How to Build a Better Truth Commission: Applying Lessons from Past Truth Commissions to the Selection of Commissioners for an Afghanistan Truth Commission

Abstract

Transitional Justice has emerged as a crucial, if underdeveloped, field of law and as a tool for ending conflict and helping countries and societies rebuild themselves following periods of devastation, strife and violence. One of the en vogue methods employed to facilitate this transition is the truth commission - a body of experts whose role is to develop the truth regarding the recent turmoil and violence. A crucial, yet under studied, aspect of these truth commissions is their composition. The composition of a truth commission, what the commissioners represent in terms of gender, ethnicity, religion, and other individual characteristics as well as how they relate to, and interact with, those they are developing the truth for are crucial concepts that can make or break the success of a truth commission. However, the academic community has failed by-and-large to investigate what type of composition is desirable and how to best achieve that composition. By looking through the lens that is modern Afghanistan, this paper attempts to determine what composition is ideal for creating a successful truth commission in that country. The recommendations are based on principals and theories derived from the success and failures of five past truth commissions. These principles are then applied to geopolitical and cultural framework of Afghanistan. While the paper focuses on Afghanistan and recommending principals specifically for that context, the general principals derived from the five case studies are applicable to truth commissions in general, and in that sense, the goal of this paper is to advance the field of law and body of knowledge concerning truth commissions.