The Tunisian Truth and Dignity Commission At Work: Concepts and Approaches

Article By : Sahar Ammar

The fall of Ben Ali regime in January 2011 has created both new spaces for democracy and new mounting challenges. In the aftermath of the revolution, Tunisia began to grapple with the burdensome legacy of violations and to design adequate mechanisms in order to meet victims’ needs and expectations and to implement tumultuous changes ignited by the revolutionaries’ demands. The process in Tunisia is considered as a ‘classic’ transitional justice scenario which has initially put in place a patchwork of legal mechanisms including general amnesty for political prisoners, ‘rushed’ distribution of urgent reparations and establishment of ad hoc commissions of inquiry. A process of criminal justice has been initiated by the wounded of the revolution and the families of ‘martyrs’ before the military court against former ministers, police officers and corrupted businessmen. Hampered by political and economic hardships, the National Dialogue has been introduced as a way out of the institutional crisis in 2012. The National Dialogue is considered as the institutional framework that led to the creation of the Truth and Dignity Commission (hereinafter TDC). It established a new social contract and highlighted the need to set up an independent transitional justice process to remain outside political tensions and governmental interests. The Law on Establishing and Organizing Transitional Justice (hereinafter the Law on Transitional Justice) adopted in 2013 serves as the legal basis for the implementation of the transitional justice process and for the establishment of the TDC. Special emphasis is placed in the Law on promoting the right to truth. Indeed, addressing past grievances through institutional responses of truth commissions makes an indispensable contribution in acknowledging and disclosing past offences and recognizing the status of victims. Truth commissions have been widely considered as the ‘centrepiece of transitional justice strategies’ during periods of political transition. They are officially created and empowered to address the legacy of violations during a limited timeframe. They make significant contributions in the areas of reparations and institutional reform and they consolidate a sense of historical justice through publically exposing the truth. Through investigating the contemporary past, a truth commission seeks to provide ‘an overarching narrative’ of the period covered by its mandate. It helps ‘refound a broken polity’ through a process of national reconciliation when it is vital to alleviate political tensions in fragmented societies and to engender a sense of social solidarity. Truth commissions are presented as ‘victim-centred bodies’ where victims’ dignity and needs constitute the primary focus of their mandates. Allen argues that truth commissions restore victims’ dignity through recognizing their struggle as part of the emerging nation’s identity. Linking truth to dignity has a symbolic aspect reflected in the name of the Tunisian TDC.