Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Desmond Tutu, a prominent South African Anglican bishop and social rights activist, introduced the Fourfold Path to Forgiveness as a framework for achieving reconciliation and healing in post-conflict societies. This path consists of four key stages: acknowledging wrongdoing, telling the story, granting forgiveness, and renewing or releasing the relationship. Rooted in his experiences during South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democracy, Tutu’s approach played a pivotal role in fostering national unity. Ghana, like many other African nations, has experienced political conflicts and unrest over the years. Although significant progress has been made in promoting peace and stability, underlying tensions persist. This essay explores the historical context of political conflicts in Ghana and examines how the Fourfold Path to Forgiveness could be applied to promote reconciliation in the country’s political landscape. Furthermore, it discusses the challenges and potential obstacles to implementing this framework in Ghana. By adopting Tutu’s approach, Ghana could strengthen its democratic institutions, enhance political stability, and foster a culture of forgiveness and national cohesion.

wrote a dissertation on ideas about language in Euripides' tragedies at Leiden University and now teaches classics at the Radboud University in Nijmegen and the Murmelliusgymnasium in Alkmaar. They thank the anonymous referees of this paper for their valuable comments. This paper partly elaborates on L. van den Berge, 'Rechtspraak en waarheid in Aischylos' Oresteia en

ABSTRACT. The author seeks to explore to what extent it is possible for victims and survivors to “get on with life ” in the shift from a systematically abusive society to what Rajeev Bhargava has so aptly called “a minimally decent society”. The author does so, mindful that “moving on ” does not take place for victims or survivors in a space free from the presence of perpetrators who harbour their own bad memories. Sometimes victims are also perpetrators and frequently perpetrators are themselves victims of one kind or another. Bad memories, of one kind or another, reside close to consciousness and are indeed at the centre of self-consciousness of many

Feminism is a social and political movement that promotes gender equality, and it has grown significantly over the course of the 20th century. Women's rights made considerable achievements during this time period, including suffrage triumphs and job advancements. Change was sparked by waves of feminism, each with its own objectives. The first wave concentrated on voting rights and fundamental freedoms; the second wave dealt with social and cultural injustices; and the third wave addressed institutional obstacles. Intersectionality became more popular as a result of recognizing the distinctive difficulties of oppressed groups. The advancement of the century established the groundwork for current conversations about gender equity, stressing the significance of historical context and group activities in influencing the development of the feminist movement.

African traditional society has used several approaches to conflict resolution that have combined the customary tribunal, elders' councils, amicable family arrangements, tribal courts and intercommunity tribunals. These strategies have been marked with humanity and solidarity. In recent years, the impetus of community-based justice has increased because of large scale violence in many parts of Africa. These include domestic civil wars and transnational or regional wars, involving several countries fighting inside another country. This has been the result of a widespread erosion of African traditional values, such as Ubuntu, Ujamaa and Palaver, culminating in the recrudescence of inter-ethnic violence and civil wars. In the aftermath of such violence, also perceived as violations of international law and ancestral norms, efforts have emerged to address this crisis by adopting a comprehensive response. This is noticeable in what have developed as traditional customary models of justice and conflict settlement alternatives. A whole inclusive jurisprudence has thereafter evolved to address human rights violations or accountability, and the massive inhumanities that have affected several African countries. The need for justice is obvious, as several countries are moving from past brutal political rules, while others are emerging from civil wars and genocide. Still others are struggling to transit from aborted democratic processes to pseudo-dictatorship. In this complex situation, various approaches are being tested. This chapter examines the ambiguous role of postcolonial African society with regard to the child soldiering phenomenon, the concept of African sociability, accountability and justice; the philosophical assumptions underlying transitional justice models in Africa, the challenges of community-based transitional justice approaches, and the prospects for future accountability. It also examines the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) model of accountability, and other transitional mechanisms that have been experimented in the aftermath of civil war and other human atrocities in some African societies. In most cases, transitional justice

A group of Cape Town Holocaust Centre volunteer educators were shown a video of an apology from a representative of bystanders who had lived in Germany in World War II apologising for not stopping a specific act of violence. The research aimed to investigate how individuals (educators or facilitators in this case) may be likely to be more available for increased reflection and understanding. These are conversations that are overdue in South Africa. We caution against apologies being taught as alternatives to reparations and bringing perpetrators to justice or this being taught as if apologies that are perceived as papering over cracks are what is required. Researchers recommend that these kinds of material be used in academic curricula across a range of subjects in the Humanities.

