Priscilla Hayner's Unspeakable Truths

There have been roughly forty truth commissions created throughout the world, and according to Priscilla Hayner, author of Unspeakable Truths, these truth commissions have largely been ineffective and unsuccessful (2010). The reasons behind their unsuccessfulness differ widely. Many of the “strongest truth commissions have met with frustration from victims and activists, who have sometimes pushed for more robust inquiries” (Hayner, 2010). These robust inquiries, many of which are often considered to be strong recommendations from either the victims or from foreign diplomats, are often weakly implemented. Hayner’s examination of the various truth commissions scattered across the world shows their attempt at restorative justice, which ultimately …show more content…
The most important of these cases that challenged the legitimacy of the truth commission came from the victims of three prominent families. These families challenged the power of South Africa’s commission and their “constitutionality” at awarding amnesty. Even though they lost their case, the desire for reconciliation in the form of amnesty outweighed truth and justice. Illustrating the problems with South Africa’s truth commission was not as effective as the highlight of Guatemala because South Africa’s truth commission had a modicum of success. South Africa’s near success encourages the idea that truth commissions have the possibility of being successful and may still be a tool war-torn countries should …show more content…
Just like South Africa, Haiti had a rushed timeline where they were expected to deliver their findings based upon the de facto government, which had previously overthrown president Jean-Bertrand Aristide in a coup d’état. The Haitian government had very limited funding when they were tasked to gather the evidence and testimonies from thousands of victims. Despite these challenges, the commission was able to complete their task just one day prior to the departure of president Aristide. With his departure looming, he then handed over the report to the new president, however, the report was never widely distributed, and it took another year prior to it being made public. The one surprising recommendation from the report was the urging of the international community to establish an international tribunal to address the crimes committed by their former government.
Ultimately, their commission did not feel confident in their own national justice system. Haiti’s Truth Commission sought restorative justice on more of an international level, and they did not want to make their finding public until the “appropriate judicial action had been taken against those named” (Hayner, 2010). Clearly, Haiti sought for truth and fact-finding above reconciliation. The author’s highlight of Haiti’s distrust for their own government’s effectiveness illustrates one of the many problems with truth