The Role of the South African Truth & Reconciliation Commission

- produced by Tara Helfman & Boris Sokurov

WEBSITES

1. http://www.doj.gov.za/trc/legal/act9534.htm

This link provides the full text of the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act, which established the TRC and conferred upon it the power to conduct investigations, preside over hearings, and grant amnesty to eligible applicants.

2. http://www.doj.gov.za/trc/amntrans/index.htm

This web site, maintained by the South African Department of Justice, provides links to the transcripts of amnesty hearings from 1996 to 2000 and the texts of amnesty decisions rendered between 1996 and 2001. It also contains useful statistics regarding the work of the amnesty committee.

3. http://www.nobel.se/peace/laureates/1984/tutu‑bio.html

This web page, housed on the Nobel e-Museum web site, contains a brief biography of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Links to his CV, publications, and other useful resources are also available on this page.

4. http://www.gov.za/reports/2003/trc/

Links to the full text of the TRC’s final report, which was issued on March 21, 2003, can be found at this site. Included are a foreword by Archbishop Tutu, and individual reports authored by each of the Commission’s constituent committees regarding their work. Also included is a section dedicated to the TRC’s recommendations for the future.

5. http://www.yesmagazine.com/7Peacebuilding/tutu.htm

This link contains the full text of a speech delivered by Archbishop Tutu on October 21, 1997 to the South African Press Club. In the speech, he comments on the early work of the TRC, and defends the TRC from critics who accused the institution of merely opening old wounds in South African society.

6. http://internationalstudies.uchicago.edu/torture/abstracts/sonis2.html

This site contains the full text of an article co-authored by TRC Commissioner Dr. Wendy Orr entitled “Testifying before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa: Reasoning by Analogy.” The authors examine the psychological effects of testifying before the TRC upon victims of atrocity, and explore therapeutic approaches to dealing with the recollection of trauma. Among the psychological analogies explored are the experiences of victims of child abuse and rape in recalling their experiences.

7. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ssw/news/feb04/boraine.html

This web page, housed on the Columbia University web site, contains a brief biography of Alex Boraine. Of particular interest is a link to video of a lecture he delivered at the University (available on Realplayer.)

8. http://www.csls.org.za/sahryb8/sahryb8.html

This link leads to the online version of the South Africa Human Rights Yearbook. Of particular interest is Vasu Reddy’s article, “Truth and Reconciliation Commission.” The article examines the TRC in relation to similar institutions in other countries, provides an account of the TRC’s special hearings, and evaluates the recommendations made in the Committee’s Final Report.

9. Singer, Rena. Destiny’s Children: 10 Years after the end of Apartheid. U.S. News and World Report (April 14, 2004) available at http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/040419/misc/19apartheid.htm.

This article examines the manner in which the lives of ten young South Africans have changed ten years after the end of apartheid.

10. http://women-to-women.de/women/graca_machel/graca_meesage.htm

This web site offers a brief biography of Graca Machela.

11. http://www.warchild.org/projects/kwamashu.html

This link leads to the web site of War Child, a network of non-profit organizations which seek to improve the lives of children caught in war zones. The Kwa Mashu project sponsors music, dance and theater programs for youth aged 12-25 in Durban, home to a civil war between the Inkatha Freedom Party and the African National Congress during the apartheid years.

12. Mausse, Miguel A. and Nina, Daniel. Child Soldiers in Southern Africa. Institute for Security Studies Monograph No. 37 (April 1999) available at http://www.iss.co.za/Pubs/Monographs/No37/ChilderenInvolved.html

The site contains links to the text of a paper on the use of child soldiers in Southern Africa. Of particular interest is Part II, “Children Involved in South Africa’s Wars: After Soweto 1976," which provides an account of the use of child soldiers in political violence, recruitment methods employed by rival parties, and the long-term social and psychological effects of the practice of warfare waged by and upon children.

13. http://www.studiogeorgette.com/images

This is the web site of Madelaine Georgette, a South African artist whose work focuses on the experience of South Africa’s painful transition from apartheid state to democratic society. Her work includes special series on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, apartheid in South Africa, its effect on women and children, and its attendant institutional arrangements. Many of the works are accompanied by explanatory commentaries by the artist.

