The functions of a truth commission are highly dependent on the appointed commissioners since the primary objective of such a commission is to investigate the truth and provide justice according to its mandate and to preserve the evidence relating to human rights abuses. According to Migyikra (2008), to build credible evidence, a TRC must be independent and comprise competent and credible personnel or officials if a truth commission is to have moral authority (ibid).
The issue of constructing a commission depends upon several factors like whom, who and how should commission members be appointed and what qualities they should possess. These selection criteria directly affect the functioning of a TRC hence; there are different possibilities to consider. For example, a commission can comprise solely of nationals of the country in question, as in the case of Bolivia, Argentina and Chile (Kritz, 1995). It can also be made up solely of foreigners who are well-known international figures as in El Salvador (Brahm, 2004). Alternatively, it can consist of both foreign personnel and nationals of the country in question, as happened in Haiti and Guatemala (Steiner, n.d).
Whether the committee is formed by national or international characteristics, there are advantages and disadvantages to each approach. According to Migyikra (2008), an international commission may appear to be more objective and impartial than a national commission. This is due to the distance of its members from the events and the interests at stake, usually involving the participation to varying degrees, of an international organization, such as the UN, and the fact that the terms of its mandate have also been debated under the auspices of the UN (Hayner, 1994). In fact, the international nature of a commission may alienate some sections of society, who may see the commission’s activity as foreign
52
intervention or at least use it as an argument to discredit it. A criticism is that foreign commissioners are far less likely to have the same in-depth knowledge of the events to be investigated as commissioners from the country itself (APT, n.d.). Thus, there has been less truth commissions established with international assistance (Sierra Leonean TRC, 2004).
International support can be helpful however, particularly when domestic civil society and the government is weak. The Guatemalan and Salvadoran peace accords called for truth commissions under the auspices of the UN. The government of Burundi asked the UN to set up a commission of inquiry in 1995 because it did not feel strong enough to do so itself. In some cases, an international element has been necessary in situations where the state that previously existed has disintegrated, as in the case of the former Yugoslavia (Hayner, 1994). Commissions established by national government or the civil society can experience complete or partial failure, for example, Chad, Uganda, Philippines, and Bolivia did not have the necessary human and material resources and, in particular, did not have an adequate budget (Hayner, 1994). This was not the case for international commissions set up under the auspices of the UN (Avruch & Vejarano, 2001). However, whenever possible, setting up commissions which are wholly or partly national appears to be the best solution since it is a way of encouraging those engaged in establishing the rule of law and addressing impunity to assume their responsibilities and start making decisions for them (Migyikra, 2008).
TRCs composed and established by the national government with civil society include those in Argentina, Bolivia, Chad, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Peru, South Africa, East Timor and Uganda-1986. The commission of Argentina was composed of thirteen commissioners: twelve men and one woman. Of them, ten were non-legislative members appointed by President Alfonsin and three were elected by Argentina’s legislative Chamber of Deputies of Congress (TRC, 1986). The Bolivian commission had an eight person panel which was headed by the Under-Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior whereas the commission’s vice- president was a representative of the legislative power. The commission also included representatives from the Human Rights Permanent Assembly and the “Association of Relatives of the Disappeared Detainees and Martyrs for National Liberation of Bolivia” (ASOFAMD). It had six additional staff, Carmen Loyola Guzman, head of the ASOFAMD, was the commission’s executive secretary (Hayner, 1994). The decree of Chad created the Chad’s commission of ten members and two secretaries as the members of the commission of
53
inquiry where one commissioner was female. It was chaired by Chad’s Chief Prosecutor Mahamat Hassan Abakar (INSEC, 2013).
The National Reconciliation Commission of Ghana was comprised of nine Ghanian commissioners i.e.; six men and three women. It was chaired by Former Chief Justice K. E. Amua-Sekyi (Attafuah, 2004). In Morocco, the Equity and Reconciliation Commission was comprised of sixteen commissioners appointed by the king, but included only one woman. Driss Benzikri, a former political prisoner and human rights activist, chaired this commission. Five of the commissioners were former political prisoners, including two who had been exiled (Amnesty, 2004). The Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission in Nigeria was comprised of eight commissioners where six men and two women. It was headed by Justice Chukwudifu Oputa and all the members were appointed by the President (Lamb, 1999). The Peru TRC was comprised of twelve Peruvian commissioners which included ten men and two women, and chaired by Salomon Lerner Febres. All the members were appointed by the President with the approval of the Council of Ministers. The commission opened five regional offices to carry out its work (Cuya, 2008).
According to Amnesty report (2009), the South African TRC was comprised of seventeen commissioners where nine men and eight women were participated. Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu chaired this commission. The commissioners were supported by approximately 300 staff members, divided into three committees as Human Rights Violations Committee, Amnesty Committee, and Reparations and Rehabilitation Committee (Amnesty, 2009; Boraine, 2000). The East Timor commission was comprised of seven members of five men and two women. It was divided and included twenty-nine regional commissioners. A lawyer and human rights activist Aniceto Guterres Lopes chaired the commission (CAVR, n.d.). The Commission of Inquiry into Violations of Human Rights of Uganda in 1986 was comprised of six commissioners, all male, and chaired by Ugandan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Oder (Quinn, 2004).
Commissions established with international support were El Salvador, Haiti, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Uganda in 1974. The commission of El Salvador was comprised of three international commissioners, all men, appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The commission was chaired by former Colombian president Belisario Betancur (Thomas, 1994). Another commission composed of international persons was the Haiti TRC.
54
This commission was composed of seven members with five men and two women, including four Haitians and three internationals. It was chaired by Haitian Sociologist, Fracoise Boucard (Amnesty, 2004).
The Liberian human rights activist and environmental lawyer Jerome Verdier chaired the Liberian commission which consisted of nine commissioners of four women and five men. A three-member International Technical Advisory Committee was provided for by the TRC Act i.e.; nominated by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the UN high commissioner for human rights (TRC Act, 2006). Sierra Leone’s TRC comprised of seven commissioners: four men and three women, of whom four were Sierra Leoneans and three were internationals. It was chaired by Bishop Dr. Joseph Humper (ICTJ, 2002). The commission of Uganda in 1974 was comprised of four Ugandan nationals who were all men. It was chaired by an expatriate Pakistani judge, and included two Ugandan police superintendents and a Ugandan army officer (Carver, 1990; Hayner, 1994).