The country's once diverse and lively civil society had been tarnished greatly as a result of the ousting of its first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, by its military forces.
The Duvalier regime of the late 1960s and the early 1970s is partly to blame for the coup d'état that occurred resulting in Aristide's removal from power the first time.
Duvalier was elected president with the help of the United States and a Haitian populace that was enduring a previous coup d'état that occurred in 1950.
With much aid from the United States throughout this period, Haiti provided him with five palaces, the Tonton Macoute, (which was his own private police force), and many sources of income.
With the Tonton Macoute intimidating all threatening oppositions by forcing activists to leave the country or by ascertaining liberties or apportioning assets.
Only a year into Aristide's presidency, he found himself removed from power by an army led by commander-in-chief, Raoul Cédras, who had overseen many accounts of human rights violations without holding any of his section chiefs responsible.
[2] The three year coup d'état brought systematic oppression for the citizens of Haiti, which was maintained through intimidation from a violent military who were said to be responsible for numerous beatings, killings and disappearances which led to the destruction of civil society in the country.
[3] The commission was implemented in order to aid the country in reconciliation and to recover the truth about the human rights violations in the given time period.
The mandate of the CNVJ was to begin an investigation regarding human rights violations that occurred during the three year coup d'état that began on September 30, 1991, until Aristide's return to power in October 1994.
[4] During the commission's investigation, they quickly discovered that they had to stress the safety of victims coming to testify because many of them feared retaliation as a result of their testimony.
[4] With these institutions' influence, the inclination of the Haitian populace to testify increased, even though many were still threatened by the presence of known human rights violators walking around in immediate areas.
In addition to the complaints the commission received, they used secondary information from local and international organizations (this included the UN-OAS Civil Mission in Haiti).
The commission was not meant to be the reason for national reconciliation but to aid it, by revealing the truth regarding the past human rights violations that occurred in Haiti.
[4] The commission was implemented by executive order to provide guidance and influence rooted from the recommendations made to the Haitian government so the nation could move forward.
Many of the victims are still waiting for justice for the terrors they endured during the coup d'état of 1991–1994, but a few important trials were held, specifically ones involving the Raboteau massacre and the Carrefour-Feuilles killings.