Previous page | New search |
The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here
Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | The distributive dimension in transitional justice: reassessing the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission's ability to advance interracial reconciliation in South Africa |
Author: | Aiken, Nevin T. |
Year: | 2016 |
Periodical: | Journal of Contemporary African Studies (ISSN 1469-9397) |
Volume: | 34 |
Issue: | 2 |
Pages: | 190-202 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | South Africa |
Subjects: | truth and reconciliation commissions evaluation |
External link: | https://doi.org/10.1080/02589001.2016.1211395 |
Abstract: | The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has played a key role in advancing interracial reconciliation in South Africa, and has become a model to illustrate how transitional justice interventions can be used to heal divided societies and advance reconciliation. While acknowledging its achievements, this article emphasises the importance of socioeconomic justice to the TRC's objectives, and critically assesses the adequacy of the TRC's reparation programmes in addressing continuing structural and socioeconomic inequalities in the country. One overall weakness in the Commission's work was its narrow mandate of investigating gross human rights violations, which meant the TRC contributed to exposing only some 'truths' while obscuring others. A detailed exploration of the TRC's institutional mechanisms reveals that the Commission's lack of focus on socio-economic justice has served to limit its overall contribution to reconciliation. Notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract] |