CSVR African Transitional Justice Hub

Truth Commissions

Algeria

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...

Truth Commissions

Burkina Faso

The Reform and National Reconciliation Commission, created by the 2014 Transitional Charter, was established with the intent to investigate the causes of human rights violations and to recommend institutional as well as social measures to reconcile communities. The role of the commission was to propose reforms in democratic, economic, cultural and social governance, including a...

Truth Commissions

Zimbabwe

The four-person Commission of Inquiry into the Matabeleland Disturbances, known as the Chihambakwe Commission after its chairperson, was mandated to investigate the killings of 1,500 political dissidents and other civilians in the Matabeleland region in 1983 and to gather testimony. The National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (2018-present) was mandated to foster post-conflict justice, healing and...

Truth Commissions

Uganda

The Commission of Inquiry into the Disappearances of People was a targeted inquiry into alleged disappearances in Uganda following a military take-over in 1971. The Commission of Inquiry into Violations of Human Rights (1986-1995) was established in 1986 to investigate human rights abuses committed from October 1962 to January 1986.

Truth Commissions

Tunisia

The Tunisian Truth and Dignity Commission (Instance Vérité et Dignité) (2013-2019) was mandated to investigate human rights violations committed from 1955 to 2013. The mandate specifically tasked the commission with investigating human rights violations that targeted women, children, the elderly, those with special needs and other vulnerable groups.

Truth Commissions

Togo

The Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission of Togo (2009-2012) was tasked with investigating politically motivated violence and human rights violations from 1958 until the 2005 election. The commission involved representatives from all areas of civil society in contributing to an accurate account of events.

Truth Commissions

South Sudan

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...

Truth Commissions

Sierra Leone

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Sierra Leone (2000-2004) was tasked with investigating violations and abuses of human rights from the 1991 armed conflict until the signing of the Lomé Peace Agreement in 1999. The commission aimed to investigate key events during that period and patterns of human rights violations while restoring dignity to victims...

Truth Commissions

Seychelles

The Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission (2018-2022) was mandated to investigate and create an accurate public record of human rights abuses related to the 1977 coup d’état in Seychelles and its aftermath. The commission’s investigations revealed deaths, unlawful killings and other human rights violations related to the coup and committed in the following years...

Truth Commissions

Rwanda

The National Unity and Reconciliation Commission of Rwanda was originally founded on 3 December 1999. The commission states that it was formed in response to the 1994 genocide and aimed to foster national unity and reconciliation following that period in Rwandan history. According to its founding legislation, the commission sought to establish systems that would...