Overview

African Truth Commissions and Transitional Justice examines the functioning of truth commissions in Africa, outlining the lessons learned, the best practices, and the successes and failures of seven African truth commissions. Its introduction and conclusion then work further to place truth commissions within the growing academic field of transitional justice. The first African truth commission was convened by the despot Idi Amin for reasons unrelated to the defense of human rights, but despite this ambiguous beginning, other African truth commissions have done important work. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission of 1996 has become the ‘gold standard’ for future truth commissions not only in Africa, but throughout the world: it unearthed much truth about the Apartheid era abuse of human rights and took vital first steps towards restorative justice in the Republic. Each truth commission is distinctive. However, although much has been written about South Africa’s truth commissions, much less is known about the other six studied in this book—and an attentive reader will notice the suggestive patterns which emerge.

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9781498504096

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John Perry and T. Debey Sayndee have written a comprehensive analysis of the evolution and dynamics of transitional justice, in particular, the use of truth commissions as instruments of fact-finding and reconciliation of bitterly divided communities in the aftermath of political conflicts and monstrous dictatorships in different parts of the world. The book presents well-researched and highly informative case studies using the truth commissions that have been established in selected African countries-Liberia, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, Chad, and Morocco. This book is a must read for all students and practitioners of transitional justice, post-conflict reconstruction, and peacebuilding in Africa and other regions of the world. -- Kenneth Omeje, University of Bradford TRC's are a world wide phenomenon stretching from South Africa, Sierra Leone, and El Salvador to Timor-Leste. Dr. Imani Michelle Scott and her colleagues have even recently proposed a TRC for the United States (Crimes Against Humanity, Praeger). John Perry and Debey Sayndee do a wonderful job of outlining the importance of the TRCs for post peace accord peacebuilding as well as their strengths and limitations. African Truth Commissions and Transitional Justice is an important read for transitional justice scholars and students as well as international policymakers, IGOs, and NGOs tasked with rebuilding the fabric of broken societies so that ethnopolitical groups often historically locked in a fatal embrace can heal, reconcile, move on, and coexist. -- Sean Byrne, PACS, University of Manitoba

Author Information

John Perry, SJ, is a Canadian academic who has been a volunteer working at the Kofi Annan Institute for Conflict Transformation at the University of Liberia since 2008. T. Debey Sayndee is associate professor and director at the Kofi Annan Institute for Conflict Transformation (KAICT) at the University of Liberia.

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