This essay examines the value of educating for peace. It does this through a consideration of the African cultural world-view known as ubuntu, which highlights the essential unity of humanity and emphasises the importance of constantly referring to the principles of empathy, sharing and cooperation in efforts to resolve our common problems. The essay is not based on field research, but rather on a discussion of the issues pertaining to ubuntu and peace education. The discussion focuses on how Desmond Tutu utilised the principles of ubuntu during his leadership of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It also outlines the five stages of the peacemaking process found among ubuntu societies: acknowledging guilt; showing remorse and repenting; asking for and giving forgiveness; and paying compensation or reparations as a prelude to reconciliation. Potential lessons for educating for peace and reconciliation are highlighted based on the premise that the ubuntu approach to human relationship-building can offer an example to the world. Re´sume´-UNE PERSPECTIVE AFRICAIN SUR L'EDUCATION À LA PAIX: LEÇ ONS UBUNTU EN RÉ CONCILIATION-Cet essai examine la valeur de l'e´ducation a`la paix. Il fait ceci a`travers une conside´ration de la vision culturelle africaine du monde connue sous le nom d'ubuntu, qui accentue l'unite´essentielle de l'humanite´et souligne l'importance de se re´fe´rer constamment aux principes de l'empathie, du partage et de la coope´ration dans les efforts pour re´soudre nos proble`mes communs. L'essai n'est pas base´sur des recherches sur le terrain, mais plutoˆt sur une explication des proble`mes concernant l'ubuntu et l'e´ducation a`la paix. L'explication se concentre sur la fac¸on dont Desmond Tutu a utilise´les principes de l'ubuntu pendant sa direction de la Commission Ve´rite´et Re´conciliation sud-africaine. Elle indique e´galement les cinq e´tapes du processus de re´tablissement de la paix trouve´es parmi les socie´te´s ubuntu: reconnaıˆtre sa culpabilite´; montrer du remord et se repentir; demander et accorder le pardon; et payer une compensation ou des re´parations comme pre´lude a`la re´conciliation. Des lec¸ons potentielles pour une e´ducation a`la paix et a`la re´conciliation sont mises en avant, avec pour base la pre´misse que l'approche ubuntu de l'e´laboration des relations humaines peut offrir un exemple au monde. Zusammenfassung-FRIEDENSERZIEHUNG AUS AFRIKANISCHER SICHT: UBUNTU: VERSÖ HNUNG LERNEN-Dieser Aufsatz untersucht die Frage: Was bringt Friedenserziehung? Dazu befasst sich die Untersuchung mit der kulturellen Weltsicht Afrikas, die unter dem Namen Ubuntu bekannt ist. Ubuntu hebt die grundlegende Einheit aller Menschen hervor und betont, wie wichtig es ist, sich stets auf die Prinzipien der Empathie, des Teilens und der Zusammenarbeit zu besinnen, wenn wir unsere Probleme lo¨sen wollen. Der Aufsatz basiert nicht auf Feldforschung, sondern ero¨rtert Punkte, die mit Ubuntu und Friedenserziehung zusammenha¨ngen. Insbesondere geht es darum, wie Desmond Tutu als Vorsitzender der su¨dafrikanischen Wahrheits-und

This study examines the cultural world-view known as Ubuntu which highlights the essential unity of humanity and emphasizes the importance of constantly referring to the principles of empathy, sharing and cooperation in our efforts to resolve our common problems. The discussion will focus on how Archbishop Desmond Tutu utilized the principles of Ubuntu during his leadership of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This study will also outline the five stages of the peacemaking process found among Ubuntu societies, including: acknowledgement of guilt, showing remorse and repenting, asking for and giving forgiveness, and paying compensation or reparation as a prelude to reconciliation. Potential lessons for peace and reconciliation efforts are highlighted with the premise that the Ubuntu approach to the building of human relationships can offer an example to the world.

