A/HRC/12/18 page 6 lessons learned, additional needs and the future of transitional justice. The participants discussed the relationship between justice and peace, and economic and social justice for countries in transition, as well as areas for further study. C. Activities of United Nations human rights field presences 1. Truth-seeking 8. Truth-seeking processes assist post-conflict States investigate past human rights violations. The right of individuals to know the truth about these violations is supported by several treaty bodies, regional courts and international tribunals (see E/CN.4/2004/88 and E/CN.4/2006/91). Truth-seeking processes are undertaken by truth commissions, commissions of inquiry, or other fact-finding mechanisms (see E/CN.4/2005/102/Add.1, principles 6-13). Truth commissions are non-judicial investigative bodies which map patterns of past violence and unearth the causes and consequences of these destructive events. Commissions of inquiry and other fact-finding mechanisms similarly seek to unravel the truth behind allegations of past human rights abuses, but operate under more narrowly defined mandates. Each truth commission is a unique institution, designed within a specific societal context, and should be founded on national consultations with the inclusion of victims and civil society organizations. OHCHR assists in the design and establishment of truth commissions, including by sharing applicable standards and best practices. OHCHR also supports the work of commissions of inquiry and undertakes fact-finding missions. (a) Africa 9. From July 2008 to June 2009, OHCHR, in collaboration with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), conducted a mapping exercise to document serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between March 1993 and June 2003. The mapping exercise will outline the pattern of past human rights abuses, assess national judicial capacities to combat impunity, and present recommendations for the implementation of transitional justice mechanisms. 10. The power-sharing agreement of March 2008 in Kenya provides for the establishment of the Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence and the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC). The former issued its report in October 2008, documenting cases of post-election violence and recommending the establishment of a special tribunal and comprehensive police reform. In February 2009, the Kenyan Parliament failed to approve a constitutional amendment bill to establish the special tribunal. TJRC was established by law in November 2008. OHCHR commented on various drafts of the TJRC Bill, drawing attention to the need, inter alia, to amend clauses granting amnesty and jeopardizing the independence of the Commission. The OHCHR presence in Kenya supports civil society efforts to operationalize provisions of the TJRC Act in accordance with international standards. In February 2009, the OHCHR presence in Kenya, in partnership with the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya and the Urgent Action Fund-Africa, organized a workshop to review the process to establish TJRC and the engagement of women’s non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The OHCHR presence in Kenya is also in the process of establishing a reference group composed of representatives from various sectors of Kenyan society to discuss TJRC.