NATIONAL RECONCILIATION COMMISION FOR ETHIOPIA (Draft)
By Lulsegged Abebe, PhD and Berhanu Mengistu, PhD,
Introduction
One of the realities of the human conditions, particularly in its organized forms, is that most changes are preceded by crisis. Since the overthrow of King Hailesilassie’s government, Ethiopia has faced many changes that were preceded by crisis. The change that recently started in Ethiopia, which brought Dr Abiye into a leadership position, was uniquely different, at least until the last three weeks or so sad and depressing developments. The change process began with words of reconciliation, peace and unity among diversity. To this end, among the many reform ideas proposed by the new government was the establishment of reconciliation and peace commission for Ethiopia.
The purpose of this short paper is to briefly trace the history of reconciliation commissions in the global context, reconciliation processes in the Ethiopian context, past and present, summarize the purpose and duration of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions and recommend a hybrid model for Ethiopia that will hopefully improve the organization and efficiency of the Reconciliation Commission of Ethiopia.
Background
Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRCs), according to Priscilla Hayner, “are bodies set up to investigate a past history of violations of human rights in a particular country – which can include violations by the military or other government forces or armed opposition forces” ( Hayner 1994:600). In many post conflict countries, TRCs are incorporated as an important means for consolidating peace. When parties to the conflict sign peace agreements, the establishment of truth commission is included in peace accords (Hayner, 1994.) Truth commissions are usually established for a limited time (less than five years) and are tasked to investigate human right violations over a specific period and are expected to come up with actionable policy recommendations. Truth commissions are expected to provide space for restorative justice that would allow societies in transition to move away from vengeance towards reconciliation (Freeman, 2006; Hayner, 1994). Typically, TRCs are established after the removal of authoritarian regime to facilitate a peaceful transition to democracy. Governmental bodies, Nonprofits Organizations and Intergovernmental Institutions such as the United Nations (UN) can propose or recommend the establishment of TRCs. Regardless the source of an initiator for the establishment of a TRC, incumbent governments establish them by an executive order with a subsequent act of parliamentarian approval.
TRC processes require substantial amount of financial and human resources. Members of the international community (western governments, and the UN system) often provide these resources, and experts. Especially in post conflict countries, governments, intergovernmental agencies, INGOs that led the negotiations and brokered the peace agreements take the lead in mobilising resources for the commission to discharge its responsibilities and/or the mandates. However, one of the biggest challenges, perceived or real, is that those that support the Commission can influence the functions and processes, and bring to the table a framework which is not relevant to the context and the history of the conflict. All national reconciliation processes are expected to be bold enough to investigate the difficult times, understand the causes and origins of past conflicts and their root causes. Further, they should have a system in place to support the victims and be inclusive enough to accommodate all perspectives.
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