The article examines the manner in which the imperatives of national unity and reconciliation in South Africa have been pursued at the expense of economic, social and psychological reparation to the majority of South Africans. Notably, the elision of land reform and socioeconomic issues in the negotiation of a transition from apartheid to a non-racial democracy has resulted in the maintenance of an economic system promoting a ''de-racialised insider and a persistently black outsider'' (Bundy, 2000). The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), with its restrictive focus only on gross human rights violations from 1960 onwards, contributed towards this process by facilitating a sophisticated amnesia of the greater historical and structural violence of apartheid. Moreover, its use of a hybrid process of testimony based on eliciting personal and juridical ''truth'' to construct its official history, rendered the project of forging a collective memory and identity impossible. Rather, the racialized divides salient during apartheid were taken up, maintained and rewritten in other discourses which performed essentially the same function, that being to maintain a passivity towards addressing exploitative social and economic conditions. Finally, by choosing to focus on trauma narrative and testimony, the TRC utilized the disturbing surplus of unsymbolized trauma experience as the raw material from which to sculpt the official discourses it required to create the New South Africa. A Lacanian-based discourse analysis of survivors' testimonies

Higher penalties may apply, and higher damages may be awarded, for offences and infringements involving the conversion of material into digital or electronic form. Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Wollongong. represent the views of the University of Wollongong.

Higher penalties may apply, and higher damages may be awarded, for offences and infringements involving the conversion of material into digital or electronic form. Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Wollongong. represent the views of the University of Wollongong.

In this episode, we put a spotlight on the Democratic Republic of Congo where a truth and reconciliation commission (TRC) was established in 2003, in an attempt to bring an end to hostilities and pave the way to democratization. However, the TRC was short-lived, leaving victims of mass atrocities with fewer avenues for the right to truth. Recently, the government of President Felix Tshisekedi has shown willingness to support the installment of a new TRC and to set up a reparations fund for victims of mass atrocities. Marit de Haan and Christian Cirhigiri speak with Gentil Kasongo, researcher at Impunity Watch in the Great Lakes Region of Africa, who shares what this new momentum for truth-seeking means for the overall field of TJ in the DRC and for the participation of victims of mass atrocities. Gentil Kasongo is a researcher at Impunity Watch and TJ practitioner from the DRC. He holds a Master’s in Human Rights Law from the University of Cape Town and a law degree from the Univers...

With this issue, we are pleased to present a special section of "Chicana Conversations" that features interviews with Vicki L. Ruiz and Virginia Espino (conducted by Anupama Arora, Laura K. Muñoz, and Sandrine Sanos) with an introduction by Lori Flores. This multivoiced intergenerational dialogue ranges widely, addressing the past, present, and future of Chicana studies, promises and challenges of public scholarship, and intersectional feminist politics of academia and beyond. Ruiz, a trailblazing and awardwinning historian, is the author of many books, beginning with the first historical monograph to focus on a community of Mexican women in the United States, Cannery Women, Cannery Lives (1987), a study of Chicana women workers in Southern California's canning and packing industries during the 1930s and 1940s. Ruiz's work opened the doors for many who came after her, including her student and PhD advisee Espino. The main focus of the conversation with Espino is her recent documentary No Más Bebés (2015), which revisits the 1978 Madrigal v. Quilligan case about the coercive sterilization of ethnic Mexican women in Los Angeles in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a project that arose from Espino's dissertation work with Ruiz at Arizona State University. Our regular article section brings together three feminist inquiries from across the globe, investigating issues of media representation, religion and identity, and the potential of bringing diverse voices together in conversation. Rukmini Pande and Samira Nadkarni's "I Will Tell Your Story: New Media Activism and the Indian 'Rape Crisis'" builds out of the 2012 gang rape of Jyoti Singh Pandey in New Delhi, which brought global attention to India's so-called "rape crisis," eliciting a broad range of political and cultural responses. Pande and Nadkarni offer a critical reading of two multimedia activist projects that address this issue, We Are Angry (2015) and Priya's Shakti (2014), arguing that their positioning vis-à-vis India's neoliberal economic transformation, nationalist ideology, and ongoing feminist debates leads them to "recreate structures of Hinduist Bhraminical patriarchy while purporting to advance the cause of gender equality in India." However, while demonstrating that the texts ultimately fail as intersectional feminist interventions, the authors also assert the potentiality of cyberspace for postcolonial activism grounded in historical context and local knowledge to disrupt mainstream media narratives and entrenched political structures. In "Female Perceptions of Islam in Today's Morocco," Fatima Sadiqi draws upon her field-research repository of 25 face-to-face interviews and 100 questionnaires to investigate religious, cultural, and political perceptions of Islam by Arabic-and Amazigh-speaking Moroccan women from Fez, Casablanca, Marrakesh, and their surrounding rural areas. Noting that perceptions of Islam in Morocco are predominately maleoriented and that existing academic research has largely replicated this powerful bias, Sadiqi's investigation seeks to fill the research gap and open avenues for further studies. As the author concludes, not only are Moroccan women's perceptions of Islam "plural, versatile, and complex"-mirroring their "varied lives and experiences and their importance in shaping [their] perceptions"-but there also exists a nuanced fluidity between Islamic culture, the self, and agency that is revealed and illuminated by detailed subjective testimonies. Last but not least, Kristin Czarnecki's article, "'Strong Women Make Strong Nations': Women, Literature, and Sovereignty in Paula Gunn Allen and Virginia Woolf," places Woolf's foundational essays, A Room of One's Own and Three Guineas, in conversation with Allen's landmark text The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions. Through a close reading of both their differences and their similarities-such as Woolf's and Allen's shared objective to recuperate women's history and literature and highlight female-centric social structures-Czarnecki seeks to draw out the potential for feminist analyses v

