African Truth Commissions and Transitional Justice

John Perry and T. Debey Sayndee have written a comprehensive analysis of the evolution and dynamics of transitional justice, in particular, the use of truth commissions as instruments of fact-finding and reconciliation of bitterly divided communities in the aftermath of political conflicts and monstrous dictatorships in different parts of the world. The book presents well-researched and highly informative case studies using the truth commissions that have been established in selected African countries—Liberia, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, Chad, and Morocco. This book is a must read for all students and practitioners of transitional justice, post-conflict reconstruction, and peacebuilding in Africa and other regions of the world. -- Kenneth Omeje, University of Bradford
TRC’s are a world wide phenomenon stretching from South Africa, Sierra Leone, and El Salvador to Timor-Leste. Dr. Imani Michelle Scott and her colleagues have even recently proposed a TRC for the United States (Crimes Against Humanity, Praeger). John Perry and Debey Sayndee do a wonderful job of outlining the importance of the TRCs for post peace accord peacebuilding as well as their strengths and limitations. African Truth Commissions and Transitional Justice is an important read for transitional justice scholars and students as well as international policymakers, IGOs, and NGOs tasked with rebuilding the fabric of broken societies so that ethnopolitical groups often historically locked in a fatal embrace can heal, reconcile, move on, and coexist. -- Sean Byrne, PACS, University of Manitoba