Peace Commissions

Peace Commissions are formal or informal organizations that operate at local, regional and national levels within a country to reduce, counter or prevent conflict. Typically a Peace Commission will involve local communities and individuals in the peace building process. A Truth and reconciliation commission is a form of Peace Commission that discovers and reveals past wrongdoings in the hope of resolving conflict left over from the past. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission is an example. A commission such as the Southern Sudan Peace Commission is less concerned with the past, and more with finding ways to prevent ongoing ethnic violence from escalating, but instead to move towards a more peaceful society.

Another sense for the term is a commission that represents a country negotiating the terms of a peace during or immediately after a war.