Truth and Reconciliation Commission (DRC)

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (French La Commission de Verité et de la Réconciliation) was a truth commission which ran from July 2003 - February 2007 to investigate and promote national unity as a response to the atrocities committed in the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo between the Congolese army, Congolese rebels, and foreign insurgents.

A peace conference called the Inter-Congolese Dialogue was held Pretoria, South Africa on December the 16, 2002, with hundreds of members from Congolese civil society participating in the dialogue. The peace conference brought together the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the political opposition, the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD); the Mai-Mai militia; the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC); members of civil society; the Congolese Rally for Democracy/Liberation Movement (RDC/ML); and the Congolese Rally for Democracy/National (RCD/N) to find a solution which would promote national unity after the wars and conflicts in the country. The result of the Inter-Congolese dialogue was the Sun City accord which was an agreement that the transitional government would establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission as part of its mandate to promote national healing and unity.

Truth and Reconciliation commission

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement created institutions to help the country transition to peace. The Truth and Reconciliation commission aimed to help those affected by the conflicts in the eastern provinces. The mandate of the commission was to promote national unity by examining the socio-economic and political conflicts since independence in the 1960s. Using Articles 154 – 160 of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the truth commission was tasked with the re-establishment of peace in the state by establishing a narrative of truth from the conflicting accounts of history. The commission was led by Bishop Jean-Luc Kuye Ndondo wa Mulemera and had a total of 21 members. The 21 members represented on the panel came from the various groups involved in the conflict. The commission was was made up of Congolese civil society such as social scientists, religious leaders, non-governmental organizations, victims, and perpetrators.

Results

The commission suffered a slow start and due to ongoing conflicts, much of its work was unfinished during its 2 year mandate. A call for another commission to continue the work started by the first was proposed, but due to the ongoing conflicts in the east of the country, the enthusiasm and response to the second proposal was not met with praise. Other issues including the selection process and criteria for membership of commissioners, and the training process for the positions made it difficult for the commission to start any work mandated by the accords.