations and identifications under a ‘truth for amnesty’ framework. The CMP has addressed pressing humanitarian needs but has also created tension between the state’s duty to investigate and the victim’s right to know the truth. Surprisingly, many families have neither sought to prosecute perpetrators nor demanded their right to know the broader truth about the circumstances of their loved one’s disappearance. We argue they are guided by a logic of consequences, recognizing legal action could undermine fragile cooperation and delay exhumations, thereby prolonging the suffering of other families. By unpacking how victims valorize other (humanitarian) priorities over formal legal rights, the article contributes to transitional justice theory, offering insights into when and why victims choose restraint over accountability.