The South African truth and reconciliation commission as a therapeutic tool

Abstract

A Truth Commission is one of the institutions used in international law to investigate gross human rights violations within a specific country. In this article we examine claims that the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was therapeutic. In the absence of empirical evidence, this examination will be guided by a theoretical framework that will reflect ways by which we believe international legal institutions can contribute tot he healing of the people of a country in which human rights abuses have taken place. We developed this framework with reference to the literature. Our conclusion is that the legislator's emphasis on truth, reconciliation, stability, and restorative justice enhanced the TRC's potential to promote healing, but that some features of this procedure and the enabling Act, the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act (1995), restricted its ability to be therapeutic. We conclude by looking at the role culture may have played in the success of the TRC.

Truth-Seeking, Truth-Telling, and Postconflict Peacebuilding: Curb the Enthusiasm?1

“…Despite these data, a good deal of the truth‐telling literature touts the “healthy catharsis” involved in testifying at trials or truth‐commissions or from hearing confessions of perpetrators 5 . Clinical psychologists, however, generally concur that cathartic experiences should be avoided except under highly controlled conditions because the dangers of retraumatization could be much greater than the potential benefits (Minow 1998; Allan and Allan 2000:472–473; Hayner 2001).…”

Reframing post-Mugabe justice: A critical need for a truth and reconciliation commission

“…Transitional justice scholars, for example Minow (1998) have sought to define Truth Commissions in terms of philosophical standards of justice, while Allan and Allan (2000) define a truth commission as one of the institutions used in international law to investigate gross human rights violations within a specific country.…”

A Theory Matrix for Mediators

“…Restorative justice mediation and circle processes acknowledge the role of powerful emotions such as anger and shame in bringing closure to victims and offenders (Umbreit 2001; Braithwaite 2002; Van Stokkom 2002). At the macro level, reconciliation and truth processes encourage emotions of sorrow, remorse, and forgiveness in efforts to heal social wounds (Allan and Allan 2000).…”