x, 208 p.In this dissertation "literariness" is defined not merely as a quality of form by which texts are evaluated as literary, but as an immanent and critical sensibility by which reading, writing, speaking, learning, and teaching subjects within the literary humanities engage language in its immediate aesthetic (and thus also historical and ethical) aspect. This reorientation seeks to address the literary academy's overwhelming archival focus, which risks eliding literary endeavor as an embodied undertaking that inevitably reflects the historical contingency of its enactment. Literary endeavor in higher education is thus understood as a performance by which subjects enact not only the effect of literary texts upon themselves but also the contingencies of their socio-economic, national, cultural, and personal contexts. Subjects' responses to literature are seen as implicit identity claims that, inevitably constituted of biases, can be evaluated through the lens ...

While political conflicts in many countries have resulted in large-scale destruction and loss of life, South Africa has been successful in avoiding a violent conflict following the demise of apartheid. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has been seen as an important mechanism contributing to South Africa's successful management of its political challenges. Yet, the legacy of apartheid continues beyond the work of the TRC, and several social problems such as poverty, unemployment, crime, and substance abuse continue to affect many South African communities. Psychology is uniquely poised to assist in addressing these social problems and in contributing to the development of a community of peace. Academic psychology departments have responded by implementing an undergraduate programme aimed at training professional counsellors to respond to community needs in post-apartheid South Africa. This paper surveys the present political landscape in South Africa, examines the work of the TRC as a psychological change catalyst and peace building mechanism, and calls attention to the role of psychology in contributing to national development.

This case study investigates the role that racism plays as a risk factor for the recurrence of atrocity crimes in South Africa. In South Africa, widespread despair and discontent brought about by the state’s failure to meet citizens’ basic needs together with staggering rates of unemployment (youth unemployment is officially at sixty-six percent) conspire to make South Africa a ticking timebomb for massive social unrest. This anger at the state combined with persisting racial inequality, institutionalized racism,
soaring crime rates, and xenophobia has led to rising populism. In the current climate, the state’s inability to deal with the afterlives of colonialism and the unfinished business of the transitional justice process could be pushing South Africa toward a recurrence of atrocity crimes. One of the main aims of this case study is to show that in the matter of South Africa, there is a risk for the recurrence of atrocity crimes. However, racism is merely a symptom. The cause of the risk of atrocity crimes recurring is the history of colonialism and its enduring impact on the lives of South Africans today.

Mining towns, like cities, are experiencing similar outcomes of rapid-urbanisation where the opportunities that are presented by mass urbanisation and migration (economic growth, jobs and increased social engagement) are increasingly overshadowed by the consequences of over-urbanisation (housing shortages, slums and failing infrastructure). These consequences, coupled with the growing gap between the rich and the poor result in undesirable outcomes and lead to conflict, protest and violence. As such, the majority of the South African population, while striving for a better life, live in poorly serviced settlements on the outskirts of the city where crime, oppression and exploitation, contribute to a growing fragmentation of the society as a whole. These underdeveloped settlements and their working population contribute largely to supporting the wealth of the city and generating profits for a small minority. This is evident in the county's mining operations where the disparity between the mineral wealth below ground and the social condition and poverty above ground is manifested in the failure of the social structure of the community and is responsible for the psychological and physical condition of 'in-betweenness'. Halbwachs argues that culture and social framework, is presupposed by memory. As such, the research aims to explore collective memory and its influence on social cohesion as well as how it is manifested and mediated in the built environment. The research is concerned with establishing a consciousness in design that values humanity in the process and outcomes (i.e. From inception, through design development, construction and realisation). Consciousness in the built environment suggests a sensitive approach to social context while regenerating and revitalising new and existing communities and simultaneously providing facilities that will contribute to a socially and economically sustainable future in the wake of conflict and trauma. As such it is argued that human-nature, self-interest and competition for survival, if managed by conscience, promotes positive social advancement (Sumner, 1883).

