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.
Côte d’Ivoire
Mediation Committee for National Reconciliation
The Mediation Committee for National Reconciliation (Comité de Médiation pour la Réconciliation Nationale) was mandated to investigate post-election violence in Abidjan in October 2000, which resulted in the deaths of 171 citizens.
| Established | Conflict Period |
Mandate | Final Report | Peace Agreement |
| 2000, by presidential decree | 1999-2000 | – | – | – |
Commission for Dialogue, Truth and Reconciliation
The Commission for Dialogue, Truth and Reconciliation (2011-2014) was established after the 2010-2011 post-election violence in Côte d’Ivoire as a mechanism to promote reconciliation, uncover the truth about past human rights violations, and provide recommendations to prevent future abuses and provide reparations to victims. The commission was mandated to develop an appropriate typology of human rights violations; seek the truth and identify where responsibilities lie for past and more recent national socio-political events; hear testimony from victims and perpetrators; propose means to help victims heal from trauma; identify and make proposals aimed at strengthening social cohesion and national unity and at combating injustice, inequality, tribalism, nepotism, exclusion and hatred in all forms; educate for peace and dialogue; and promote respect for differences and democratic values. The socio-political events in question were not clearly defined and no timeframe was set for the commission’s work.
| Established | Conflict Period |
Mandate | Final Report | Peace Agreement |
| 2011 |
2000-2011 |
– | 2014 Final Report | – |