Poverty Truth Commission Background and History

Poverty Truth Commissions are based on the model of truth and reconciliation commissions that have historically been charged with the task of discovering and revealing wrongdoing by a government. The goal of truth and reconciliation commissions is to resolve conflict and past injustice.

The United States Institute of Peace states that "truth commissions are bodies established to research and report on human rights abuses over a certain period of time in a particular country or in relation to a particular conflict." Truth commissions provide a forum for victims, their relatives and perpetrators to give evidence of human rights abuses and provide an official forum for their accounts. In most instances, truth commissions also provide recommendations on steps to prevent a recurrence of such abuses.

Ultimately, the goals of such commissions are to contribute to end and account for past abuses of authority, to promote national reconciliation and/or bolster a new political order or legitimize new policies.

The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up by the Government of National Unity to help deal with violations that occurred under apartheid. The conflict during this period resulted in violence and human rights abuses from all sides. No section of society escaped these abuses.

The TRC was established through the National Unity and Reconciliation act of 1995, which provided "for the investigation and the establishment of as complete a picture as possible of the nature, causes and extent of gross violations of human rights committed" during apartheid.

The mandate of the TRC was, in part, to "allow victims an opportunity to relate the violations they suffered; the taking of measures aimed at the granting of reparation to, and the rehabilitation and the restoration of the human and civil dignity of victims...;reporting to the Nation about such violations and victims; the making of recommendations aimed at the prevention of the commission of gross violations of human rights."

Learn More about the South African TRC

Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission – June, 2001

The Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was convened in July 2001 to uncover the truth about the period of violence during the presidencies of Fernando Belaúnde, Alan García, and Alberto Fujimori. From 1980 to 2000, insurgent violence, acts of terror, and counterinsurgency tactics resulted in an estimated 50,000-60,000 dead, 5000 disappearances, and over half a million people displaced by the violence.

The TRC collected more than 17,000 testimonies and published a report of its findings in 2003. According to the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), the TRC broke new ground by recommending specific cases for judicial action and passing cases directly to prosecuting authorities before its mandate expired. On April 7, 2009 former president Fujimori was sentenced by the Peruvian Supreme Court's Criminal Chamber to the maximum sentence available, 25 years in prison for crimes against humanity.

During the Commission's work, the President  of the Peruvian TRC, Salomon Lerner Febres, stressed the importance of truth-seeking processes to societies in transition: “The search for truth after a conflict…can constitute a second, precious opportunity for societies….Bringing to light the truth is not only a way of acknowledging victims and identifying perpetrators and harms; it can also be a way to discover ourselves.”

WOLA Press Release on the Peruvian TRC August 26, 2003

WOLA Press Release on Sentencing of Alberto Fujimori April 8, 2009

Declaring Human Rights

Truth and Reconciliation Commissions, including the Poverty Truth Commissions organized by the Poverty Initiative and our partner organizations, use the standards of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948. The preable to the Declaration states that it is to be a "common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations,"  to the end that every individual and every society "shall strive ... to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and ... to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance..."

Articles Pertaining to Economic Human Rights:

Article 23:

1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself [or herself] and his [or her] family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his [or her] interests.

Article 24: 

Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25: 

1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself [or herself] and of his [or her] family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his [or her] control.
2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26: 

1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children."

The Poverty Initiative is committed to providing forums for Americans and global citizens whose economic human rights have been and are being violated to share their experiences and to proposing and implementing solutions such that every individual and community is able to achieve the quality of life they deserve.

Learn About Poverty Truth Commissions at Union Theological Seminary

Watch Excerpts from Scotland's First Poverty Truth Commission