Foreign Policy
Spring 1998

Sidebar: Nothing but the Truth?

By Steven R. Ratner

In the last decade, more than a dozen truth commissions have been created in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America to investigate human rights abuses committed in times of repression and civil war. Although most commissions lack the power to prosecute (or even publicly name) those responsible, they have examined thousands of cases of "disappearances," torture, and death, compiling a detailed historical record. Some of the most recognized include:

Chile: National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation (1990): Established by former president Patricio Aylwin (who took office in 1990 as Chile’s first democratically elected leader in two decades), the National Commission investigated nearly 3,000 cases of human rights violations under General Augusto Pinochet’s rule (1973–89). But a blanket amnesty granted to the military for all offenses committed before 1978 (when most violations occurred) protects those responsible from prosecution.

El Salvador: United Nations Truth Commission (1992): Created to investigate crimes by Salvadoran armed forces and death squads during the country’s 12-year civil war, this commission drew global attention for its unprecedented decision to publish the names of high-level government officials responsible for thousands of deaths and disappearances.

Guatemala: Commission for the Clarification of Human Rights Violations (1994): The UN also sponsored the creation of this body to investigate the cases of 140,000 Guatemalans dead or missing after 36 years of civil war. It was explicitly prohibited from naming individuals responsible for violations in its report.

South Africa: Truth and Reconciliation Commission (1992, 1993, 1995): The African National Congress (ANC) created two separate commissions in 1992 and 1993 to examine episodes of violence in the ANC’s detention camps throughout South Africa—the only example to date of an opposition group investigating and reporting on its own human rights record. South Africa’s parliament passed a law in 1995 establishing what is now know as Desmond Tutu’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which continues to investigate some 20,000 reported cases of murder and torture during apartheid.