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The Effectiveness of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the Context of the Five Pillars of Transitional Justice

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The Effectiveness of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the Context of the Five Pillars of Transitional Justice THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE FIVE PILLARS OF TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE by STEPHINA MODIEGI MOTLHOKI Submitted in accordance with the requirements For the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the subject of POLITICS at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA PROMOTER: DR EVERISTO BENYERA SEPTEMBER 2017 DECLARATION I declare that: THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION THROUGH THE USE OF THE FIVE PILLARS OF TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. Signature: Date: _______________________ __________________ 1 Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... 5 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ............................................................................ 6 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... 8 DEDICATION .................................................................................................................. 9 Chapter one ................................................................................................................. 10 Introduction, background and setting of the study ................................................ 100 1.1 Background to the study ............................................................................................................... 10 1.2 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 12 1.3 Problem statement ........................................................................................................................ 15 1.4 Study objectives ............................................................................................................................. 15 1.5 Limitations ....................................................................................................................................... 16 1.6 The TRC as a transitional justice mechanism ........................................................................... 16 1.6.1 Defining the Truth Commision ............................................................................................ 218 1.6.2 Categories of Truth Commissions ................................................................................... 2121 1.6.3 Characteristics of Truth Commissions ................................................................................ 23 1.7 Study justification ........................................................................................................................... 25 1.8 Research methodology ................................................................................................................. 25 1.9 Chapter outline ..................................................................................................................... 26 1.10 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 28 Chapter Two .............................................................................................................. 299 The Five Pillars of Transitional Justice: A conceptual and theoretical framework .................................................................................................................................... 299 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 299 2.2 Transitional Justice .................................................................................................. 30 2.3 Truth Seeking and Truth Telling .............................................................................. 34 2.4 Trials and Tribunals ............................................................................................. 3040 2.5 Reparations as a pillar of Transitional Justice ..................................................... 3044 2.6 Institutional Reform as a pillar of Transitional Justice .......................................... 3057 2 2.7 Memorialisation as a pillar of Transitional Justice ............................................... 3067 2.8 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 3071 Chapter Three ............................................................................................................ 733 On the popularity of the SATRC ............................................................................... 733 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 733 3.2 History of the TRC ................................................................................................... 74 3.3 The areas of contention ......................................................................................... 777 3.4 Which method to use to evaluate the SATRC ..................................................... 7477 3.5 Who should evaluate the TRC? .............................................................................. 74 3.6 Challenges of the TRC ........................................................................................ 7880 3.6.1 Semantic challenges .............................................................................................................. 8080 3.6.2 The individualisation of victims ............................................................................................. 8181 3.6.3 Political party (non)involvement ........................................................................................... 8181 3.6.4 Timeframe for the crimes covered by the TRC .................................................................. 8282 3.6.5 Ranking of perpetrators ......................................................................................................... 8282 3.6.6 Apartheid as a crime against humanity ................................................................................. 833 3.6.7 A crime without victims .......................................................................................................... 8484 3.6.8 Lack of international prosecutions for international crimes .............................................. 8484 3.6.9 The TRC as an inhibitor of reconciliation .............................................................................. 855 3.7 Critiques of the SATRC ......................................................................................... 745 3.8 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 9292 Chapter Four ............................................................................................................ 9393 An analysis of the five pillars of Transitional Justice .......................................... 9393 4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 7493 4.2 Accountability ...................................................................................................... 7495 4.3 Truth-telling ......................................................................................................... 7496 4.4 Reconciliationand Memorialisation ...................................................................... 7498 4.5 Institutional Reform ........................................................................................... 74100 4.6 Reparations ....................................................................................................... 74101 3 4.7 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 74103 Chapter Five ............................................................................................................ 1055 An analysis of TRC using the five pillars of Transitional Justice ....................... 1055 5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1055 5.2 The Context and Setting of the SATRC ............................................................... 1066 5.3 Truth-Seeking and Truth-Telling in the SATRC ................................................... 1088 5.4 Trials in the SATRC Process ............................................................................. 11111 5.5 Reparations as a means of Transitional Justice in the SATRC ............................. 114 5.6 Institutional Reform as a means of Transitional Justice in the SATRC ................ 1199 5.7 Memorialisation as a means of Transitional Justice in the SATRC ................... 12121 5.8 Evaluation of the TRC as Transitional Justice Mechanism .................................. 1244 5.9 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 1245 Chapter 6 ................................................................................................................ 14327 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 14327 ADDENDUM ..........................................................................................................
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