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.
South Sudan
Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing
In January 2021, the South Sudanese government decided to proceed with its obligations under the 2018 Agreement for the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan to establish the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing. According to its founding legislation, the commission is tasked with investigating human rights abuses and causes of conflict, creating an accurate and impartial historical record, identifying perpetrators of human rights abuses, recording the experiences of victims and developing detailed reports for recommendations and findings.
Established | Conflict Period |
Mandate | Final Report | Peace Agreement |
TBD | TBD | – | – | 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, Ch. V
2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, Ch. V |