Learning From South Africa: The TRC, the ICC and the Future of Accountability

Abstract

South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission ("TRC") has drawn considerable international attention as the first compre­hensive non-prosecutorial approach to past human rights abuses that maintained the principle of accountability. This paper will make the argument that for both practical and normative reasons, mechanisms like the TRC that provide accountability but fall short of formal prosecutions should be not only respected but supported by the international legal community.