Resource Library

This reports examine the role of memorials in transitional justice processes, based on research conducted in the Acholi and Lango subregions of northern Uganda. It offers recommendations to those planning memorial activities on how to achieve the highest impact.

The Liberia Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released its final report in December 2009 after more than three years of operations. The report offers valuable insights into Liberia’s turbulent history, including the gross human rights violations committed during the country’s ...

The Liberian Truth Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was necessitated by the Accra Comprehensive Peace Accord signed in 2003. The insertion of the TRC in the peace agreement was largely seen by various actors as Liberia’s maiden step towards addressing a history that was fraught with gr...

This initiative aims to promote accountability within the media through independent monitoring of the performance of the media during the TRC process. While freedom of the press is essential to the cultivation of a democratic culture, it is only fair for the media to labor in overcomi...

This report evaluates Ghana's National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) against its own objectives and the comparative experiences of truth commissions in other countries. Although the NRC was successful in securing some reconciliation, it was plagued by lack of resources and an overt ...

This paper provides an initial summary of the work of the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and points to some of the key difficulties it has encountered. The Commission's first year was challenging: it effectively lost its full preparatory period and the first tw...

This report presents a study of ex-combatants' knowledge and opinions of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Special Court (SC) in Sierra Leone. Ex-combatants and these accountability institutions are interdependent. Ex-combatants need the TRC and SC to help them reinteg...

Indigenous peoples are among those most affected by contemporary conflict. The resource-rich territories they occupy are coveted by powerful, often violent groups. Their identity is perceived with mistrust, sometimes with hate. Indigenous communities live at a precarious intersection ...

This publication provides an overview of the essential best practices guiding the main aspects of a truth commission, answering basic questions relating to its goals, powers, operations, framework, protections for commissioners and witnesses, and reporting. Its intention is to provide...