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2 Int'l L.F. D. Int'l 98 (2000)
Truth Commissions in Africa: The Non-Case of Namibia and the Emerging Case of Sierra Leone

handle is hein.journals/intlfddb2 and id is 108 raw text is: Truth Commissions in Africa: the Non-Case of Namibia and the Emerging Case of Sierra Leone1 MICHELLE PARLEVLIET2 In February of this year, Africa acquired its own 'Pinochet' when a Senegalese court indicted the former dictator of Chad, Hissein Habr6 for acts of torture committed during his regime. It was the first time ever that the courts of another country indicted a former African head of state. In the same month, the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe ruled that President Mugabe could be sued in his official capacity for failing to publish the reports of two commissions of inquiry into the deaths of government opponents in the Matabeleland region in the 1980s following clashes with the state security forces. Hitherto, the government had repressed the results of these inquiries, claiming their publication could spark violence between different political constituencies. Also in 1999, a number of developments happened on the African continent that indicated a concern with past human rights violations. In June, President Obasanjo of Nigeria established a commission to investigate human rights abuses that had occurred in his country between January 1966 and his assumption of power in May 1999.' In July, the civil war in Sierra Leone ended with the conclusion of the Lom6 Peace Agreement that provided for, amongst other things, the investigation of atrocities committed during the war. These developments, though small, form some counterweight to the human rights violations that continue to be committed in the various armed conflicts that pervade the continent, be it in Burundi, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Western Sahara, or Sudan. As such, these developments correspond to the inter- national trend towards addressing issues of accountability and acknowledgement Obtaining the information for this article has been a challenge, and the author would like to thank Phil Ya Nangoloh, Zen Mnakapa, Avril McDonald, Larissa Fast, John Saul, Guy Lamb, Melron Nicol-Wilson, Peter Andersen, and Jeremy Sarkin for their assistance and comments in this regard. The understanding of the editors of FORUM, Frances Meadows in particular, has been highly appreciated. 2 Michelle Parlevliet (MA, Political Science; MA International Peace Studies), worked as a researcher for the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission; she is currently Manager of the Human Rights and Conflict Management Programme at the Centre for Conflict Resolution, Cape Town. I Tribunals of Inquiry Act, Amendment of Instrument Constituting a Judicial Commission of Inquiry for the Investigation of Human Rights Violations (Cap 447, LFN; 4 Oct. 1999); Instrument constituting a Panel for the Investigation of Human Rights Violations Under the Tribunals of Inquiry Act (Cap 447; 4 June 1999). International Law FORUM du droit international 2: 98-111, 2000. 02000 Kluwer I.aw International. Printed in the Netherlands.

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