According to Charles Hauss, "[i]n the last few years, reconciliation has become one of the 'hottest' topics in the increasingly 'hot' field of conflict resolution" (2003, ¶1). However, despite the apparent interest in this "hot" academic topic (which is becoming increasingly warm in Canada as our own Truth and Reconciliation Commission commences), reconciliation studies have been dominated by Truth-based approaches. The restrictions of these approaches, which emphasize objectivity and rationality, often elide the body and the primacy of emotions in the reparative process. This essay begins a conversation on the role of the body and emotion in the study of reconciliation by engaging the work being done in the social sciences with contemporary trends in critical theory and literature. I argue that by looking at the fundamental role the body plays on the "road to reconciliation" we can devise a more vital approach to conflict resolution and the various processes that make it up.

In the context of the fairly recent Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRC), I examine phenomenologically the nature of truth as the essential condition for overcoming social and political conflicts, and as an instrument for enforcing so-called ''transitional justice'' periods and promoting reconciliation. I also briefly approach the limits of this truth's possibility of being recognized, if its evaluative and practical dimensions and its appeal to an ''intelligence of emotions'' do not prevail over its merely theoretical claims. Though not expounding Schutz's and Husserl's contributions, and meditating on phenomena they did not deal with, I carry out this reflection inspired by their work and methodological approach. The case study used as an intuitive illustration is the recent Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Psychosocial staff at a war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone conducted interviews with 147 witnesses after they completed their testimony. The interviewers asked participants to describe the most positive and most difficult aspects of their experience of testifying. Responses were recorded, coded, and examined using content analysis. Nearly all witnesses reported both empowering and difficult aspects, but the former outnumbered the latter. Witnesses mentioned 35 conceptually distinct positive aspects and 26 conceptually distinct negative aspects. The most frequently mentioned positive aspect was "being given the chance to tell my story, being able to talk about difficult/painful experiences, breaking silence." The second most frequently mentioned positive aspect was "being listened to, feeling believed/understood." The most frequently mentioned negative aspect was "emotional difficulty with some questions, talking about painful experiences." The second most frequent response was "nothing was difficult." Victim witnesses portrayed the experience more positively than nonvictims. For many witnesses, despite some challenging components, testifying provided a valued opportunity Editor's Note. Susan Opotow served as action editor for this article.

This article is an attempt to describe the use of the Bible in the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa (AFM). From the early stages of the church's humble beginnings, the use of Scripture changed in accordance with the social and intellectual development of its members. In the early stages there seemed to have been a more spontaneous interaction with the Bible which later made way for a more argumentative approach. Factors like the development of a centralised church system and the need to be accepted in the local church society in the country had a definite influence on the use of Scripture. Although strong emphasis was placed on the experiental aspect of faith, some of the leading members felt the need for theological training. Those who felt this need studied mostly at Reformed faculties which undeniably influenced their new of Scripture. From a spontaneous application of the Bible in the everyday life of the believer, a more formal attitude has developed towards the Bibl...

This article examines the external and internal dimensions of post-conflict reconstruction in Sierra Leone. The United Nations, bilateral donors such as the United Kingdom, and transnational non-governmental organizations and aid agencies have been instrumental in providing much-needed external assistance to Sierra Leone during the latter stages of its civil war and in the immediate postwar period. Although foreign aid is a welcome source of external support for reconstruction efforts, it is finite like any other resource. Reconstruction must also address intangible issues such as corruption as well as the healing of society through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Diamond exports hold potential as an internal source to spur economic growth and reconstruction. However, as the article illustrates, many obstacles remain, ranging from governance weaknesses in terms of capacity and domestic regulatory schemes on diamonds to the existence of illicit mining and smuggling of diamonds to regional instability.

