AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

Assistance to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa (TRCSA)

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa was "was set up by the Government of National Unity to help deal with what happened under apartheid. The conflict during this period resulted in violence and human rights abuses from all sides. No section of society escaped these abuses." See their website for more information about the TRC.




After an initial presentation of the experiences with other commissions in January 1996, we were asked to assist the commission design an information management system that would be capable of receiving the statements of tens of thousands of people, keeping track of the statements according to the who-did-what-to-whom data model, and following the statements through the corroborations and findings process. SHR staff conducted two evaluations of the information management system across all four regional offices.  (More information about the design and evaluation work conducted by the AAAS on behalf of the TRC is available in the TRC Report, vol. 1, Appendix on Methodology) We designed and implemented the statistical analysis used by the TRC, including a total of more than 1200 graphs and tables. Approximately 1/6 of these graphs were used in the TRC's October, 1998 report. The statistics provided a rigorous background to the analysis of qualitative data emerging from individual statements and Commission hearings.

Additional information is available about the TRC's data processing and database management methods.