This is a bad take. As an expert on truth commissions, I cannot emphasize enough that commissions are not supposed to be a substitute for judicial accountability. They are one piece of transitional justice—that is, truth, justice, reparations, and guarantees of non-recurrence. https://twitter.com/nickkristof/status/1317811812440723458

That said, TCs are uniquely positioned among transitional justice measures to bring a broader historical perspective to abuses, educate the public, and make data-informed policy recommendations, like institutional reforms, to address past abuses and safeguard against future ones.

I will also note the contributions of TCs to later human rights trials, for example in Guatemala where I conducted field research for my book. Critically, TCs provide acknowledgment to a broad swath of survivors and victims’ families—often for the first time.

Every modality of transitional justice—from commissions and memorialization projects to reparations and rehabilitation programs, to legal and personnel reforms—has a unique and vital role to play, as we seek to address historical wrongdoing.

@zackbeauchamp, really looking forward to our chat.