Research

Publications, Research, ,

Recently, a group of NGOs have been meeting to 'think-tank' the concept of Victim-Offender Mediation (VOM) as a practical link to assist the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to deal with the process of reconciliation. This consortium of NGOs was convened by Centre of Study of Violence and Reconciliation and the Letsema Conflict Transformation Resource of Wilgespruit Fellowship Centre. This paper gives a brief overview of the VOM concept, a proposed structure for Survivor-Offender Mediation in the South African TRC context, and some suggestions regarding the way forward.

Carl S. Stauffer and Brandon Hamber
20 Feb 1996
Publications, Research, ,

Between 19 and 21 September 1996, 133 delegates from 47 countries, including 40 African countries, met in Kampala, Uganda. The President of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Ministers of State, Prison Commissioners, Judges and international, regional and national non-governmental organisations concerned with prison conditions all worked together to find common solutions to the problems facing African prisons. The three days of intensive deliberations produced the Kampala Declaration on Prison Conditions in Africa which was adopted by consensus at the closure of the conference. This paper provides a critical discussion of the declaration.

Amanda Dissel
03 Feb 1996
Publications, Research, ,

This paper seeks to examine why a military structure is inappropriate in a prison environment and why demilitarisation of the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) is necessary. Some of the important areas affected by demilitarisation are highlighted. It will be argued in this paper that a militarised correctional services is inappropriate for an institution which is established for the safe keeping and rehabilitation of offenders. It further looks at the implications of a militarised and demilitarised structure and culture on the Department.

Amanda Dissel
02 Feb 1996
Publications, Research, ,

Legislation providing for the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has recently been passed by South Africa's Parliament. This represents the culmination of a set of debates centred on how best to confront a past characterised by massive violations of human rights in a country which has recently undergone a transformation to democracy. This article tracks these debates from the beginnings of South Africa's transition in 1990 to the finalisation of the TRC legislation in mid-1995. It describes the aims, powers and structures of the TRC and in so doing engages with some of the more controversial and difficult areas of its work.

Graeme Simpson and Paul van Zyl
01 Feb 1996
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