By Julie Mertus

About this Module

One of the most pressing and interesting questions that arises in courses in human rights, peace studies, ethics, international relations, and political science courses is the "truth versus justice" debate. To what extent should a society emerging from conflict demand that those responsible for human rights abuses and other forms of violence be prosecuted in a court of law or otherwise held accountable? Does the punishment approach serve to publicize truth and promote justice, or does it encourage the hiding of truth and ultimately diminish justice? As an alternative to prosecution, should societies emerging from violent conflict establish commissions that encourage truth telling, through offering amnesty to perpetrators who tell the truth and confess their guilt? Under what conditions and to what extent do such "truth commissions" address the concerns of victims and promote the need for social healing? To what extent are truth commissions both preventative and restorative?

I have had great difficulty teaching the topic of truth commissions. Excellent teaching material exists describing the record of truth commissions in various parts of the world. However, students are unable to fully engage in the "truth versus justice" debate by simply reading this material. In particular, they have a hard time exploring the dimensions of the amnesty issue and of appreciating its relationship to reconciliation. Also, American students tend to see this issue as something applicable only to other places. To address these teaching concerns, I have devised this simple simulation and have based it in the United States. Instructors are free to modify it as necessary to suit the number of students in their class and the topical issues discussed.

The simulation works best with a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 25 students, but I have used it with success in classes as large as 36. I suggest that step one and two of the exercise be conducted in a class period prior to the other two steps. In any event, prepare your students well before handing out the hypothetical problem.

Step One: Introduction to Topic

Time: 45-90 minutes (suggested: do this in a class period prior to simulation)

Because students' prior knowledge about truth commissions varies considerably, it is useful to not only assign readings on the topic, but also to show all or part of a video on the topic prior to handing out the simulation. The film, Long Night's Journey Into Day, a profile of specific cases before the South African truth commission, serves this purpose well. You may wish to have students divide into small groups (3-6 members) for discussion.

HANDOUT
Introduction to Truth Commissions

The failure to hold perpetrators of human rights atrocities accountable for their crimes is among the roots causes of violent conflicts. At the same time, violent conflict is perpetuated by the inability of individuals and groups to reconcile with those responsible for human rights violations and other forms of violence. Societies emerging from conflict weigh the often-competing goals of punishing violators and of reconciliation and forgiveness.
What measures can best promote social healing and justice? Courts can punish perpetrators, but only if functioning court systems and the political will to use them exist. Moreover, because courts are designed to punish perpetrators, they focus on the elements of specific legally defined crimes. The stories of victims and bystanders and the goal of promoting social healing are sidelined. For this reason, some societies emerging from conflict have established truth commissions as a complement to formal judicial proceedings (and in some cases, a substitute).
At its core, a truth commission seeks to answer questions that, unanswered, will impede the country's movement to a less violent and more just era. While courts are punitive in nature, truth commissions seek to be restorative and preventative. In many cases, truth commissions are created after a civil war and/or after an authoritarian regime has been replaced by one seeking to be more democratic. The specific scope of a commission's mandate thus is generally defined by the government, which in democratic societies should take its direction from the local population. In some cases, however, the truth commission derives its mandate less from local concerns and more from third parties, such as the international body monitoring the peace.
Truth commissions often use the potential offer of amnesty to induce violators to come forward and confess their crimes. A grant of amnesty usually covers only crimes defined as political in nature; common crimes such as robbery for material gain are excluded. In addition, some types of crimes may be deemed inappropriate for amnesty, such as genocide, and the commission may specifically provide that international crimes be excluded. Truth commissions may include measures reaching out to victims of violence and their families, permitting them to speak publicly, to demand answers, to contest or agree to amnesty applications, and to meet, confront, and some cases, forgive their abusers.

Discuss:
" To what extent should a society emerging from conflict demand that those responsible for human rights abuses and other forms of violence be prosecuted in a court of law or otherwise held accountable?
" Does the punishment approach serve to publicize truth and promote justice, or does it encourage the hiding of truth and ultimately diminish justice?
" As an alternative to prosecutions, should societies emerging from violent conflict establish commissions that encourage truth telling, through offering amnesty to perpetrators who tell the truth and confess their guilt?
" Under what conditions and to what extent do such truth commissions address the concerns of victims and promote the need for social healing?
" To what extent are truth commission both preventative and restorative?

Step 2: Assign Hypothetical

Time: 15 minutes (suggested: do this in a class period prior to simulation)

Read to the class a hypothetical problem in which a town council votes to establish a truth commission. The following is an example.

