RETHINKING POST-TRUTH COMMISSIONS:
EMPOWERING LOCAL CAPACITIES TO SHAPE
THE POST-TRUTH COMMISSION DISCOURSE
Monica Aciru*
Abstract
Truth commissions have become an important component of transitional justice. This
follows the experiences of the 1980s and 1990s when they were used to address legacies
of violence after transitions from authoritarianism and armed conflict. To date, over 40
truth commissions have been established worldwide. One of the key outputs of truth
commissions is the recommendations contained in their reports. Few of these
recommendations have, however, been adequately followed up and implemented. This
article explores this gap and argues that the truth commission landscape has evolved
towards more top-down processes, thereby limiting local involvement. This has
contributed to the disengagement of the local actors in sustained activism in the truth
commission and post-truth commission process. It addresses three issues regarding this
observation. First, it examines the post-truth commission output and argues that truth
commission recommendations are often not effectively implemented, despite this being
one of the most significant ways of consolidating their legacy. Second, it discusses the
changing truth commission landscape, which has resulted in less local ownership and
declining interest in the post-truth commission process. Third, it explores how local
capacities can be empowered to engage in truth commission debates on their own terms,
thereby enhancing the impact of the commissions.
Keywords: capacity building; local ownership; post-truth commissions; reparations;
victims
1. INTRODUCTION
Over the years, truth commissions have become associated with a more restorative
and victim-centred approach to dealing with a history of gross human rights
* PhD Candidate, Leuven Institute of Criminology, University of Leuven, Belgium.
Contact Monica Aciru at monica.aciru@kuleuven.be.
11 HR&ILD 1 (2017) 71