14. http://www.anc.org.za/misc/childcht.html

This site contains the text of the Children’s Charter of South Africa, a declaration of children’s rights drafted at the 1992 International Children’s Summit in Capetown.

15. http://search.csmonitor.com/durable/2000/08/24/f-p1s3.shtml

16. http://www.africast.com/article.php?newsID=41282&strCountry=South+Africa

This link leads to an article of August 30, 2000, regarding a suit filed by former TRC Chief Investigator Dumisa Ntzebeza on behalf of victims of apartheid against US, UK, French, German, and Swiss companies that did business with the apartheid government between 1985 and 1993.

17. http://mail.anc.org.za/ancdocs/pr/1997/pr1105c.html

This link leads to the text of an ANC press release of Noveber 5, 1997, regarding the exhumation of former MK members (including Steve Tsotetsi and Kenneth Mabuza) from secret graves.

18. http://www.bday.co.za/bday/content/direct/1%2C3523%2C1559543‑6078‑0%2C00.html

19. http://www.geocities.com/project_coast/nethrep.htm

This web site contains the full text of a report drafted by the Netherlands Institute for Southern Africa regarding, among other things, South Africa’s chemical and biological weapons program.

20. Newham, Gareth. Investigative Units: The Teeth of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Research Paper written for the Centre for the study of Violence and Reconciliation (September 1995) available at http://www.csvr.org.za/papers/papnwhm2.htm.

This essay examines the structure and objectives of the investigative unit of the TRC. It also offers recommendations with respect to staffing, training and areas of investigation.

21. http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

This web site contains the full text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted on December 10, 1948 by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

22. Hamber, Brandon and Mofokeng, Tlhoki. From Rhetoric to Responsibility: Making reparation to the survivors of past political violence in South Africa. Booklet written for the Centre for the study of Violence and Reconciliation (October 2000) available at http://www.csvr.org.za/papers/papr2r00.htm.

This online booklet contains a series of essays regarding the interaction between the TRC and South African society at large, including questions of financial reparations, attribution of responsibility, and international law.

23. http://www.doj.gov.za/trc/reparations/index.htm

24. http://www.boston.com/news/world/africa/articles/2003/11/30/apartheid_victims_press_for_reparations/

25. Hamber, Brandon and Wilson, Richard. “Symbolic Closure through Memory, Reparation and Revenge in Post-conflict Societies.” Paper presented at the Traumatic Stress in South Africa Conference (January 27-29, 1999). Available at http://www.csvr.org.za/papers/papbh&rw.htm.

The paper at this link contains a thorough discussion of the challenges facing South Africa in its attempt to bring closure to experiences of individual and national trauma. Comparisons are drawn between South Africa and other different post-conflict societies, such as Chile and Northern Ireland.

26. http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/Sachs/sachs‑con0.html

This link contains the transcript of an interview with Justice Albie Sachs of the South African Constitutional Court. In the interview, Justice Sachs discusses, among other things, his childhood, his political activism, and his survival of a bombing attack perpetrated by the South African Security Forces.

27. http://www.robben‑island.org.za/default.asp

This is the home page of the Robben Island Museum. It contains numerous links to resources discussing the four-hundred-year history of the island, its wildlife, and its symbolic function in contemporary South African society.

28. Kgalema, Lazarus. “Symbols of Hope: Monuments as symbols of remembrance and peace in the process of reconciliation.” Paper written for the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (October 1999). Available at http://www.csvr.org.za/papers/papkgal1.htm.

This paper contains a number of case studies of national and community-based monuments. It explores the creative, therapeutic and political processes involved in the construction of each.

29. http://www.nps.gov/vive/index.htm

This link leads to the National Park Service web site on the Vietnam War Memorial.

30. http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/lin/

This web site, maintained by the Public Broadcasting System, contains a brief biography of architect Maya Lin and links to pages dedicated to her compositions.

31. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P.W._Botha

This web site contains an encyclopedia article on the life of P.W. Botha.

32. http://www.safrica.info/ess_info/sa_glance/history/districtsix.htm

This link contains a concise explanation of District Six and offers links to related sites, including that of the District Six Museum.

