What is the Truth & Reconciliation Commission recommended by a judge in ARTICLE 370 judgment?&what does South Africa's experience teach to the world?

The Article 370 judgement is out A Supreme Court Justice proposed a "Truth and Reconciliation Commission" for Kashmir 40+ countries have used these commissions to try and heal divided societies But do they work?

Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul recommended a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) It "will investigate & report on the violation of human rights both by State and non-State actors perpetrated in Jammu & Kashmir..since the 1980s &recommend measures for reconciliation," he wrote 

So what exactly 

what is a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)? It's best explained with its most famous example: South Africa Starting in 1948, South Africa's government instituted a policy of racial discrimination known as apartheid Apartheid systematically discriminated against the majority Black African population as well as Indians Political and economic power was concentrated in the hands of South Africa's white minority This period also saw human rights abuses against powerless groups by the govt 

This included extrajudicial killings, torture, and other crimes against activists & ordinary civilians This continued until the 1990s when the apartheid regime ended and South Africa's white minority govt was replaced by majority rule after intense pressure at home and abroad 

South Africa's new govt, led by Nelson Mandela, faced a problem How should the country deal with those who had committed acts of violence as well as those who had suffered? One approach was to put perpetrators on trial to pay for their crimes 

An example of this was the post-World War II Nuremberg Trials Prominent Nazis were tried by a tribunal for their crimes against humanity and some were sentenced to death South Africa chose a different path In 1995, South Africa established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Its job was to investigate human rights violations, rehabilitate victims and decide whether perpetrators should be given amnesty But its methods were distinctive Rather than holding courtroom trials, the TRC held public hearings across South Africa The TRC offered victims of abuses a chance to tell their story in public Perpetrators would also be given the chance to come forward, tell the truth and apologise for their crimes The goal was for all to hear the truth of what had happened during apartheid "About 2,000 victims testified at public hearings — wrenching, televised testimony. Victims spoke about murders and beatings and poisonings, and what these crimes did to them...," writes Jen Kirby Members of South Africa's police and security services spoke openly about the crimes they had committed against innocent civilians They were permitted to apply for amnesty for their crimes So what was the point of it all? First, the TRC hoped to create a new "truth" that all South Africans could agree on By putting evidence on crimes out in the open, the suppressed facts would finally be spoken & no one could deny them Second, the act of perpetrators confessing & apologizing was important It was hoped that these confessions would lead to forgiveness and an opportunity for the nation to heal The TRC also recommended that reparations be paid to victims for their suffering President Nelson Mandela apologized to all victims of abuses on behalf of the govt 

Internationally, South Africa's experiment with a TRC gained much attention Justice Kaul praised South Africa's TRC numerous times in the Article 370 judgment released today He recommended a similar TRC be set up for Kashmir Kaul argues that a TRC could help heal wounds in Kashmir "

KAUL ARGUMENTS 

What is at stake is not simply preventing the recurrence of injustice, but the burden of restoring the region’s social fabric to what it has historically been based on – coexistence, tolerance, and mutual respect," he says 

The first step to this healing and forgiveness is a TRC that can look into reports of human rights violations from state & non-state actors With this, the truth of the matter will finally be established, which is the key to healing, argues Kaul in the Article 370 judgment 

TRCs are by no means a new invention Over 40 countries are estimated to have established them from the 1970s onwards These include Chile, South Korea, Sierra Leone, and El Salvador All of these tried to heal deeply contentious national divisions 

But do TRCs work? 

 Many scholars and experts disagree Take the example of South Africa Experts and observers argue that the TRCs ultimately failed to truly heal national divides 

While victims in South Africa did get the chance to say their piece, the govt was slow to give the reparations they were promised Some members of South Africa's security services and police were given amnesty But those who did not receive this amnesty did not face much prosecution 

This led to a feeling among many that justice had been sacrificed at the altar of national unity The TRCs also did not lead to any structural changes in South Africa's economy and society According to the World Bank, S. Africa is the world's most unequal society 

80% of the country's wealth is held by 10% of the population Racial inequality continues to divide the country, so the TRCs achieved little by way of actually improving the lives of ordinary victims of apartheid 

On the other hand, many in South Africa's white population did not see the TRC as an effort to reconcile by their black countrymen They saw it as a "witch hunt" aimed at persecuting them So do TRCs even work? The truth is, we're not sure 

TRC as a method is excellent but its implementation should unite society rather than create further division in the society