TRNUC describes progress to date as ‘nothing short of phenomenal’ |31 December 2020
Members of the TRNUC during one of their sessions
After the season break of 2019, the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission (TRNUC) on January 6, 2020 resumed its hearing sessions related to cases of alleged human rights violations committed during the 1977 coup and the ensuing years in which Seychelles was a one-party state.
Stefan Knights, appearing on behalf of Attorney General, Frank Ally, was the first witness to take the stand before the commission for this year to answer queries in regards to the Official Secret Act (state security act), in relation to government policies.
The commission, which had been operating with only six commissioners since it first started in August 2019, got the services of its seventh member in the capacity of well-known civil society advocate, Eline Moses, who was sworn in on April 2, 2020 before former President Danny Faure at State House.
Mrs Moses was filling a vacancy created by the resignation in October 2019 of Mauritian Pierre Rosario Domingue, one of the two non-Seychellois appointed commissioners who recently passed away in his home country following a short illness.
On behalf of the commission, chairperson Gabrielle McIntyre thanked all the complainants, witnesses and suspects for their cooperation with the commission and support in meeting the objectives of its mandate. She highlighted that the commission has an extremely ambitious task and it relies on cooperation to ensure the efficiency of its processes.
She also thanked the different government authorities that have expeditiously responded to requests of the commission for the provision of documentary evidence and urged those less efficient to be mindful of the impact of delay on the commission, relating especially to outstanding request to access land files.
Mrs McIntyre said that it must be understood by everybody that the commission is a national process driven by national perspectives if it is to serve national needs and interest and cultivate national acceptance.
On the performance of TRNUC in 2020, she said that the commission is currently hearing 194 cases out of a potential 495 cases. Of those cases over 300 have been rendered prima facie admissible for consideration and over 50 cases rendered inadmissible or retracted by the complainants. The admissibility of some 60 complaints cannot be determined without the provision of additional information from complainants. The commission has been seeking to follow up with those persons with limited success. To date the commission has heard 570 complainants, witnesses and suspects.
The commission continued to face severe resource constraints in 2020 which have been exacerbated by additional budgetary restrictions imposed by Covid-19. It has a huge backlog in the transcription of its written records and an even greater backlog in the translation of its hearings into the working language of the commission, which is English. The latter is important to the ability of the commission to render case determinations on those cases in which investigations have been completed. The commission is being assisted by a small number of volunteers who are providing critical assistance to the commission in the translation of the commission’s records.
The commission has significant limitations with respect to its investigative and legal capacity. To assist with investigations the commission is recruiting two to three foreign interns to come and work with the Commission on a voluntary basis. These interns, which the commission hopes to have in place by early next year, are fully self-funded and are motivated to work for free by their interests in gaining experience in transitional justice mechanisms, which may render them more attractive to employers in this field in the future.
Of the 194 cases that have been heard the commission has succeeded in drafting just over twenty case determinations. Complaints filed are often complicated, alleging a multitude of human rights violations which require factual and legal analysis consistent with international human rights standards. Conscious of the overwhelming pending work load, the commission has recruited a number of pro bono legal consultants, who are situated around the globe, to assist it in the legal research necessary to determine its complaints. It has also recruited pro bono legal consultants to assist it with the development of its amnesty procedures and its policy on compensation and reparations. The Commission hopes to have these policies completed by early next year.
As well as its individual case determinations the commission is also required to submit six monthly reports and a final report which is due by August 9, 2022. The commission has already begun to consider the contents of its final report and has started to draft its index and to prepare Chapters of that report. However, again, its ability to do so is hindered by accessibility to the English translation of its hearing records and time constraints in light of the significant work load involved in the investigation, scheduling and hearing of its cases.
In 2020 the commission faced significant challenges in the discharge of its mandate that were not just resource related. Proceedings were commenced against the commission by the Attorney-General on behalf of the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces, the Commissioner of Police and a public servant who refused to appear before the Commission. These proceedings, which were later withdrawn, impacted on the efficiency of the commission’s processes by diverting the commission’s attention away from its core mandate and causing confusion with the general public concerning the mandate of the commission.
As these proceedings signified, the commission faced considerable opposition from some government authorities who held documentary information necessary to the commission’s investigation and determination of complaints. In particular, the commission was informed that it would not be given access to land files it had requested upon the advice of the Attorney-General to the Ministry, that the commission had no mandate to consider land complaints. The commission refuted this interpretation of its mandate, emphasizing that its consideration of land claims is from a human rights perspective, and reiterating its request to access these files.
While informally the commission has been informed that the files requested will be provided, it has received nothing to date. This delay on the part of government authorities to supply information requested substantially impugns upon the efficiency of the commission’s processes and impacts its ability to discharge its mandate effectively. If the commission does not receive these files as requested in the very near future it will use its enforcement powers to compel compliance with its requests.
In light of the significant resource and capacity constraints under which the commission operates its progress to date has been nothing short of phenomenal. Currently, it has scheduled complainants and witnesses up until September 2021, it is working diligently on investigating the complaints, drafting case determinations, researching and drafting chapters for its final report, as well as supervising a growing number of volunteers both local and foreign.
The last session for 2020 was Case 0134: Yvonne Balthilde regarding her brother Antoine, an escaped prisoner who was gunned down by nine bullets by security forces at Anse Louis on September 24, 2003. It will recommence hearings on January 11, 2021 and will sit for two week blocks but also hold additional days of hearings during each month to meet the demands of its case load. The sessions are either through open (public) and close sittings which are also done through Skype.
Compiled by Patrick Joubert