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In 1994 Guatemala's Commission for Historical Clarification - La Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico (CEH) - was created as a response to the thousands of atrocities and human rights violations committed during the decades long civil war that began in 1962 and ended in the late 1990s with United Nations-facilitated peace accords. The commission operated under a two-year mandate, from 1997 to 1999, and employed three commissioners: one Guatemalan man, one male non-national, and one Mayan woman. The mandate of the commission was not to judge but to clarify the past with "objectivity, equity and impartiality."
A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government, in the hope of resolving conflict left over from the past. Truth commissions are, under various names, occasionally set up by states emerging from periods of internal unrest, civil war, or dictatorship marked by human rights abuses. In both their truth-seeking and reconciling functions, truth commissions have political implications: they "constantly make choices when they define such basic objectives as truth, reconciliation, justice, memory, reparation, and recognition, and decide how these objectives should be met and whose needs should be served".
The Equity and Reconciliation Commission was a Moroccan truth and reconciliation commission active under a two-year mandate from 2004 to 2005 focusing on human rights abuses committed during the Years of Lead mainly under King Hassan II's rule.
The Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is a Parliament-enacted organization created in May 2005 under the Transitional Government. The Commission worked throughout the first mandate of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf after she was elected President of Liberia in November 2005. The Liberian TRC came to a conclusion in 2010, filing a final report and recommending relevant actions by national authorities to ensure responsibility and reparations.
Truth-seeking processes allow societies to examine and come to grips with past crimes and atrocities and prevent their future repetition. Truth-seeking often occurs in societies emerging from a period of prolonged conflict or authoritarian rule. The most famous example to date is the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, although many other examples also exist. Most commonly these are carried out by official truth and reconciliation commissions as a form of restorative justice, but there are other mechanisms as well.
The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission was a commission of inquiry appointed by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in May 2010 after the 26-year-long civil war in Sri Lanka to function as a Truth and reconciliation commission. The commission was mandated to investigate the facts and circumstances which led to the failure of the ceasefire agreement made operational on 27 February 2002, the lessons that should be learnt from those events and the institutional, administrative and legislative measures which need to be taken in order to prevent any recurrence of such concerns in the future, and to promote further national unity and reconciliation among all communities. After an 18-month inquiry, the commission submitted its report to the President on 15 November 2011. The report was made public on 16 December 2011, after being tabled in the parliament.
Reparations are broadly understood as compensation given for an abuse or injury. The colloquial meaning of reparations has changed substantively over the last century. In the early 1900s, reparations were interstate exchanges that were punitive mechanisms determined by treaty and paid by the surrendering side of a conflict, such as the World War I reparations paid by Germany and its allies. Reparations are now understood as not only war damages but also compensation and other measures provided to victims of severe human rights violations by the parties responsible. The right of the victim of an injury to receive reparations and the duty of the part responsible to provide them has been secured by the United Nations.
In Brazil, the National Truth Commission investigated human rights violations of the period of 1946–1988 - in particular by the authoritarian military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from April 1, 1964 to March 15, 1985.
Kenya's Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) was established in 2008. Kenya's modern history has been marked not only by liberation struggles but also by ethnic conflicts, semi-despotic regimes, marginalization and political violence, including the 1982 attempted coup d'état, the Shifta War, and the 2007 post-election violence.
The Indonesia–Timor Leste Commission on Truth and Friendship was a truth commission established jointly by the governments of Indonesia and East Timor in August 2005. The commission was officially created to investigate acts of violence that occurred around the independence referendum held in East Timor in 1999 and sought to find the "conclusive truth" behind the events. After holding private hearings and document reviews, the commission handed in the final report on July 15, 2008 to the presidents of both nations, and was fully endorsed by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, providing the first acknowledgement by the government of Indonesia of the human rights violations committed by state institutions in Timor. The commission is notable for being the first modern truth commission to be bilateral.
Haiti's National Truth and Justice Commission began its operations in April 1995 and ended in February 1996. The country's once diverse and lively civil society had been tarnished greatly as a result of the ousting of its first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, by its military forces. This deposing of President Aristide is widely known as a coup d'état, and from 1991 to 1994, the country became known for its weak civilian government. The army was determined to return Haiti to the intimidated society existing during the Duvalier dictatorship seven years prior.
The National Commission of Inquiry Into Disappearances was a truth commission in Bolivia that lasted from 1982 to 1984. It was the first truth and reconciliation commission in Latin America. After a period of political instability in the country and a series of military coups and corrupt governments and dictatorships, the newly appointed president Hernán Siles Zuazo hoped to restore the country to democracy when he came to power in October 1982. Siles Zuazo established the National Commission of Inquiry Into Disappearances to look into suspicious disappearances that occurred between 1967 and 1982, and hired 8 commissioners to research and investigate. The commission was forced to disband after less than 2 years of work due to lack of financial and political support from the government, as well as the commission's limited mandate, which only allowed investigations into death or disappearance and not into other crimes against humanity. Although the commission disbanded, 56 officials from past governments were put on trial in the "Trials of Responsibility", including dictator Luis García Meza Tejada. The Trials of Responsibility lasted from 1984 to 1993, during which 48 people were convicted.
The Commission of Inquiry to Locate the Persons Disappeared during the Panchayat Period (1990–1991) is a truth commission established in Nepal in 1990 after the end of the autocratic Panchayat Regime by the first post-Panchayat Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattharai. The commission was set up to examine allegations of human rights violations and inquire about enforced disappearances during the Panchayat system from 1961 to 1990. A report was officially submitted to the government in 1991, but it was made public only in 1994. The commission identified 35 persons disappeared on about one hundred studied cases. However, no alleged perpetrators were judged.
