African countries have a wealth of experience in implementing truth commissions and adapting them to their national contexts, spanning several decades. As noted in the 2019 African Union Transitional Justice Policy, truth commissions are an indicative element of transitional justice. They are “legal bodies established to examine and address violations and abuses. They also serve to establish a full historical record of such violations, including the various experiences of different groups such as women, children and youth, the identity of the victims and perpetrators, as well as the role of various State and non-State institutions, and to provide for measures of reconciliation and healing.”
For each truth commission, when available, this database includes the commission’s mandate, method and year of establishment, period active and final report. It also includes the conflict period as defined in the mandate and the peace agreement that gave rise to the commission. The database was updated in 2023.
Algeria
Ad Hoc Inquiry Commission in Charge of the Question of Disappearances
The Ad Hoc Inquiry Commission in Charge of the Question of Disappearances (2003-2005) was formed as a subsidiary organ within the National Consultative Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Algeria’s permanent human rights institution. According to the presidential decree laying out its mandate, the commission was invested with a specific mission and granted temporary support in requests for the search for persons declared missing by a member of their family. The responsibilities of the commission included identifying cases of alleged disappearance; having competent authorities undertake searches to locate disappeared persons and carry out operations to identify the remains that had been found; informing families of persons declared missing on the results of the commission’s research; and designing, in conjunction with the public authorities, assistance and compensation measures for the beneficiaries of missing persons.
| Established |
Conflict Period |
Mandate | Final Report | Peace Agreement |
| 2001, by presidential decree | 1992-1999 | Presidential Decree 03-299 | Not made public | – |