Burundi's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) (French: ''Commission vérité et réconciliation'', CVR) is a

truth and reconciliation commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state ac ...

established in the African country of

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

to investigate crimes during ethnic conflict which started after the country became independent in 1962. The TRC arose from the Arusha Agreement of 2000. Established by the ruling CNDD-FDD party in 2014, the commission was intended to run for an initial four years; however, its terms of reference were extended for a further four years in 2018. Pierre Claver Ndayicariye is chairperson of the TRC. Clotilde Niragira was Secretary-General. She appointed an international advisory council in March 2016, which allowed the work of the commission to begin. Niragira's appointment to the commission ended in December 2018. Massacres took place in 1965, 1969, 1972, 1988 and 1993. The commission implemented a programme to identify and

exhume Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...

mass graves, identify victims and perpetrators where possible and re-bury bodies with appropriate funerals. The first mass grave was excavated in June 2017; a further 2,500 were estimated to exist in the country. Niragira promised to implement a system of compensation for the victims and their families. A report presented to parliament in early 2020 revealed that over 4,000 mass graves had been discovered, and 142,505 victims identified. Public opinion was divided upon its creation, and the Commission has since been criticised for not being impartial, but Ndayicariye says that criticisms are politically motivated. In August 2024, parliament voted to replace the commissioners of the TRC. Among the 13 new commissioners is the former minister

Laurent Kavakure Laurent Kavakure (born January 5, 1959) is a Burundian diplomat and politician who served the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Burundi from November 2011 to May 2015. Kavakure was born in Tangara, Ngozi Province. He was Burundi's Ambassador to Belg ...

; the former ambassador of Burundi to India, Stella Budiriganya and the former ambassador of Burundi to Egypt, Selemani Mossi. Pierre Claver Ndayicariye was reelected as chairperson of the TRC.

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