 During Chile's transition to democracy, Zalaquett was appointed by President Patricio Aylwin to serve on the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a truth commission set up in 1990 to investigate human rights violations committed by the military regime.In 1999 and 2000 he served on the dialogue panel "(mesa de diálogo)" on human rights between members of the armed forces and human rights lawyers.From 2002 to 2005 he served as a member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, including a stint as its president in 2004-05.