Engaging Diasporas in Truth Commissions: Lessons from the Liberia Truth and Reconciliation Commission Diaspora Project

摘要

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia (LTRC) was the first of its kind to include a diaspora population in all aspects of the truth commission process. The LTRC partnered with a US-based human rights organization, The Advocates for Human Rights (The Advocates), to facilitate diaspora involvement in outreach, statement taking, report writing and the first official public hearings of a truth commission ever held in a diaspora. This article, written by two staff members from The Advocates who were intimately involved in all phases of the LTRC Diaspora Project, describes the rationale for diaspora involvement in the Liberian case, provides an overview of the outcomes of and lessons learned from the Liberia TRC Diaspora Project and discusses legal and policy reasons why other truth commissions and transitional justice processes should consider a strategy for engaging diaspora populations in their work.