Summary of Presentations A society with a violent past has the right to seek the truth. At the international level, the right to truth has been recognised as a legal basis to establish truth commissions or other similar mechanisms, due to the need of the victims, their relatives and general society to know the truth about what has taken place. A commission is able facilitate the reconciliation process; contribute to the fight against impunity as well as reinstall and strengthen democracy and the rule of law. It provides a public platform for victims to address the nation directly with their personal stories and can facilitate public debate about how to come to terms with the past. Truth commissions have numerous facets and the wealth of first-hand experience available from countries like Sierra Leone, Guatemala, Kenya and South Africa directed the conversation. The discussions ranged from the history of violations, to the International Criminal Court (ICC), to the internal dynamics of commissions. The manner in which the various commissions dealt with human rights, reconciliation, mediation and legal frameworks were only some of the many additional topics discussed by civil society representatives and academics. A. Dr. Khanyisela Moyo: Forbidden Truth? — Background to Truth Recovery in Zimbabwe, Challenges, Opportunities and Threats Dr. Moyo provided a historical context to dealing with the past by highlighting Zimbabwe's key periods of violence, peace and reform from the pre-colonial era to the present. Dr. Moyo noted that Zimbabwe's history can be described by reference to sequences of challenges which, at different epochs were expressed through violent conflicts. As is the case with most post-colonial societies, the country's abuses can be traced from the pre-colonial era, colonialism, liberation wars, post-independence political and ethnic struggles and gender conflicts. Since none of these periods heralded increased justice and democracy, it is doubtful that any could be described as transitional. Although it is debatable whether Zimbabwe is in a state of “transition”, Chapter 12 (Sections 252 and 253) of the new constitution establishes a National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) and provides for its composition, functions and reporting structure.9 Given Zimbabwe's experience with state-led processes of dealing with the past, like the Chihambakwe Commission of inquiry,10 it is still to be seen whether there will be a genuine 9 10 4 Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) Act 2013. The Chihambakwe Commission of Inquiry was to investigate the killing of 1,500 political dissidents and other civilians in the Matabeleland region in 1983 and to gather testimony from villagers about what occurred. No official report was issued because the government argued that the publication of the report could spark violence over past wrongs, (USIP, http://www.usip.org/publications/commission-of-inquiryzimbabwe), (Accessed on 27 May 2014). The Second International Conference on Transitional Justice in Zimbabwe