Abstract
This paper highlights Tunisia’s Truth and Reconciliation process following the 2011 revolution, which removed Zayn al-‘Abidin Ben ‘Ali’s authoritarian regime from power and installed a new democratic political order. It presents a comprehensive portrait of Tunisia's Truth and Dignity Commission, monitoring its emergence, ongoing work, leadership, and influence on public life. Beyond gaining greater familiarity with current developments in post-revolutionary Tunisia, this study carries broader ramifications that extend beyond Tunisia's borders. It offers lessons to other societies across the region currently experiencing similar processes, or hoping to initiate them in the future, and contributes to the wider debate concerning the impact Truth and Reconciliation processes in various settings.
This paper charts the background to the establishment of the Truth and Dignity Commission in the context of Tunisia's pre and post-revolutionary history and politics, and the general theoretical literature concerning reconciliation processes. The 15 member commission was formally launched in June 2014. Its mandate was intended to employ judicial and non-judicial mechanisms to investigate gross human rights violations committed by the Tunisian state since its independence, provide compensation and rehabilitation to victims, and serve as an arbiter in corruption cases and human rights violations if agreed by victims. The paper then offers an overview of the commission's work, and its struggle to carry out its mission against the backdrop of increasing government efforts to reduce its mandate and influence. The government's 2015 legislative proposal that offers general amnesty for former officials, and allows Tunisia's president to handle cases of businessmen accused of misusing state funds, is a recent example of the commission's difficulty to pursue its goals. Finally, this paper assesses Tunisia's prospects of completing a reconciliation process, given its current political reality.
Sources for this paper include official documents and legislation concerning the commission's establishment, interviews with its leading figures, reports about its work and impact on Tunisian society, and theoretical studies of Truth and Reconciliation projects. Its conclusions, which illuminate the commission's difficulties, raise doubts about the durability of the entire reconciliation process in Tunisia. Moving beyond obtaining a better understanding of Tunisia current politics, this paper adds alternative perspectives from Tunisia to the study of Truth and Reconciliation efforts, expanding the contours of the debate surrounding this topic.
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