Truth commissions are official, nonjudicial bodies of a limited duration established to determine the facts, causes, and consequences of past human rights violations.
By giving special attention to testimonies, they provide victims with recognition, often after prolonged periods of social stigmatization and skepticism.
Truth commissions can contribute to prosecutions and reparations through their findings and recommendations, assist divided societies to overcome a culture of silence and distrust, and help to identify institutional reforms needed to prevent new violations.
This module will discuss truth commissions and their objectives, characteristics, credibility, function, legal mandates and power. At the end of module, we will have an exercise on how to build a credible truth commission.