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four-year-old project has produced a report and transcript (Henry J. Steiner, ed. Truth Commissions: A
Comparative Assessment, WPF Report 16 (1997) and an edited book (Robert I. Rotberg and
Dennis Thompson, Truth v. Justice: The Morality of
Truth Commissions, Princeton University Press, 2000). The project continues to examine
the many ways in which the concept of a truth commission, and the actual establishment of
truth commissions in conflict-prone regions, can contribute to the peaceful prevention of
intrastate hostilities. The WPF hosted a Truth Commissions Forum at the Kennedy School on October 11, 2000. At the forum, entitled "Truth Commissions: The Relevance of the Truth Commission Method to Resolving Situations of Extreme Conflict," Michael Ignatieff suggested that "impermissible lies" prevent societies emerging from extreme conflict from healing their wounds and moving forward. "How much shared truth is necessary for what reconciliation," and to create an effective post-conflict working democracy, asked Ignatieff, Carr Visiting Professor of Human Rights Practice. His fellow lead panelists at the Forum were Divinity School Dean Bryan Hehir, who emphasized the importance of "prudential" moral judgments in assessing the utility of the truth commission method, and Law School and Kennedy School Professor Philip Heymann, who suggested that truth commissions were a cost-effective way of achieving closure after episodes of state-dividing conflict. Three respondents added to the lively debate. Law School Professor Martha Minow argued that truth commissions not only can but must provide a contextual armature for rebuilding shattered states, communities, families, and individuals. Charles Maier, Director of the Center for European Studies, reminded the panel of the historic perspective, that "restorative justice does not restore to what was, but that it is possible to make quantitative judgements and find common ground." David Crocker, Senior Research Scholar at the University of Maryland spoke on the value of punishment, of negative sanctions for immoral behavior, and concluded with the thought that "transitional justice is yet another area where we’re seeking global assessment for the unassessable." The Forum was sponsored by the World Peace Foundation and the Center for Ethics and the Professions. It launched Truth v. Justice: The Morality of Truth Commissions, a new book edited by Robert I. Rotberg, Director of the World Peace Foundation and Forum moderator, and Dennis Thompson, head of the Center for Ethics and the Professions. The book's contents are: I. Truth Commissions and the Provision of Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation: Robert I. Rotberg II. The Moral Foundations of Truth Commissions: Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson III. Restoring Decency to Barbaric Societies: Rajeev Bhargava IV. Moral Ambition within Political Constraints: Reflections on Restorative Justice: Elizabeth Kiss V. Truth Commissions, Transitional Justice, and Civil Society: David A. Crocker VI. The Moral Foundations of the South African TRC: Truth as Acknowledgment and Justice as Recognition: André du Toit VII. Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa: The Third Way: Alex Boraine VIII. The Uses of Truth Commissions: Lessons for the World: Dumisa Ntsebeza IX. Amnesty, Truth, and Reconciliation: Reflections on the South African Amnesty Process: Ronald C. Slye X. Amnesty's Justice: Kent Greenawalt XI. Trials, Commissions, and Investigating Committees: The Elusive Search for Norms of Due Process: Sanford Levinson XII. The Hope for Healing: What Can Truth Commissions Do? Martha Minow XIII. Doing History, Doing Justice: The Narrative of the Historian and of the Truth Commission: Charles S. Maier XIII. Constructing a Report: Writing up "the Truth": Charles Villa-Vicencio and Wilhelm Verwoerd |
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