TRC Final Report

Volume 5

Chapter 1

Volume FIVE Chapter ONE

Analysis of Gross Violations of Human Rights

■ INTRODUCTION

1 The Committee on Human Rights Violations (the Committee) was established on 16 December 1995 at the first meeting of the Commission. It was composed of Archbishop Desmond Tutu (chairperson of the committee), Yasmin Sooka and Wynand Malan (vice-chairpersons), Alex Boraine, Mary Burton, Bongani Finca, Richard Lyster, Dumisa Ntsebeza, Denzil Potgieter and Fazel Randera.

2 At its first meeting, the Committee considered the appointment of ten additional committee members, as provided in the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act (the Act). Consideration was given to regional needs as well as the wish to ensure the broadest possible representation in terms of skills, culture, language, faith and gender. The following members were appointed to the Human Rights Violations Committee: Russell Ally, June Crichton, Mdu Dlamini, Virginia Gcabashe, Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, Ilan Lax, Hugh Lewin, Yolisa (Tiny) Maya, Ntsikelelo Sandi, Joyce Seroke, and, in the final months, Mothofela Mosuhli.

3 The Committee met at an early date to discuss and begin to implement its duties and functions as laid down in the Act¹. It was guided by the underlying principles of compassion, respect and equality of treatment in all its dealings with people who were to be defined as “victims of gross violations of human rights”.

4 Its first responsibility was to establish a mechanism by which the “complete picture” of gross violations of human rights was to be drawn. There were enormous expectations, from the public and also from within the Commission, that public hearings would be held which would expose a considerable part of this picture. It was even hoped that a first public hearing could be held as early as February 1996, but it soon became apparent that a great deal of preparatory work had to be done first. Looking back with the wisdom of hindsight from the perspective of July 1998, it is amazing that a public hearing was in fact achieved as early as April 1996.

5 Information had first to be gathered. A number of sources were available, with substantial documentation that could be accessed from organisations which had endeavoured to keep records of abuses that had taken place during the period under review. These were studied and augmented by submissions later received from such organisations. This information was invaluable for research purposes and was used for the corroboration of statements (although some difficulties were experienced, for example, with incompatible databases). At a later stage in the Commission’s life, a much debated resolution was taken to use these secondary sources for corroboration purposes only, and not for the identification of ‘victims’ for the purpose of reparations.