PublicationsResearchInequalities, Transitional Justice, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Truth CommissionsDr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: Violence and transition in South AfricaThis paper examines aspects of structural violence in South Africa and suggests that true reconciliation can be achieved only if these aspects are redressed. The structural violence of the past has vital implications for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's enterprise to acknowledge and rewrite an often denied history of human rights abuses. It raises vital questions as to the nature of economic development and its relation to new and ongoing forms of social conflict. Read More Brandon HamberFebruary 3, 1998
PublicationsResearchTransitional Justice, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Truth CommissionsSubmission to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Survivors' Perceptions of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Suggestions for the Final ReportThis report is a culmination of eleven workshops conducted by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation with a sample of victims/survivors who belong to Khulumani Victim Support Group. The aim of the workshops was to elicit the views of victims/survivors on the recommendations to be made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in its final report. Read More Brandon Hamber, Traggy Maepa, Tlhoki Mofokeng and Hugo van der MerweFebruary 2, 1998
PublicationsResearchTransitional Justice, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Truth CommissionsThe Use of Evsys for Preparing a Human Rights Database for Presentation to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South AfricaA range of organisations had previously worked on human rights abuses under apartheid, particularly through the 1980s, when detention without trial, assassinations, torture and disappearances were daily occurrences for the oppressed in South Africa. These organisations held a wealth of information in their files, which had been gained from the statements and affidavits of victims and their families, from court records, newspapers and reports. The advent of the TRC provided an opportunity for the organisations to provide their material to the TRC so that it could gain an accurate picture of human rights abuses. This paper describes the project which was set up for this purpose. The use of EVSYS for the project is outlined in detail and evaluative comments on the project as a whole are provided. Read More Lydia Levin, Polly Dewhirst and Brandon HamberNovember 11, 1997
PublicationsResearchTransitional Justice, Truth CommissionsBetween Acknowledgement and Ignorance: How White South Africans Have Dealt with the Apartheid PastThis report examines the way ordinary people - Germans after 1945 and South Africans after 1994- deal with an authoritarian past. The report considers how the past is perceived; to what extent people accept the new political order and its democratic values; and how they react to institutions such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which try to deal with and uncover the legacies of the past. Previously published survey data from Germany and South Africa is reviewed and new empirical findings are presented from a nation-wide telephone survey of 124 white South Africans. Read More Gunnar TheissenMarch 1, 1996
PublicationsResearchTransitional Justice, Truth CommissionsSouth Africa's Truth and Reconciliation CommissionLegislation 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. Read More Graeme Simpson and Paul van ZylFebruary 1, 1996
PublicationsResearchTransitional Justice, Truth CommissionsKeeping the Wolves at Bay: Issues and Concerns in Establishing a Witness Protection Programme in South AfricaThis report answers the question as to why a witness protection programme is necessary in South Africa. It offers a brief evaluation of witness protection in South Africa up to and including the Goldstone Commission's witness protection programme. Thereafter, it examines some of the broader issues that need to be taken into account with the conceptualisation and establishment of such an initiative. The ultimate object of this paper is to provide concrete recommendations, suggestions and potential solutions to the various problems raised. Read More Gareth NewhamOctober 2, 1995