Jonesville Junction USA has been divided on racial and ethnic lines for as long as anyone can remember. The city, which is 35% Caucasian, 50% African American and 15% Asian and Hispanic, is dominated by the Caucasian minority, which controls the police force (90% Caucasian, Caucasian police chief), court system (judges 100% Caucasian), city council, (55% Caucasian) and local media (the one city paper and one local radio station is Caucasian-owned and operated).
The police force in Jonesville has a reputation for discriminating against non-Caucasians, stopping them for random police checks and treating them roughly upon arrest and in detention. Three years ago Ben Fields, an African-American man, died from beatings he suffered during a police interrogation. Fields was a 24-year-old insurance agent who was being held on suspicion of drug charges. He had no prior police record. No officer has ever been prosecuted in connection with the incident. The city attorney launched an investigation, but dropped it soon afterwards for lack of evidence.
Two years ago Sarah Workman, a young African-American social worker, told the press that she had been raped by a police officer while his partner stood by watching and encouraging him. She could not identify the officers. Police records indicate that on the night in question, Sergeants Blakesley and Jones stopped Ms. Workman on suspicion of prostitution, but did not detain her or charge her with any crime. No serious investigation has ever been made into Ms. Workman's charges.
The same year, Felix Yates, an unemployed 39-year-old Hispanic man, and Peter Benjamin, a 32-year-old African-American laborer, were found dead in their jail cells. Police reported these incidents, which happened only days apart, as suicides. The local chapter of the NAACP, however, called the deaths suspicious and demanded an investigation. Police chief George Butts, conducted an internal investigation that confirmed the earlier reports of suicide.
Jonesville is a violent place. In addition to street violence (robberies and assaults), there is a high rate of domestic violence and reports of gang warfare in the high school. Most violence of this sort is intra-racial, but racial tensions are mounting and members of all communities have easy access to guns and ammunition.
Faced with this growing crisis, the members of the city council have voted to establish a truth commission to investigate allegations of police violence and other unsolved racially motivated crimes in Jonesville. They issue a statement to the community media asserting that "the tribunal will help expose the truth and in doing so promote reconciliation and healing." The truth commission, which is comprised of former judges and other prominent community members (representative of all sectors of the community) is to meet to determine its rules for granting amnesty and to develop a strategy for encouraging perpetrators to come forward with the truth. The police officers are to meet to determine if they should cooperate with the tribunal and the nature and extent of that cooperation. Religious leaders of the minority Caucasian community and of the African American community call for separate town meetings on their stance on the tribunal.

Step 3: Divide the class into four groups:

Truth commissions (have at lest 3 members and not more than 6)
Police officers
Members of the Caucasian community
Members of the African American community.

To avoid self-selection and to add to the excitement of the simulation, divide the class into the following groups randomly through use of role cards. Photocopy enough of each. (For example, if you have 25 class members and you want to divide up the roles equally, make five copies of each box below.) Paste the roles on cardboard, shuffle them up and have students pick them as from a card deck.

Note that for each category of actor, the students meeting as that group have the option of further subdividing the role. (For example, within the category of police officers, they may play the specific role of a police officer who committed a specific crime, the police chief, the police bystander who covered up the crime, etc.) Alternatively, students can speak as a group about what competing interests would be at stake in their group. This method of assigning roles allows for maximum flexibility and is most sensitive to students who would find playing certain roles offensive or harmful.

Truth Commissioners

Who are you? You represent all racial groups and a range of political beliefs. You may wish to declare subroles as truth commissioners belonging to certain communities, or just discuss the concerns likely to come of this diverse group.

Task: Meet to determine rules for granting amnesty and to develop a strategy for encouraging perpetrators to come forward with the truth. Choose one person to present the rules and strategy at a public meeting.

Police Officers

Who are you? You represent the diversity of interests in the police force. You may wish to subdivide into the roles of: police chief Butts, the police officer who killed Ben Fields, Sergeant Blakeley, Sergeant Jones, or the police officers in charge of Felix Yates and Peter Benjamin.

Task: Determine whether you should cooperate with the tribunal and the nature and extent of that cooperation. What rules do you want to see on amnesty? Discuss and prepare a spokesperson to bring concerns to a town meeting.

Members of Caucasian Community

Who are you? Interested Caucasians who live in Jonesville. You may wish to subdivide into specific roles such as: religious leader, business leader, witness to police violence, victim of domestic violence, victim of intra-racial violence.

Task: What are the various concerns members of your community have about the truth commission? How will it promote or obstruct your interests? What rules do you want to see on amnesty? Discuss and prepare a spokesperson to bring concerns to a town meeting.

Members of African American Community

Who are you? Who are you? Interested African Americans who live in Jonesville. You may wish to subdivide into specific roles such as: religious leader, business leader, witness to police violence, victim of domestic violence, victim of intra-racial violence.

Task: What are the various concerns members of your community have about the truth commission? How will it promote or obstruct your interests? What rules do you want to see on amnesty? Discuss and prepare a spokesperson to bring concerns to a town meeting.

Step 4: Role Group Meetings

Time: 20-30 minutes (note that this can be done prior to class)

Have each group meet separately to work on its assigned task. They should designate one main spokesperson to be the key figure representing their concerns in the town meeting (but all individuals may speak).

Step 5: Town Meeting

Time: 40-60 minutes

Arrange chairs in class in a big circle for town meeting. All students should attend their meeting acting in their role. Should students attend class without a role (because they missed the earlier session during which roles were distributed or they are otherwise unprepared) should be given the role of "journalist" and encouraged to ask questions from this perspective.

The truth commissions should go first and present their suggested rules on amnesty and their overall strategy to the group. The group should ask questions, interrupting when necessary. The truth commissioners may decide to take some comments under advisement and hold open the possibility of modifying their rules once they have heard all concerns.

The police officers should go next, presenting their concerns and indicating any divisions within their rank. They should be followed by the Caucasian and African-American communities. All groups should be asked questions.

After a short break, the truth commissioners should come back with any revisions to their rules and solicit further comments.

Step 6: Debriefing

Time:15-20 minutes

The class should fall out of their roles and the instructor should begin a discussion of the exercise. Consider:

" Was it easy to come up with rules for a truth commission?
" What were the sticking points?
" Whose interests are most represented by the commission?
" How do victims feel about the offer of amnesty? Perpetrators?
" Does the truth commission address all forms of violence in the community?
" Would the proposed commission promote truth? Justice? Both?
" How is this commission like real-life commission, such as the one in South Africa? How does it differ?
" How realistic is this exercise?
" Would your community support a "truth commission"? Are there issues that such a community could address in your community?