Never Again and the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2008)
Undergraduate: Diana Gergel
Faculty Advisor: Gerald Postema
Department: History
Given the twentieth century's legacy of genocide and gross human rights violations and the Nuremberg Trials' legacy of 'Never Again,' did the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (hereafter referred to as the TRC) appropriately address crimes against humanity? I conclude that given the South African government's failure to implement fully the TRC's recommendations for reparations, the provision of amnesty in the context of South Africa was not appropriate. Though necessary for South Africa's political transition from National Party (NP) totalitarianism to Africa National Congress (ANC) democratic governance, victims were denied fundamental forms of redress; they could not initiate civil claims against perpetrators who had been granted amnesty, did not receive the recommended amounts of reparations payments from the South African government and the vast majority of individuals denied amnesty by the TRC have not been prosecuted.Though the TRC professed to be victim-centered, I perceive a telling disparity in treatment between perpetrators and victims in a material sense, though in part due to the TRC's limited powers. Notwithstanding, the close relationship between the South African government and the TRC was designed to overcome any such problems. Progress in reconciliation since the release of the TRC Final Report in 2001 is also highly controversial; Khulumani Support Group (a support group for apartheid survivors and their families) data contests the positive survey results found by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, a South African NGO. However, despite the South African TRC's flaws, truth commissions hold immense potential for countries transitioning from human rights-oppressive totalitarian regimes to democracy. Quasi-judicial bodies may satisfy victims' needs for healing and acknowledgment far better than delegitimized legal systems that might be further discredited through the attempt to pursue prosecutorial justice.