This research aims to provide a comprehensive literature review on the use of games in accounting learning, both in manual and digital formats. Currently, students experience a decline in concentration when learning accounting concepts, necessitating more engaging and practical learning alternatives. Therefore, many educators have begun developing games relevant to accounting education to address this issue. This article is a Systematic Literature Review (SLR). The study explores 17 articles on accounting games (both manual and digital) published in accounting journals in the Scopus database over a period of 2002 to 2022. Through this research, the author aims to provide a quick reference for accounting educators to gain insights into the types of games available to enhance students pedagogical abilities. In this study, the author strives to provide as comprehensive details as possible regarding the games and activities that can be conducted in accounting learning. It is hoped that ...

The article focuses on survivors' perspectives of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). It probes their feelings, thoughts and views both before and after interacting with the Commission. Their feelings and opinions about issues such as justice, punishment and amnesty are explored. This information, which forms the backbone of this article, was obtained from interviews with twenty survivors of political

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This Essay will argue that any transitional mechanism must be by its nature and temporal historical location a politically contested instrument. This can have differing political and social impacts, and impact on the human rights culture in the society in question. Based on the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission ("TRC") experience, two rights-based issues-namely, human rights and victims' rights-will be discussed.

This article examines the relationship between Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Based mainly on interviews with NGO and TRC staff, the article outlines the various ways that NGOs participated in the development of the TRC legislation and engaged with TRC structures. The shape of this engagement was very uneven depending on the stage of the TRC process: the strongest input came at the point of lobbying in response to draft legislation. Different NGO sectors (human rights, conflict resolution, mental health) also had different levels of engagement at different stages of the process. The article evaluates the impact that NGOs had on the TRC (and vice versa), and critically evaluates the general failure of NGOs to effectively mobilise around the principles and strategic concerns raised by the TRC. The constraints on the development of an effective relationship are found to be located both in the structure and processes of the TRC, as well as within the NGO sector as it struggles to redefine its role in the new political context.

Countries going through democratic transition have to address how they will deal with the human rights crimes committed during the authoritarian era. In the context of amnesty for perpetrators, truth commissions have emerged as a standard institution to document the past. Increasingly, claims are made that truth commissions have bene cial psychological consequences, that is, that they facilitate 'catharsis', or 'heal the nation', or allow the nation to 'work through' a violent past. This article draws on trauma counselling experience and anthropological eldwork among survivors to examine these claims in the context of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It argues that nations are not like individuals in that they do not have collective psyches, that nation-building discourses on reconciliation often subordinate individual needs, and that truth commissions and individual processes of healing work on different time lines. Calls for reconciliation may demand too much psychologically from survivors and retribution may be just as effective as reconciliation at creating symbolic closure.

The aspiration [of a society] is for a democratic polity and prosperity at home. And this must be achieved simultaneously. Neither must be forsaken for the other since each meets a different need. Democracy is fulfilling for the citizen in the public sphere. Economic well-being ...

The assumption of responsibility by all parties involved is essential to the reconciliation process. A survey conducted by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation suggests that the majority of white South Africans are unconvinced that they played a role in apartheid abuses. And over 40% of those surveyed think apartheid was a good idea, badly executed. In the interest of reconciling South Africa with its troubled past, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has called on the entire country to remember, acknowledge and admit their role in past crimes. Specifically, it has focussed on white South Africans, the security forces, the armed wings of the liberation movements, the past government, and specific sectors (e.g. the medical profession, the business sector) all of whom have been called upon to carefully scrutinise their complicity in the apartheid system. This has proved to be a difficult task, however, perhaps because most people would like to forget their role in a system that has been internationally condemned as a crime against humanity. In light of this, the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) set out to investigate the extent to which white South Africans have embraced the TRC process and acknowledged their role in the apartheid system.

Countries going through democratic transition have to address how they will deal with the human rights crimes committed during the authoritarian era. In the context of amnesty for perpetrators, truth commissions have emerged as a standard institution to document the past. Increasingly, claims are made that truth commissions have bene cial psychological consequences, that is, that they facilitate 'catharsis', or 'heal the nation', or allow the nation to 'work through' a violent past. This article draws on trauma counselling experience and anthropological eldwork among survivors to examine these claims in the context of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It argues that nations are not like individuals in that they do not have collective psyches, that nation-building discourses on reconciliation often subordinate individual needs, and that truth commissions and individual processes of healing work on different time lines. Calls for reconciliation may demand too much psychologically from survivors and retribution may be just as effective as reconciliation at creating symbolic closure.

