List of truth and reconciliation commissions

A truth commission or truth and reconciliation commission is a commission tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state actors also), in the hope of resolving conflict left over from the past. They are, under various names, occasionally set up by states emerging from periods of internal unrest, civil war, or dictatorship.

List by country

Argentina
Created by President of Argentina Raúl Alfonsín on 15 December 1983, the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (Comisión Nacional sobre la Desaparición de Personas) investigated human rights violations, including 30,000 forced disappearances, committed during the Dirty War. The research of the commission, documented in the Never Again (Nunca Más) report, included individual cases on 9,000 disappeared persons. The report was delivered to Alfonsín on 20 September 1984 and opened the door to the Trial of the Juntas, the first major trial held for war crimes since the Nuremberg trials in Germany following World War II and the first to be conducted by a civilian court.
Brazil
The non-punitive National Truth Commission (Comissão Nacional da Verdade) was approved in late 2011 by the Federal Senate and sanctioned by President Dilma Rousseff. The commission will last for two years and consist of seven members appointed by the President. Members of the commission will have access to all government files about the 1946–1988 period and may convene victims or people accused of violations for testimony, although it will not be mandatory for them to attend. After the end of the two years period, the commission will issue a report with its findings. The group will not have, however, the obligation to disclose everything they discover.
Canada
The Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission is a currently active (as of October 2013) commission investigating human rights abuses in the Canadian Indian residential school system.
Colombia
The National Commission for Reparation and Reconciliation (Comisión Nacional de Reparación y Reconciliación) aims to help victims to recover from the armed conflict.[1]
Chile
The National Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Comisión Nacional de Verdad y Reconciliación; popularly known as the "Rettig Report") investigated deaths and disappearances, particularly for political reasons, under Augusto Pinochet's rule. The report was released in 1991. The National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture ("Valech Report") also investigated human rights abuses from the reign of Pinochet. Released in 2004 and 2005, the commission differed from the previous one in that it investigated non-fatal violations of human rights, such as torture, and also covered children whose parents had disappeared or been killed. The report of this commission was used by the government of Chile to give out pensions and other benefits to survivors.
Czech Republic
The Office for the Documentation and the Investigation of the Crimes of Communism (Úřad dokumentace a vyšetřování zločinů komunismu) is a subdivision of Czech criminal police which investigates criminal acts from the period 1948-1989 which were unsolvable for political reasons during the Czechoslovak communist regime.
Ecuador
The Truth Commission (La Comisión de la Verdad) was established by the government to investigate the violation of human rights especially during the period of 1984 to 1988.
El Salvador
Established by the United Nations (instead of the Government of El Salvador),[2] the establishment of the Commission on the Truth for El Salvador (Comisión de la Verdad para El Salvador) was part of Chapultepec Peace Accords to end the Salvadoran Civil War. The commission investigated murders and executions committed during the war, including that of Óscar Romero.
Fiji
Reconciliation and Unity Commission.
Ghana
National Reconciliation Commission.[3]
Guatemala
Historical Clarification Commission (Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico).
Haiti
The Haitian National Truth and Justice Commission.
Kenya
Waki Commission; The Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission of Kenya.
Liberia
Truth and Reconciliation Commission.[4]
Morocco
Equity and Reconciliation Commission (IER).
Nepal
Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Commission on Investigation of Disappeared Persons (CIDP) formed on 10 Feb 2015
Panama
Truth Commission (Comisión de la Verdad).
Paraguay
Truth and Justice Commission (Comisión de Verdad y Justicia).
Peru
Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación).
Poland
Institute of National Remembrance.
Philippines
In 2010, President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino announced that a Philippines Truth Commission will be formed to investigate unresolved issues concerning the previous administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. On July 30, 2010, a month after being sworn-in as the 15th President of the Philippines, Aquino signed Executive Order No. 1,[5] creating the Philippine Truth Commission of 2010.[6] However, the Supreme Court of the Philippines invalidated the executive order because of its apparent transgression of the equal protection clause for singling out the Arroyo administration. In his ponencia in Biraogo vs. Truth Commission, Justice Jose C. Mendoza blatantly tagged Aquino's Truth Commission "as a vehicle for vindictiveness and selective retribution."
Sierra Leone
Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Solomon Islands
Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Solomon Islands). On April 29, 2009, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission was launched by the Government of the Solomon Islands. Its aim would be to "address people’s traumatic experiences during the five year ethnic conflict on Guadalcanal (1999-2004)". It is modelled on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa. Its public hearings commenced in March 2010.
South Africa
After the transition from apartheid, President Nelson Mandela authorized a truth commission under the leadership of former Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu to study the effects of apartheid in that country.[7] The commission was simply called the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.[8]
South Korea
Truth and Reconciliation Commission.[9][10]
Sri Lanka
Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. 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.[11]
East Timor
Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor (Comissão de Acolhimento, Verdade e Reconciliação de Timor Leste; 2001–2005); Indonesia–Timor Leste Commission of Truth and Friendship (2005–2008).
Uganda
Uganda Commission of Inquiry into Violations of Human Rights (1986-1994).
Ukraine
Ukrainian National Remembrance Institute (Український інститут національної пам'яті), founded by President Viktor Yushchenko in 2006.
Tunisia
Truth and Dignity Commission (2014)

References

  1. ↑ Colombian CNRR website
  2. ↑ Derechos.org
  3. ↑ Ghana.gov
  4. ↑ Irinnews.org
  5. ↑ Gov.ph
  6. ↑ Ager, Maila (June 29, 2010). "Davide named Truth Commission chief". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  7. ↑ Doj.gov.za
  8. ↑ 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."
  9. ↑ Jinsil.go.kr
  10. ↑ English.chosun.com
  11. ↑ "President Releases LLRC Report To Parliament, The UN And Public". The Sunday Leader. 18 December 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2011.