Lab Director, Kelebogile Zvobgo co-authored an article in The Washington Post on truth commissions in the United States and what many commentators are getting wrong about them.
Drawing on published and in-progress research on truth commissions in comparative contexts, Zvobgo and coauthor, Claire Crawford of the University of Southern California, address misconceptions about truth commissions, notably with respect to the U.S. context. The upshot: truth commissions are useful tools for addressing past injustices, like anti-Black and anti-Indigenous violence in the U.S., whether or not a country is experiencing a political transition. They are part of the transitional justice toolkit and should be used as complements to other forms of justice like trials, reparations, memorials, and reforms. And the emphasis should be on uncovering the truth, not necessarily achieving reconciliation. Read their article to learn more.
