The United Nations Truth Commission for El Salvador

From 1992 to 1993, the author served as one of three Commissioners of the United Nations Commission on the Truth for El Salvador. In this Article, the author describes the process the Commission followed in its investigation of acts of violence that occurred in El Salvador between 1980 and 1991. The Article explores how the Commissioners interpreted and applied their mandate, as well as the problems they encountered in gathering information for the Commission's report. The author relates how the Commission arrived at the important decision to include in its report the names of individuals found to have been responsible for violent acts.

The author concludes by presenting lessons learned from the experiences of the Commission that may be valuable to future commissions charged with investigating human rights violations.