33. http://www.country‑studies.com/south‑africa/relations‑with‑african‑states.html

This web site offers brief accounts of the history of South Africa’s foreign relations with other African states, including Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

34. http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/SAfrica/

This site contains a brief report by the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a non-government organization committed to the prevention of the proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, about South Africa’s weapons programs from the 1960s to the 1980s.

35. http://www.gov.za/reports/2003/trc/1_1.pdf

This link leads to the text of the section of the TRC Final Report (issued 2003) concerning the legal basis of the amnesty process. The criteria and conditions for grants of amnesty are fully detailed.

36. http://www.oneworld.org/ips2/apr98/04_40_003.html

37. http://ingeb.org/songs/diestem.html

This link contains the lyrics of the old South African national anthem, both in Afrikaans and in English translation.

38. http://www.gov.za/reports/2003/trc/5_2.pdf

This link leads to the text of the section of the TRC Final Report (issued 2003) concerning state responsibility for human rights abuses including abductions and extrajudicial killings. It also discusses the applicability of such legal doctrines as command responsibility.

39. http://www.gov.za/reports/2003/trc/rep.pdf

This site contains the full text of volume six of the TRC Final Report. It contains the reports of the Human Rights Violations Committee, the Amnesty Committee, and the Reparations and Rehabilitation Committee.

40. Maykuth, Andrew. “Tutu has harsh words for South Africa’s Whites.” The Philadelphia Enquirer (February 14, 1998). Available at http://www.maykuth.com/Africa/tutu214.htm.

This link supplies the text of an article which details Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s harsh response to criticism of the TRC and its role in intensifying tensions in South Africa.

41. http://www.anc.org.za/anc/newsbrief/1998/news0120

This site contains the text of an ANC news brief of January 19, 1998 on the party’s response to the contempt trial of P.W. Botha.

42. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3593029.stm

43. Maykuth, Andrew. “Botha gives no apologies for actions on apartheid.” The Philadelphia Enquirer (February 14, 1998). Available at http://www.maykuth.com/Africa/pw124.htm

This link supplies the text of an article which offers an account of P.W. Botha’s first day in court on charges of contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena for testimony before the TRC.

44. McGregor, Lorna. “Individual Accountability in South Africa: Cultural Optimum or Political Facade?” 95 Am. J. Int’l L. 32. Available at http://www.asil.org/ajil/recon3.pdf.

This web site contains the full text of an article which evaluates the efficacy of the policy of amnesty adopted by South Africa. It offers guidance on the creation and implementation of accountability models for post-conflict societies.

45. Theissen, Gunnar. “Between Acknowledgment and Ignorance: How white South Africans have dealt with the apartheid past.” Research report based on a Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation- public opinion survey conducted in March 1996. Available at http://www.csvr.org.za/papers/papgt3.htm

This link contains a chapter of a research report which examines the perceptions of white South Africans of apartheid and the workings of the TRC. Extensive statistical information is presented in support of the conclusion that the majority of whites supported apartheid, and that public opinion gradually turned against it with the incremental implementation of reforms.

46. Lombard, Karin (2003 ). Revisiting Reconciliation: The People’s View. Research Report of the Reconciliation Barometer Exploratory Survey, Institute for Justice and Reconciliation. Rondebosch: Institute for Justice and Reconciliation. 15 March 2003. Availableat http://www.ijr.org.za/survey01.html.

The report, prepared by Karin Lombard, a co-ordinator of the Reconciliation Barometer at the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, examines the results of a survey undertaken recently to ascertain the meanings and associations South Africans attribute to the concept of reconciliation. After an introduction and a presentation of the survey design, the report covers popular understandings of reconciliation, issues of responsibility for reconciliation, assessment of progress toward reconciliation, and questions about moving on with life individually and socially.

47. http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=269907

48. http://www.und.ac.za/und/indic/archives/indicator/autumn98/Dutoit.htm

49. http://www.blacksash.org.za/Index.htm

This is the home page of the Black Sash, non-partisan, non-profit organization in South Africa that aims to promote respect for human rights and governmental transparency.

50. http://www.incore.ulst.ac.uk/home/publication/research/dwtp/hamber2.pdf