United Nations Observes International Day for the Right to the Truth on 24 March 2026

Key facts

• The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed 24 March as the International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims on 21 December 2010.
• The observance commemorates Monsignor Óscar Arnulfo Romero, a human rights defender in El Salvador who was murdered on 24 March 1980.
• The year 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the coup d’état in Argentina, which initiated a military junta dictatorship lasting from 1976 to 1983.
• The Joinet/Orentlicher Principles, formally known as the Updated Set of Principles for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights through Action to Combat Impunity, define the right to truth as an inalienable right.
• Historical truth-seeking bodies include the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (CONADEP) established in Argentina in 1984 and the Commission for the Clarification of Truth in Colombia in 2017.
• The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence is Bernard Duhaime.
• The UN Special Rapporteur is preparing a report on negationism, revisionism, and politicization for the 62nd session of the Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
• A report regarding emerging technologies in the context of transitional justice will be submitted for the 81st session of the UNGA.