South Africa’s transition to democratic government in 1994 included the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), a unique tripartite institution with responsibilities to prepare a record of the apartheid era, make recommendations for reparations, and grant amnesty on the basis of individual applications in limited circumstances. But Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are concerned that the recommendations of the TRC are not being seriously and fully implemented: in particular, that reparations have not been paid to victims; and that prosecutions have not been mounted against individuals about whom there is credible evidence of involvement in gross abuses. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are urging the government to take immediate steps to reverse these disturbing developments.
