also been proclaimed by regional bodies such as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and in some national courts. Truth-seeking Mechanisms Frequently used tactics during truth-seeking include the protection of evidence, collection of extensive victim data and testimony, the opening and maintenance of state information and public archives, and the publication of comprehensive reports. To implement such practices, truth commissions are often established to represent voices of victims. Such commissions are typically independent in nature and focus on accountability for past crimes, the root causes for the conflict and constructing historical narratives countering revisionism of the past. Policy recommendations issued by commissions often lead to a call for national reforms and further transitional justice initiatives, such as reparations, vetting and prosecutions. Official truth commissions (often called truth and reconciliation commissions) have taken place in many countries, including South Africa, Peru, Timor-Leste, Liberia, the Solomon Islands, and South Korea. Most recently truth commissions have begun to be implemented in developed countries such as Canada and Germany. Unofficial or Local Truth-seeking Unofficial or local truth-seeking projects became popular in the 1980s and 1990s in Latin America, when community organizations such as churches and academic institutions documented human rights violations and issued reports following the end to military rule. Though unofficial, such efforts from civil society often serve to pave the way for or complement state- led transitional justice initiatives, and sometimes produce superior results, as in Guatemala. Unofficial truth-seeking initiatives have also taken place more recently at the local level in Northern Ireland, the United States, South Korea, and elsewhere. Calls for truth-seeking processes continue to be debated in other countries, such as Cambodia and Colombia. See also Memorialization Transitional Justice Truth Commission Conflict resolution Transitional justice Transitional Justice Institute List of truth and reconciliation commissions References Truth Truth-seeking Reconciliation