TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION RECEIVES BRIEFING

Issued by: Truth and Reconciliation Commission

January 23, 1996

STATEMENT FROM THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission received extensive briefings today (Tuesday) on the law stipulating its activities and on proposals for how its constituent committees and investigative unit will operate.

Briefings on the law included:

• An analysis of how the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act governs each of the Committees of the Commission - the Committee on Human Rights Violations, the Committee on Amnesty and the Committee on Reparation and Rehabilitation;
• An explanation of the provision in the Act which determines that decisions by the Committee on Amnesty cannot be reviewed by the full Commission;
• Information on the nature of the prescribed forms and standard letters that will need to be drawn up for various types of applications coming before the Commission;
• Guidelines on the regulations governing the detailed operation of the Commission and its constituent parts that have to be drafted and promulgated;
• An explanation of the provision in the Act which allows the Commission, in consultation with the appropriate Attorney-General, to request a court to postpone proceedings before it after the receipt of an application for amnesty;
• Consideration of steps to be taken in respect of applications to have criminal records cleared;
• An explanation of the channels through which the cases of victims of human rights violations will be referred to the Committee on Reparations and Rehabilitation;
• An outline of the provisions of the Act enabling the Committee on Reparation and Rehabilitation to make recommendations on issues such as measures to provide reparation for victims;
• An outline of the powers of the Commission to conduct actions such as inspections in loco, the seizure of articles, and the issue of subpoenas;
• The manner in which the Act governs relations between the Commission - which is independent - on the one hand and Parliament and the Executive on the other;
• Consideration of administrative issues, such as employment contracts, procedures and policies.

The Commission also received proposals on the setting up of an investigative unit and on methods of collecting, analysing and presenting information to the Committees of the Commission.

The briefings were given by Mr Steve Kahnovitz and Mr Vincent Saldanha of the Legal Resources Centre, Cape Town, Mr Paul van Zyl of the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, Johannesburg, Mr Howard Varney of the Investigative Task Unit in KwaZulu-Natal and Mr Patrick Ball, an American expert in human rights databases.

Archbishop Tutu said at the end of today's proceedings: "The Commission has an enormous amount of work to do in preparation for public hearings.

"We have to recruit the right staff, have regulations governing our work promulgated and establish the infrastructure that is necessary for hearings.

"There was a real sense of urgency among Commissioners. We are all resolved that it is quite critical to get cracking so that hearings can begin as quickly as is humanly possible."

Tomorrow (Wednesday) the Committees of the Commission will meet separately for most of the day. Among matters to be considered will be the nomination of further members of two of the Committees. The Committee on Amnesty will hold its first meeting.

Inquiries: John Allen, media liaison (021) 797-6451 (o) 61-3936 (h)