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Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission of Togo

The Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission of Togo was formed in 2009 and sought to develop a collective understanding of Togolese history from the first post-independence election of 1958 to 2005, the year long-time President Gnassingbé Eyadéma died in office (footnote 1). The formation of the commission was the result of political unrest and violence by the government against opponents (footnote 2). Political uneasiness such as this led government officials from both sides to draft, in 2006, a Comprehensive Political Agreement. This agreement included the formation of a Truth Commission.

The U.N High Commission formed a committee to lead the truth commission. It was headed by Nicodeme Barrignah, a Catholic minister, and made up of other noble professionals, such as professors and businessmen (footnote 1).

The truth commission started running in 2009 and ran for fifteen months.

Background/History

Togo today is located on the western coast of Africa, along the stretch formally referred to as the Slave Coast (footnote 3, 12 ). For centuries, native Ewe people would be exported to the Americas to live as slaves (footnote 3,12). In 1884, Bismarck and the Germans claimed Togo as part of their empire and renamed it Togoland (Footnote 12). Togoland, under the Germans, developed much faster than before, but conditions there were horrid and, after the fall of the German empire at the end of World War 1, Togoland was divided up by the League of Nations, with half going to Great Britain and half going to France (footnote 3, 12). The British and the French ruled their portion of Togo until years after the Second World War. it wasn't until 1956 that the British Togo was absorbed into the country presently known as Ghana (footnote 12). French Togo, however, had a more tumultuous path. It achieved independence from France in 1960 under the leadership of Sylvanus Olympio (footnote 3, 12). Olypmio held power for only three years before he was assassinated in a coup by Gnassingbe Eyadema, leader of the military (Footnote 3,12).

References First two already in sandbox 3) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14106781 4)http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1161002?uid=3739464&uid=2&uid=3737720&uid=4&sid=21102934653341 5) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4243477.stm 6) http://www.ohchr.org/en/Countries/AfricaRegion/Pages/TGSummary20102011.aspx 7) http://www.ccdh.org.ma/spip.php?article1850 8) http://themediaproject.org/article/togo-seeks-truth-and-reconciliation 9) http://wadr.org/en/site/news_en/1914/Togo%E2%80%99s-truth-commission-opens-public-hearings.htm 10) http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/09/08/togo.torture.hearings/index.html 11) http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/togo/report-2013 12) http://www.lonelyplanet.com/togo/history 13) http://www1.chr.up.ac.za/images/files/documents/ahrdd/togo/togo_constitution_extracts.pdf

1) Hayner, Priscella B (2011). -italics-Unspeakable Truths: Transitional Justice and and the Challenge of Truth Commissions. New York, Routledge

2) http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/HealingthewoundsofthepastforabetterfutureinTogo.aspx