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HISTORICAL MEMORY
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Memory and Reparation: Gestures of Forgiveness of Several States for Past Crimes

Several States have officially recognized genocide, colonial abuses and human rights violations, including Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the United States, which have apologized. As in the case of Gernika, there were events that were profoundly marked by the  community. 

AME1287. BELÉM (BRASIL), 21/11/2025.- Indígenas se manifiestan este viernes, en la Zona Azul de la COP30 en Belém (Brasil). Indígenas de diversas etnias y nacionalidades se manifestaron para exigir la demarcación de tierras, el castigo por los crímenes contra los pueblos originarios y el respeto a sus derechos. EFE/Fraga Alves

Indigenous people demonstrating for respect for their rights. Photo: EFE

Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United States and other States have apologized for genocide, colonial abuse and human rights violations, stressing the importance of memory and symbolic reparation.

These gestures are of increasing importance to memory and symbolic reparation , although many communities also demandeffective measures or compensation beyond the phantom forgiveness.

Here are some of the most notable cases:

Germany

He apologized for the genocide against Herero and Nama in Namibia (1904-1908).

Recognition of colonial abuses in Tanzania during East Africa in Germany.

Commitment to the Namibian development fund of EUR 1.1 billion.

18:00 - 20:00

Netherlands

He apologized for the Rawagede massacre in Indonesia, his colonial dominion.

Declaration of other violence in Indonesia between 1945 and 1949.

Belgium

He expressed his "deepest regret" at the abuses committed in the Congo during the colonial period.

18:00 - 20:00

United States

He apologized for medical experiments on African-American communities like Tuskegee.

Recognition of attacks and systematic discrimination against indigenous peoples.

He apologized for medical experiments in Guatemala in the 1940s, where American scientists deliberately infected nearly 700 people with gonorrhea and syphilis, including prisoners and mentally ill people, without their consent.

18:00 - 20:00

Australia

He apologized to indigenous peoples for their policies of forcibly separating children from their families  ("Stolen Generations").

Canada

He apologized to the indigenous peoples for the systems of residential schools separating children and families.

Spain

The Spanish Government adopted the Institutional Declaration of Recognition of the Victims of the Gernika Bombing in 2022, on the occasion of the 85th anniversary of the massacre.

18:00 - 20:00

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