A/HRC/24/42 crimes, such as the exploitation of natural or public resources to perpetuate armed conflicts”.37 • In this incomplete but representative sample, the Act establishing the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission of Kenya constitutes the most expansive thematic mandate. The commission was directed to investigate, inter alia: “violations and abuses of human rights and economic rights inflicted on persons by the State, public institutions and holders of public office, both serving and retired…”. The Act mentions specifically: massacres, sexual violations, murder, extrajudicial killings, abductions, disappearances, detentions, torture, ill-treatment and expropriation of property, and includes in terms of economic crimes “grand corruption and the exploitation of natural or public resources”, “the irregular and illegal acquisition of public land”, “economic marginalization of communities” and the “misuse of public institutions for political objectives”. The Act also calls on the Commission to inquire into the “causes of ethnic tensions”.38 36. Gender considerations. An unambiguously positive aspect of the expansion of thematic mandates concerns the specific attention dedicated to women’s rights (and in some cases to gender issues more broadly). While early truth commissions were “gender blind”, ignoring manifest violations against women, over time, both by design and through practice, commissions made significant progress in addressing the violations of the rights of women. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Peru set an important precedent by establishing a dedicated gender unit and trying to mainstream gender considerations throughout its report.39 It is encouraging that the reports of the truth and reconciliation commissions of Sierra Leone and Liberia, as well as of CAVR, paid sustained attention to women and children.40 This is a trend that needs to be celebrated and reinforced.41 37. Functional mandate. The functional mandate specifying the concrete functions commissions are expected to fulfil has also witnessed notable expansion, with commissions being expected to satisfy increasingly complex functions. At the most basic level, commissions were expected to carry out a fact-finding function. Thus, CONADEP, in Argentina, was tasked with clarifying the facts regarding the disappearance of persons. Since disappearances were such a prevalent violation in the countries where the earlier commissions were set up, their other main function was to help determine the whereabouts of the disappeared – a victim-tracing function. 38. It is difficult, however, to confront the enormity of violations of this sort and not be propositive. Although it was not part of its mandated functions, CONADEP proposed in its 37 38 39 40 41 See Act to Establish the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia (TRC Act of Liberia), 12 May 2005, arts. II and IV, available at: http://trcofliberia.org/about/trc-mandate. The Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission Act 2008 of Kenya (TJRC Act of Kenya), part II, arts. 5(a), 5(c), 6 (a), available at: http://www.tjrckenya.org/images/documents/TJRC-Act.pdf. See Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission/Informe Final de la Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación (TRC of Peru), vol. 6, ch.1, sect. 5 and 8; vol. 8, ch. 2, sect. 1, available at: http://www.cverdad.org.pe/ifinal/index.php. See Report of Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Sierra Leone (TRC of Sierra Leone), Witness to Truth, ch. 2, pp. 100, 105, 169, available at: http://www.sierraleonetrc.org; Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia, Final Report, vol. II, consolidated final report, pp. 222, 252, 279, available at: http://trcofliberia.org/reports/final-report; Final Report of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor (CAVR), Chega!, part 7, ch. 7.7, 7.8, part 11, ch. 4.1; available at: http://etan.org/news/2006/cavr.htm. See the useful UN-Women publication by Nahla Valji, with Romi Sigsworth and Anne Marie Goetz, A Window of Opportunity: Making Transitional Justice Work for Women, 2nd Edition (UN-Women, 2012), pp. 9-16. 11