An electronic version of this book is freely available, thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched. KU is a collaborative initiative designed to make high quality books Open Access for the public good. The Open Access ISBN for this book is 978-3-8474-0240-4. More information about the initiative and links to the Open Access version can be found at www.knowledgeunlatched.org

The adoption of a resolution by the United Nations declaring 2009 the International Year of Reconciliation signaled the remarkable influence of truth commissions in international and domestic law. This article is a reflection on truth commissions. More precisely, it focuses on forgiveness of perpetrators as a unique outcome of this relatively new trend in transitional justice. The article identifies some developmental trends in the debates on forgiveness in the context of mass atrocity. Using a case example from the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the article considers the subtleties of cultural nuances in the dialogical exchange between victim and perpetrator when both victims and perpetrators are black Africans. The discussion raises the question of whether forgiveness in societies emerging from mass violence might be viewed as a moral imperative necessary to heal societies from a destructive past. The article concludes by arguing that stories of forgiveness in politics may inspire reflective engagement with the past by perpetrators and bystanders who supported repressive governments, and that this may help create a reparative humanism and the possibility of societal transformation.

Interviews were conducted with 147 witnesses (109 men, 38 women) after they had testified in the Special Court for Sierra Leone, a tribunal jointly established by the United Nations and the Sierra Leonean government to prosecute individuals accused of bearing the greatest responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the country’s civil war. Participants were asked to describe changes, for better or worse, they had experienced since testifying. Responses were examined using content analysis. More than 4 of 5 witnesses described the consequences of testifying as primarily positive (vs. negative or neutral). Further, more than 3 times as many positive as negative consequences were mentioned. The benefit mentioned most often was a feeling of having unburdened oneself. About 1 in 5 witnesses reported that testifying had resulted in long-term reductions in sadness, anxiety, anger, and/or intrusive posttraumatic stress symptoms. A small minority of witnesses p...

The literature on norms is dominated by debates over the definition of norms, discussion of the evolution of norms, norm diffusion, or norm implementation, and accounts of positive features associated with norms such as cooperation, mutual understanding. This paper argues that ''the story'' of international norms-or the dominant account of norms-is primarily a white, Western version that assumes that norms emerge from equal exchanges and relationship between states, denying the marked economic and political inequality between global actors and largely disregarding the intense contestations and controls associated with norms. In turn, this paper is an attempt to examine the tensions between so-called international norms and ''local'' norms and practices as well as the power dynamics and economic constraints that influence so-called global norms. Keeping in mind these tensions between the ''story'' of international norms and the practical constraints for local actors in the global south, this paper includes uses of the case study of Sierra Leone to examine what happens when ''international'' norms, such as those associated with transitional justice conflict with ''local'' norms. Specifically, the local norm of amnesty within Sierra Leone is studied in contrast to the international norm of truth and reconciliation commissions.

While political conflicts in many countries have resulted in large-scale destruction and loss of life, South Africa has been successful in avoiding a violent conflict following the demise of apartheid. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has been seen as an important mechanism contributing to South Africa's successful management of its political challenges. Yet, the legacy of apartheid continues beyond the work of the TRC, and several social problems such as poverty, unemployment, crime, and substance abuse continue to affect many South African communities. Psychology is uniquely poised to assist in addressing these social problems and in contributing to the development of a community of peace. Academic psychology departments have responded by implementing an undergraduate programme aimed at training professional counsellors to respond to community needs in post-apartheid South Africa. This paper surveys the present political landscape in South Africa, examines the work of the TRC as a psychological change catalyst and peace building mechanism, and calls attention to the role of psychology in contributing to national development.

In this episode, we put a spotlight on the Democratic Republic of Congo where a truth and reconciliation commission (TRC) was established in 2003, in an attempt to bring an end to hostilities and pave the way to democratization. However, the TRC was short-lived, leaving victims of mass atrocities with fewer avenues for the right to truth. Recently, the government of President Felix Tshisekedi has shown willingness to support the installment of a new TRC and to set up a reparations fund for victims of mass atrocities. Marit de Haan and Christian Cirhigiri speak with Gentil Kasongo, researcher at Impunity Watch in the Great Lakes Region of Africa, who shares what this new momentum for truth-seeking means for the overall field of TJ in the DRC and for the participation of victims of mass atrocities. Gentil Kasongo is a researcher at Impunity Watch and TJ practitioner from the DRC. He holds a Master’s in Human Rights Law from the University of Cape Town and a law degree from the Univers...