Giving Compass' Take:

• Hannah Dunphy shares how the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission of Mali (CVJR) is working to overcome the county's history of violence and ongoing conflict. 

• How can philanthropy support these efforts? How can other countries follow Mali's lead? 

• Find out how one program in Mali is significantly reducing child mortality. 

The May 2014 events in Kidal made headlines around the world, yet it was only one incident in a long history of conflict in Mali that has commanded international attention, including a major coup in 2012, and before that, decades of uprisings, tensions and violence involving several communities, and gross human rights violations.

Amid ever-increasing militarization, Malian human rights organizations remain concerned with the lack of security for civilians. Daily life continues to be disrupted by closure of schools and limited access to fields and jobs. A major U.N. peacekeeping force has been put in place, but near-constant instability has made its mission in Mali the most deadly of all U.N. peacekeeping missions in the world. Citing the deteriorating humanitarian and human rights situation, the U.N. recently described the situation in Mali as “a race against time.”

It is in this tense atmosphere that a group of Malians have set out to achieve the unthinkable: bring splintered communities of Mali together for a national effort of truth and reconciliation. The Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission of Mali is tasked with establishing the truth about Mali’s ongoing relapses into conflict since it gained its independence in 1960. An outcome of a peace agreement, the body is led by commissioners who represent each of the numerous different political, ethnic and religious groups in the country.

The mandate of the CVJR is to investigate and establish the truth about human rights violations or infringement on memory and cultural heritage spanning back to 1960. It is also expected to: propose remedies for crimes committed; create conditions to facilitate the return and reintegration of refugees and displaced persons; promote dialogue and peaceful coexistence between communities and with the government; promote rule of law; and propose approaches to conflict prevention.

Read the full article about the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission of Mali by Hannah Dunphy at News Deeply.