Source: (2002) Race and Class. 44(1):61.
In this essay Brandon Hamber examines the purpose and work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to ascertain the status of truth, justice, and reconciliation in South Africa. The core purpose of the TRC was to promote national unity and reconciliation through investigation and disclosure of the nature, causes, and extent of human rights violations committed during apartheid in South Africa. One of its key mechanisms for eliciting information was the guarantee of amnesty for truth. The TRC was also to make recommendations about reparations for the survivors of human rights injustices. Through public hearings and a written report, the TRC gathered and published a record of that time, and made its recommendations. Hamber details and assesses the purpose, mandate, operation, and results of the TRC in light of the pursuit of truth, justice, and reconciliation in South Africa.
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