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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | The spirit of the National Peace Accord: the past and future of conflict resolution in South Africa |
Author: | Olukotun, Deji |
Year: | 2009 |
Periodical: | African Journal on Conflict Resolution |
Volume: | 9 |
Issue: | 1 |
Pages: | 89-122 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | South Africa |
Subjects: | conflict resolution peace negotiations |
External link: | https://www.accord.org.za/ajcr-issues/%ef%bf%bcthe-spirit-of-the-national-peace-accord/ |
Abstract: | This article examines the evolution of the conflict resolution community in South Africa through a combination of history and policy analysis. The first section investigates the National Peace Accord of September 1991, the national mechanism that helped pave the way for the mutliparty negotiations and the interim government. Emerging from a joint effort of the religious and business communities, the NPA's system of local, regional and national peace committees furnished conflict resolution skills on an unprecedented level. The successful initiative was dismantled by the interim and elected governments, but certain themes - the 'spirit' of the Accord - continue to shape contemporary South Africa. The second section examines the South African Law Commission's Project 94, which assessed the possibility of wedding State institutions to non-State forms of conflict resolution. It identifies some of the key themes that emerged from the Law Commission's discussions and critically analyses the proposed solutions. It argues that State involvement in community dispute resolution structures may improve access to justice, but will be hampered by inherent practical difficulties in standardizing a diverse community. A 'New National Peace Accord' is unlikely to arise in the near future. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [ASC Leiden abstract] |