Launch (7 Sept, New York): A Critical Assessment of 40 Truth Commissions and the State of Transitional Justice (OSI, 25 Aug 2010)

The Open Society Justice Initiative is hosting a panel discussion on Priscilla Hayner’s recently updated book on truth commissions, Unspeakable Truths.

In a sweeping review of 40 truth commissions, Priscilla Hayner delivers a definitive exploration of the global experience in official truth-seeking after widespread atrocities. When Unspeakable Truths was first published by Routledge in 2001, it quickly became a classic, helping to define the field of truth commissions and the broader arena of transitional justice.

This second edition is fully updated and expanded, covering 20 new commissions formed in the last ten years, analyzing new trends, and offering detailed charts that assess the impact of truth commissions and provide comparative information not previously available. It is based on hundreds of interviews and a broad review of the literature.