Class Notes
Truth and Reconciliation Commision
- Fulfillment of agreements made during negotiation process
- 1948: NP comes into power
- 1960s to 1990s (crimes against humanity under apartheid regime)
- 1960 = sharpeville massacre = turning point
- 1976 = Soweto Uprising = turning point
- Covert: how PW dealt with onslaught in secret
- Overt: how PW delt with apartheid and threat agasint apartheid openly
- TRC deals with overt
- Aparthied government tried to keep control/ in power by overt and covert mechanisms
- People wanted to know what happened to family members (where did they go, tell the
truth about the third force and activities of government) and white south africans needed
to know what was going on, education to rest of country, exposed = TRC
- TRC’s mandate was to form commission where people could come and ask
questions, families who had lost family members could get closure (what happened to
family members) and in the process bring to light the truth of all the overt operations
- Needed to be healing between groups = what the TRc was about, how do we move
forward together? Bring truth to open
- TRC is not a court of law, no judge, there is no verdict being passed down
- You couldn't go to jail
- If people were going to be arrested, they wouldn't come forward and be honest
- They would be granted amnesty (more important to find the truth than punishment)
- Only way you could know truth is if others told it, but they wouldn't tell the truth if they
thought they would be punished
- TRC can't punish or send people to jail, BUT if you don't get amnesty there were
loopholes
- No vengeance or justice (biggest failure of TRC)
- A Lot of people felt that there was no justice
- Chairperson: Archbishop Desmond Tutu appointed by Nelson Mandela
- TRC starts in 1996
- Another criticism is that it didn't go on for long enough and there was a lot of funding
(government spending)
, What was the TRC:
● The truth and reconciliation commission was established in 1996 under the chairmanship
of archbishop desmond tutu.
● Dr alex boraine was the vice chairperson
● It was setup by parliament in terms of the promotion of national unity and reconciliation
act
● The commision was to deal with gross human rights violations that occurred between 1
March 1960 and 10 May 1994
● It held hearings around the country so that victims and perpetrators could give testimony
● The TRC was not a court of law
● TRC focused on restorative justice (rebuild and restore) thus justice is restorative and
retributive justice
Aims:
● To investigate the causes and extent of human rights violations under aparthied regime
● Recommend compensation for victims (money)
● Grant amnesty to those guilty of human rights offences under certain conditions
● In return for amnesty, individuals and political parties had to give full and public
testimony for their actions
● Believed that in order to reach national reconciliation, the truth had to be told
● Wanted to investigate human rights violations committed by liberation movements as
well as by the government and secret forces
Criteria for amnesty:
- Whole truth
- Needed to be politically motivated
- Violation had to be in proportion to political motivation
- Needed to be some form of remorse
- Once you get amnesty, you cannot be tried again
Goals:
Truth and Reconciliation Commision
- Fulfillment of agreements made during negotiation process
- 1948: NP comes into power
- 1960s to 1990s (crimes against humanity under apartheid regime)
- 1960 = sharpeville massacre = turning point
- 1976 = Soweto Uprising = turning point
- Covert: how PW dealt with onslaught in secret
- Overt: how PW delt with apartheid and threat agasint apartheid openly
- TRC deals with overt
- Aparthied government tried to keep control/ in power by overt and covert mechanisms
- People wanted to know what happened to family members (where did they go, tell the
truth about the third force and activities of government) and white south africans needed
to know what was going on, education to rest of country, exposed = TRC
- TRC’s mandate was to form commission where people could come and ask
questions, families who had lost family members could get closure (what happened to
family members) and in the process bring to light the truth of all the overt operations
- Needed to be healing between groups = what the TRc was about, how do we move
forward together? Bring truth to open
- TRC is not a court of law, no judge, there is no verdict being passed down
- You couldn't go to jail
- If people were going to be arrested, they wouldn't come forward and be honest
- They would be granted amnesty (more important to find the truth than punishment)
- Only way you could know truth is if others told it, but they wouldn't tell the truth if they
thought they would be punished
- TRC can't punish or send people to jail, BUT if you don't get amnesty there were
loopholes
- No vengeance or justice (biggest failure of TRC)
- A Lot of people felt that there was no justice
- Chairperson: Archbishop Desmond Tutu appointed by Nelson Mandela
- TRC starts in 1996
- Another criticism is that it didn't go on for long enough and there was a lot of funding
(government spending)
, What was the TRC:
● The truth and reconciliation commission was established in 1996 under the chairmanship
of archbishop desmond tutu.
● Dr alex boraine was the vice chairperson
● It was setup by parliament in terms of the promotion of national unity and reconciliation
act
● The commision was to deal with gross human rights violations that occurred between 1
March 1960 and 10 May 1994
● It held hearings around the country so that victims and perpetrators could give testimony
● The TRC was not a court of law
● TRC focused on restorative justice (rebuild and restore) thus justice is restorative and
retributive justice
Aims:
● To investigate the causes and extent of human rights violations under aparthied regime
● Recommend compensation for victims (money)
● Grant amnesty to those guilty of human rights offences under certain conditions
● In return for amnesty, individuals and political parties had to give full and public
testimony for their actions
● Believed that in order to reach national reconciliation, the truth had to be told
● Wanted to investigate human rights violations committed by liberation movements as
well as by the government and secret forces
Criteria for amnesty:
- Whole truth
- Needed to be politically motivated
- Violation had to be in proportion to political motivation
- Needed to be some form of remorse
- Once you get amnesty, you cannot be tried again
Goals:
