Truth, reconciliation and national unity committee presents report |11 April 2018

The Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity committee of the National Assembly has drafted a proposed piece of legislation that will enable the president to establish a Truth and Reconciliation and National Unity Commission.

This bill was revealed yesterday by the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and chairperson of the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Committee, Wavel Ramkalawan, while he was presenting the committee’s first report to the assembly.

The purpose of the legislation is to act as an extension of the work started by the National Assembly committee which was initially set in motion in 2016 to address the open wounds caused by the events of June 5, 1977 coup d’Etat which has, in parts, hindered national unity.

The legislation has been crafted with the help of Richard Rogers, an international lawyer, and covers key elements such as:

• The establishment of a commission consisting of seven commissioners. These include a chairperson, vice-chairperson and five other commissioners of which two commissioners shall be non-Seychellois;

They are to be appointed by the president in consultation with the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Chief Justice,

• Providing victims with the platform to express their grievances freely and thereby creating written records of various cases, and
• Determining and recommending the appropriate remedies as it see fits.

Honourable Ramkalwan explained that the bill proposes that evidence given before such a commission should not be admissible in any civil or criminal proceedings. It further recommends that the commission be provided with the all the powers of the Supreme Court.

“These commissioners will be able to visit the sites of any relevance while examining a case and additionally grant armistice to an accused who willingly comes forth to provide pertinent information on these cases,” Mr Ramkalawan stated.

The report is to be approved by the National Assembly while the bill is subjected to approval by the Cabinet of ministers after which it will return to the National Assembly for deliberations and assent.