Since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada released its 94 Calls to Action in 2015, institutions and communities across the country have developed programming to increase awareness of the residential school system. This is vital work. However, this is only part of what reckoning with truths about colonial injustices requires. Such reckoning is not only a moral obligation or societal responsibility; it is also a legal one.
In international law, investigation of the truth surrounding gross human rights violations is a state obligation. The communities impacted by these violations have a “right to truth.”