The Sierra Leone's Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a truth commission created as part of the Lomé Peace Accord, which ended the 11-year civil war conflict in Sierra Leone in July 1999.
The Panama Truth Commission was appointed by Panamanian president Mireya Moscoso in 2000 to investigate crimes committed under the military rule of Omar Torrijos and Manuel Noriega.
The Truth and Justice Commission of Mauritius was an independent truth commission established in 2009, which explored the impact of slavery and indentured servitude in Mauritius. The Commission was tasked to investigate the dispossession of land, and “determine appropriate measures to be extended to descendants of slaves and indentured laborers.” It was “unique in that it [dealt] with socio-economic class abuses" and explored the possibility of reparations. The inclusion of reparations, whether for individuals or communities, was a controversial decision within the country which aimed to correct inequality. The Commission attempted to cover more than 370 years, the longest period of time that a truth commission has ever covered.
Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a truth and reconciliation commission established by President Alejandro Toledo to investigate the human rights abuses committed during the internal conflict in Peru between 1980s and 1990s. The TRC was a response to the violent internal conflict between 1980 and 2000 during the administration of Presidents Fernando Belaúnde (1980–1985), Alan García (1985–1990), and Alberto Fujimori (1990–2000). The commission's mandate was to provide a record of human rights and international humanitarian law violations committed in Peru between May 1980 and November 2000, as well as recommend mechanisms to promote and strengthen human rights. The TRC reported on the estimated 70 000 deaths, assassinations, torture, disappearances, displacement, employment of terrorist methods and other human rights violations executed by the State, Shining Path, and the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement. The report concluded that there is both institutional and individual accountability, as well as identifying racial and cultural factors that became a catalyst for conflict.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Honduras began its work on May 4, 2010 and submitted a final report in July 2011. The commission was created due to its inclusion as one of the measures in the “Accord for National Reconciliation and the Strengthening of Democracy in Honduras".
Nigeria's Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission, also known as the Oputa Panel after its leader Chukwudifu Oputa, was a commission that was developed following the collapse of the military dictatorship that controlled Nigeria until 1998. It was created by newly elected President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999. Its mandate was to investigate human rights during the period of military rule from 1984 to 1999. In terms of reconciliation, the commission also worked towards unifying communities previously in conflict. The commission submitted its final report to President Obasanjo in 2002, but the government has not taken any action to date. Its report was not released to the public until 2005, when it was published by two activist groups, the Nigerian Democratic Movement and Nigeria-based Civil Society Forum.
The Ad Hoc Inquiry Commission in Charge of the Question of Disappearances was a truth commission created in 2003 to investigate the forced disappearance of people during civil conflict. Its creation took place after the election of president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who then set up a National Human Rights Institution. Thereafter, the Commission was set up in order to give people the truth about what happened in the 1990s. However, its report was not made public and consequently, Algerians are not aware of the fate of their relatives.
References
- ↑ Calla Wahlquist (March 9, 2021). "Victoria launches truth commission into ongoing effect of violent colonisation on Aboriginal people". The Guardian. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
- ↑ Rahman, Syedur; Craig Baxter (2010). Historical dictionary of Bangladesh (4th ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 289. ISBN 978-0-8108-6766-6.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Hayner, Priscilla B. (2010-08-26). Unspeakable Truths: Transitional Justice and the Challenge of Truth Commissions. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780203867822.
- ↑ Archived 2007-06-22 at the Wayback Machine Colombian CNRR website
- ↑ Santiago Vargas Niño (2 December 2021). "When a Preliminary Examination Closes, a New Era Opens: The OTP's Innovative Support for Transitional Justice in Colombia". Opinio Juris . Wikidata Q118499621. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023.
- ↑ "Dto-355 09-May-1990 Ministerio del Interior, Subsecretaria del Interior". 1990-05-09.
- ↑ Derechos.org
- ↑ "Home".
- ↑ "TRRC".
- ↑ "Gambia: Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations commission [The Morning Call]". 2018-10-15.
- ↑ "Gambia Launches TRRC to Investigate Past Human Rights Violations". 2018-10-15.
- ↑ Ghana.gov Archived 2007-06-07 at archive.today
- ↑ Irinnews.org
- 1 2 3 "Truth Commission: Mauritius". United States Institute of Peace. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
- ↑ "Truth and Justice Commission Act 2008" (PDF). Government Gazette of Mauritius No. 84 of 28 August 2008. 28 August 2008.
- ↑ Gov.ph
- ↑ Ager, Maila (June 29, 2010). "Davide named Truth Commission chief". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on June 30, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
- ↑ Doj.gov.za
- ↑ Boraine, Alex. 2001. "A Country Unmasked: Inside South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission." ; Ross, Fiona. 2002. "Bearing Witness: Women and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa."; Wilson, Richard A. 2001. "The Politics of Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa."
- ↑ Jinsil.go.kr Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ English.chosun.com Archived 2012-02-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "President Releases LLRC Report To Parliament, The UN And Public". The Sunday Leader. 18 December 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
- ↑ "Sweden's Sami People to Set up Commission on Discrimination". U.S. News & World Report. Washington, D.C. Associated Press. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ↑ "Tunisia launches Truth and Dignity Commission".