Current Developments: How effective have African truth commissions been?

• Pages: 192-208
• Date: 20 September 2021
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.47348/AYIH/2020/a7
• Published date: 20 September 2021
• Author: Gumede, W.
• Citation: (2020) African Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law 192

192

How effective have African truth

commissions been?

William Gumede*

Abstract

The study is a critica l review of several Af rican countries’ at tempts to

seek justice, truth a nd lasting peace af ter deadly conict th rough the

mechanisms of tra nsitional justice, specically th rough the establishment

of truth and reconci liation commissions or equivalent structu res.

Outcomes for African com missions have been mixed. S ome met with

genuine success. Some were obviously i neffective, neither uncover ing

the truth, nor bring ing justice to the vict ims or holding perpet rators

accountable. The review wil l analyse why some African t ruth commissions

have performed better, while ot hers have been widely condemned as

failures and miss ed opportunities.

It will outline lessons for ot her African cou ntries considering set ting up

truth commissions or r elated transitional justice mechanism s to tackle the

legacies of a violent past, to bring justice, a nd to forge reconciliation and

lasting peace.

Keywor ds: African truth commissions, human r ights violations,

justice, re conciliation

1 INTRODUCTION

Many African countr ies, following long periods of human rights abuses,

conict and war, have established formal truth and reconciliation

commissions to deal with the past by uncovering the truth, holding

perpetrators accountable and bringi ng justice to the victims. Ultimately,

truth and reconciliation commissions have also been established to

build long-term, deep-rooted and sustainable peace, so that t he society

which has been in conict does not experience a relapse.

Unless there is a process of reconciliation, many countries,

following the end of a conict, return to violence.1 Therefore, many

African countr ies, as a condition of peace settlements, have established

* William Gume de (MA), Associate Professor, School of Governanc e, University

of the Witwatersrand, Johan nesburg.

1 C Guicherd ‘Pick ing up the Pieces: What to E xpect from the Peac ebuilding

Commission’ Friedr ich Ebert Foundation (2005).

https://doi.org/10.47348/AYIH/2020/a7

(2020) African Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law 192

© Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd

HOW EFFECTIVE HAVE AFRICAN TRUTH COMMISSIONS BEEN? 193

https://doi.org/10.47348/AYIH/2020/a7

truth and reconciliation comm issions. Such countries include Burundi,

Sierra Leone and Kenya.

These African t ruth commissions aim to seek reconciliation

between the perpetrators and the victims. They try to bring dignity to

the victims, by giving victims the opportunity to voice the injustice

done to them, and by getting perpetrators to acknowledge the harm

they have caused. In some cases, truth comm issions make amends to the

victims of human rights abuses by providing reparations. Ultimately,

the aim in the societies that experience human rights violations is to

prevent a culture of impunity a nd a relapse of the conict, while at the

same time fashioning a new post-abuse ‘reconstruction’ of the society

based on a ‘mastering of the past’.2

Truth commissions in the Africa n context have proven useful

because in many countries the traditional legal, crime and investigation

authorities, whether judiciaries, the police or prosecuting authorities,

are often compromised, were either involved in the conict or are

underdeveloped, or they lack the capacity and cred ibility to pursue the

complex investigations necessitated by violent internecine conict.3

Moreover, ‘criminal courts, by themselves, may not be suited to

reveal the broadest spectru m of crimes that took place during a period

of repression, in part because they may convict only on proof beyond

a reasonable doubt’.4

African tr uth and reconciliation commissions have had a mixed

record: some have been successful, others have failed spectacularly,

and others have worsened existing conicts.

2 REVIEW APPROACH

The study is a critical review of several African countries’ attempts

to seek justice, truth and lasting peace after deadly conicts through

the mechanisms of transitional justice, and specically through the

establishment of truth and reconciliation commissions or equivalent

struct ures.

The review analyses the discourses on African truth and recon-

ciliation within the countr ies in which they have been established. It

does so through a systematic review of founding acts, resolutions and

2 M Catic ‘A Tale of Two Reconciliations: Germans and Jews a fter World

War II and Bosnia afte r Dayton’ (2006) 2:6 Genoc ide Studies and Prevention: An

International Jour nal 216.

3 United Nations ‘The rule of l aw and transitional just ice in conict and po st-

conict societ ies’ UN Doc S/2004/616 (23 August 2004) para 50.

4 Amnesty Inter national ‘Liber ia: Truth, Justice and Reparat ion: Memorandum

on Truth and Reconciliat ion Act’ (2006) available at https://ww w.amnesty.org/

en/documents/afr34/00 5/2006/en/ (accessed on 5 Augu st 2021).

© Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd