Truth and Reconciliation Commission ( South Africa ) - Wikipedia Truth and Reconciliation Commission ( South Africa ) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( February 2016 ) Truth and Reconciliation Commission Established Country South Africa Location South Africa Website http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/ The Truth and Reconciliation Commission ( TRC ) was a court - like restorative justice body assembled in South Africa after the abolition of apartheid in 1994. Witnesses who were identified as victims of gross human rights violations were invited to give statements about their experiences, and some were selected for public hearings. Perpetrators of violence could also give testimony and request amnesty from both civil and criminal prosecution. The TRC, the first of the 1003 held internationally to stage public hearings, was seen by many as a crucial component of the transition to full and free democracy in South Africa. Despite some flaws, it is generally ( although not universally ) thought to have been successful. The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation was established in 2000 as the successor organisation of the TRC. Part of a series on Apartheid Events 1948 general election Coloured vote constitutional crisis 1956 Treason Trial Sharpeville massacre Rivonia Trial Soweto uprising Church Street bombing Trojan Horse Incident Khotso House bombing Cape Town peace march CODESA Assassination of Chris Hani Saint James Church massacre Shell House massacre Organisations ANC APLA IFP AWB Black Sash CCB Conservative Party DP ECC FOSATU PP RP PFP HNP MK PAC UDF Broederbond National Party COSATU SACC SADF SAIC SAP SACP State Security Council People P.W. Botha Steve Biko F.W. de Klerk Ruth First Bram Fischer Arthur Goldreich Chris Hani Joel Joffe Ahmed Kathrada Winnie Madikizela - Mandela Mac Maharaj D.F. Malan Nelson Mandela Govan Mbeki Thabo Mbeki Raymond Mhlaba Benjamin Moloise Albertina Sisulu Walter Sisulu JG Strijdom Joe Slovo Helen Suzman Adelaide Tambo Oliver Tambo Eugène Terre'Blanche Desmond Tutu H.F. Verwoerd B.J. Vorster Places Bantustan District Six Robben Island Sophiatown South - West Africa Soweto Sun City Vlakplaas Related topics Cape Qualified Franchise Afrikaner nationalism Apartheid legislation Freedom Charter Sullivan Principles Kairos Document Disinvestment campaign South African Police Apartheid in popular culture Music in the movement against apartheid Category Contents 1 Creation and mandate 2 Committees 3 Process 3.1 Numbers 4 Significance and impact 5 Media coverage 6 In the arts and popular culture 6.1 Film 6.1. 1 Documentary film 6.1. 2 Feature film 6.2 Theatre 6.3 Fiction 6.4 Poetry 7 Criticisms 8 See also 9 References 10 Bibliography 10.1 Non-fiction 11 External links Creation and mandate The TRC was set up in terms of the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act, No. 34 of 1995, and was based in Cape Town. The hearings started in 1996. The mandate of the commission was to bear witness to, record, and in some cases grant amnesty to the perpetrators of crimes relating to human rights violations, as well as reparation and rehabilitation. The TRC had a number of high - profile members, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu ( chairman ), Alex Boraine ( deputy chairman ), Sisi Khampepe, Wynand Malan, and Emma Mashinini. Committees The work of the TRC was accomplished through three committees : The Human Rights Violations Committee investigated human rights abuses that occurred between 1960 and 1994. The Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee was charged with restoring victims ' dignity and formulating proposals to assist with rehabilitation. The Amnesty Committee considered applications from individuals who applied for amnesty in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Process Public hearings of the Human Rights Violations Committee and the Amnesty Committee were held at many venues around South Africa, including Cape Town ( at the University of the Western Cape ), Johannesburg ( at the Central Methodist Mission ), and Randburg ( at the Rhema Bible Church ). The commission was empowered to grant amnesty to those who committed abuses during the apartheid era, as long as the crimes were politically motivated, proportionate, and there was full disclosure by the person seeking amnesty. To avoid victor 's justice, no side was exempt from appearing before the commission. The commission heard reports of human rights violations and considered amnesty applications from all sides, from the apartheid state to the liberation forces, including the African National Congress. Numbers A total of 5,392 amnesty applications were refused, granting only 849 out of the 7,112 ( which includes the number of additional categories, such as `` withdrawn '' ). Significance and impact The TRC 's emphasis on reconciliation is in sharp contrast to the approach taken by the Nuremberg Trials and other de-Nazification measures. The reconciliatory approach was seen as a successful way of dealing with human - rights violations after political change, either from internal or external factors. Consequently, other countries have instituted similar commissions, though not always with the same scope or the allowance for charging those currently in power. There are varying opinions as to whether the restorative justice method ( as employed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission ) is more or less effective than the retributive justice method ( which was used during the Nuremberg Trials ). In one survey study, the effectiveness of the TRC Commission was measured on a variety of levels : Its usefulness in terms of confirming what had happened during the apartheid regime ( `` bringing out the truth '' ) The feelings of reconciliation that could be linked to the Commission The positive effects ( both domestically and internationally ) that the Commission brought about ( i.e. in the political and the economic environment of South Africa ). In the study by Orlando Lentini, the opinions of three ethnic groups were measured in this study : the British Africans, the Afrikaners, and the Xhosa. According to the researchers, all of the participants perceived the TRC to be effective in bringing out the truth, but to varying degrees, depending on the group in question. The differences in opinions about the effectiveness can be attributed to how each group viewed the proceedings. Some viewed them as not entirely accurate, as many people would lie in order to keep themselves out of trouble while receiving amnesty for their crimes. ( The Commission would grant amnesty to some with consideration given to the weight of the crimes committed. ) Some said that the proceedings only helped to remind them of the horrors that had taken place in the past when they had been working to forget such things. Thus, the TRC 's effectiveness in terms of achieving those very things within its title is still debatable. Media coverage The hearings were initially set to be heard in camera, but the intervention of 23 non-governmental organisations eventually succeeded in gaining media access to the hearings. On 15 April 1996, the South African National Broadcaster televised the first two hours of the first human rights violation committee hearing live. With funding from the Norwegian government, radio continued to broadcast live throughout. Additional high - profile hearings, such as Winnie Mandela 's testimony, were also televised live. The rest of the hearings were presented on television each Sunday, from April 1996 to June 1998, in hour - long episodes of the `` Truth Commission Special Report ''. The program was presented by progressive Afrikaner journalist Max du Preez, former editor of the Vrye Weekblad. The producers of the program included Anneliese Burgess, Jann Turner, Benedict Motau, Gael Reagon, Rene Schiebe and Bronwyn Nicholson, a production assistant. In the Arts and popular culture Film Various films have been made about the commission : Documentary film Confronting the Truth ( 2006 ) by Steve York. Produced in association with the United States Institute of Peace. Facing the Truth ( 1999 ) by Bill Moyers. 2 - part PBS series. Long Night 's Journey into Day ( 2000 ) by Frances Reid. Won the Grand Jury Prize for best documentary at the Sundance Film Festival. A Snake Gives Birth to a Snake ( 2014 ) by Michael Lessac. Documentary. While not documenting the TRC per se, it features diverse group of South African actors who tour the war - torn regions of Northern Ireland, Rwanda, and the former Yugoslavia to share their country 's experiment with reconciliation. Feature film Forgiveness ( 2004 ) by Ian Gabriel. A South African feature film starring South African -- born actor Arnold Vosloo as a disgraced ex-cop seeking forgiveness from the family of the activist he killed under the Apartheid regime. With Quanita Adams and Zane Meas. In My Country ( 2004 ). A feature film very loosely based on Country of My Skull, an autobiographical text by Antjie Krog which dealt with her coverage of the hearings. With Samuel L. Jackson and Juliette Binoche. Red Dust ( 2004 ). A feature film based on the novel of the same title by South African writer Gillian Slovo. With Hilary Swank, Jamie Bartlett and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Zulu Love Letter ( 2004 ) by Ramadan Suleman. With Pamela Nomvete. Theatre Several plays have been produced about the TRC : `` Truth in Translation '' ( 2006 ), by Paavo Tom Tammi, in collaboration with American director, Michael Lessac and the company of Colonnades Theatre Lab, South Africa. Ubu and the Truth Commission ( 1997 ), by Jane Taylor and William Kentridge. Nothing but the Truth ( 2002 ), by John Kani. The Story I Am About to Tell, created in collaboration with the Khulumani support group. The Dead Wait, by Paul Herzberg. `` Truth and reconciliation '', Debbie Tucker Green ( 2011 ) Fiction Taylor, Jane. Ubu and the Truth Commission. Cape Town : University of Cape Town Press, 2007. Wicomb, Zoe. 2006. Playing in the Light Slovo, Gillian 2000. `` Red Dust ''. Virago ISBN 978 - 0 - 393 - 32399 - 3 Poetry Some of Ingrid de Kok 's poetry in Terrestrial Things ( 2002 ) deals with the TRC ( e.g. `` The Archbishop Chairs the First Session '', `` The Transcriber Speaks '', `` The Sound Engineer '' ). Criticisms A 1998 study by South Africa 's Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation & the Khulumani Support Group, which surveyed several hundred victims of human rights abuse during the Apartheid era, found that most felt that the TRC had failed to achieve reconciliation between the black and white communities. Most believed that justice was a prerequisite for reconciliation rather than an alternative to it, and that the TRC had been weighted in favour of the perpetrators of abuse. As a result of the TRC 's shortcomings and the unaddressed injuries of many victims, victims ' groups, together with NGOs and lawyers, took various TRC - related matters to South African and US courts in the early 2000s. Another dilemma facing the TRC was how to do justice to the testimonials of those witnesses for whom translation was necessary. It was believed that, with the great discrepancy between the emotions of the witnesses and those translating them, much of the impact was lost in interlingual rendition. A briefly tried solution was to have the translators mimic the witnesses ' emotions, but this proved disastrous and was quickly scrapped. While former president F.W. de Klerk appeared before the commission and reiterated his apology for the suffering caused by apartheid, many black South Africans were angered at amnesty being granted for human rights abuses committed by the apartheid government. The BBC described such criticisms as stemming from a `` basic misunderstanding '' about the TRC 's mandate, which was to uncover the truth about past abuse, using amnesty as a mechanism, rather than to punish past crimes. Critics of the TRC dispute this, saying that their position is not a misunderstanding but a rejection of the TRC 's mandate. Among the highest - profile of these objections were the criticisms levelled by the family of prominent anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, who was killed by the security police, and whose story was featured in the film Cry Freedom. Biko 's family described the TRC as a `` vehicle for political expediency '', which `` robbed '' them of their right to justice. The family opposed amnesty for his killers on these grounds and brought a legal action in South Africa 's highest court, arguing that the TRC was unconstitutional. On the other side of the spectrum, former apartheid State President P.W. Botha defied a subpoena to appear before the commission, calling it a `` circus ''. His defiance resulted in a fine and suspended sentence, but these were overturned on appeal. Playwright Jane Taylor, responsible for the acclaimed Ubu and the Truth Commission, found fault with the Commission 's lopsided influence : The TRC is unquestionably a monumental process, the consequences of which will take years to unravel. For all its pervasive weight, however, it infiltrates our culture asymmetrically, unevenly across multiple sectors. Its place in small rural communities, for example, when it establishes itself in a local church hall, and absorbs substantial numbers of the population, is very different from its situation in large urban centres, where its presence is marginalised by other social and economic activities. See also Institute for Justice and Reconciliation Peace Commission The Civil Cooperation Bureau, an apartheid hit squad much discussed in the final TRC report. Truth commission Reconciliation theology Restorative justice Transitional justice References Jump up ^ Suffolk University, College of Arts & Sciences, Center for Restorative Justice, http://www.suffolk.edu/college/centers/15970.php What is Restorative Justice ? Jump up ^ Though it is a common claim that the TRC was a restorative justice body, it has been argued that the connection between the TRC and restorative justice is not as straightforward and unproblematic as often assumed. See b C.B.N. Restorative Justice and the South African Truth and Reconciliation Process, South African Journal of Philosophy 32 ( 1 ), 10 - 35 ( click to read ) Jump up ^ `` Truth Telling, Identities, and Power in South Africa and Guatemala '', International Center for Transitional Justice Jump up ^ Department of Justice and Constitutional Development of the Republic of South Africa, The Truth and Reconciliation Official Website, Justice.gov.za Accessed 2 October 2001 ^ Jump up to : Vora, Jay A. and Erika Vora. 2004. `` The Effectiveness of South Africa 's Truth and Reconciliation Commission : Perceptions of Xhosa, Afrikaner, and English South Africans. '' Journal of Black Studies 34.3 : 301 - 322. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) Archived 8 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ ( 2 ) Archived 26 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Facing the Truth ''. Pbs.org. 30 March 1999. Retrieved 2009 - 09 - 19. Jump up ^ Long Night 's Journey into Day Jump up ^ `` Survivors ' Perceptions of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Suggestions for the Final Report ''. Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. Archived from the original on 25 September 2006. Retrieved 2006 - 12 - 26. Jump up ^ `` Home South, Pdf, Litigation, Apartheid, Khulum ''. Khulumani. Archived from the original on 21 May 2008. Retrieved 2009 - 09 - 19. Jump up ^ Storey, Peter ( 10 -- 17 September 1997 ). `` A Different Kind of Justice : Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa ''. The Christian Century. Archived from the original on 17 June 2006. Retrieved 2006 - 12 - 26. Jump up ^ As William Kentridge, director of Ubu and the Truth Commission, put it, `` A full confession can bring amnesty and immunity from prosecution or civil procedures for the crimes committed. Therein lies the central irony of the Commission. As people give more and more evidence of the things they have done they get closer and closer to amnesty and it gets more and more intolerable that these people should be given amnesty. '' ( Kentridge 2007, p. viii ) Jump up ^ Kesselring, Rita ( 2017 ). Bodies of Truth : law, memory and emancipation in post-apartheid South Africa. Stanford University Press. Jump up ^ Kentridge 2007, p. xiv. Jump up ^ Barrow, Greg ( 30 October 1998 ). `` South Africans reconciled ? Special Report ''. BBC. Retrieved 2006 - 12 - 26. Jump up ^ `` Stephen Bantu Biko ''. South African History Online. Archived from the original on 24 September 2006. Retrieved 2006 - 12 - 26. Jump up ^ `` Apartheid enforcer sticks to ' farcical ' story on Biko killing ''. Findarticles.com. Retrieved 2007 - 10 - 24. Jump up ^ Boddy - Evans, Alistair. `` PW Botha - A Biography ''. About.com. Retrieved 2006 - 12 - 26. Jump up ^ Taylor 2007, p.v. Jump up ^ `` TRC Final Report - Version 6 ''. Doj.gov.za. Retrieved 2009 - 09 - 19. Bibliography Non-fiction Terry Bell,, Dumisa Buhle Ntsebeza. 2003. `` Unfinished Business : South Africa, Apartheid and Truth. '' Boraine, Alex. 2001. `` A Country Unmasked : Inside South Africa 's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. '' Cole, Catherine. 2010. `` Performing South Africa 's Truth Commission : Stages of Transition. '' Doxtader, Erik and Philippe - Joseph Salazar, Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa. The Fundamental Documents, Cape Town, New Africa Books / David Philip, 2008. Edelstein, Jillian. 2002. `` Truth and Lies : Stories from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. '' Gobodo - Madikizela, Pumla. 2006. `` A Human Being Died That Night : A South African Story of Forgiveness. '' Grunebaum, Heidi Peta. Memorializing the Past : Everyday Life in South Africa After the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Piscataway, NJ : Transaction Publishers, 2011. Hayner, Priscilla. 2010. `` Unspeakable Truths : Transitional Justice and the Challenge of Truth Commissions '' Hendricks, Fred. 2003. `` Fault - Lines in South African Democracy : Continuing Crisis of Inequality and Injustice. '' Kentridge, William. `` Director 's Note ''. In Ubu and the Truth Commission, by Jane Taylor, viii - xv. Cape Town : University of Cape Town Press, 2007. Kesselring, Rita. 2017. Bodies of Truth : law, memory and emancipation in post-apartheid South Africa. Stanford University Press. Krog, Antjie. 2000. `` Country of My Skull : Guilt, Sorrow, and the Limits of Forgiveness in the New South Africa. '' Martin, Arnaud. 2009. La mémoire et le pardon. Les commissions de la vérité et de la réconciliation en Amérique latine. Paris : L'Harmattan. Moon, Claire. 2008. `` Narrating Political Reconciliation : South Africa 's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. '' Ross, Fiona. 2002. `` Bearing Witness : Women and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. '' Tutu, Desmond. 2000. `` No Future Without Forgiveness. '' Villa - Vicencio, Charles and Wilhelm Verwoerd. 2005. `` Looking Back, Reaching Forward : Reflections on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa. '' Wilson, Richard A. 2001. `` The Politics of Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa. '' External links Official website `` Traces of Truth '' : Documents relating to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Truth and Reconciliation Commission People Chairman : Desmond Tutu Deputy chairman : Alex Boraine testimony Organisations Amy Biehl Foundation Trust Institute for Justice and Reconciliation Army Azanian People 's Liberation Army Civil Cooperation Bureau State Security Council Vlakplaas Umkhonto we Sizwe Third Force Massacre Amanzimtoti bombing Battle of Ventersdorp Church Street bombing Durban beach - front bombing Heidelberg Tavern massacre The Gugulethu Seven Pebco Three Saint James Church massacre Sharpeville massacre Shell House massacre Bombing of Khotso House Trojan Horse Incident Media Non-fiction books Country of My Skull ( 1998 ) A Human Being Died That Night ( 2003 ) Novels Red Dust ( 2000 ) Films Forgiveness ( 2004 ) In My Country ( 2004 ) Red Dust ( 2004 ) Zulu Love Letter ( 2004 ) Political history of South Africa Defunct polities Kingdom of Mapungubwe ( c. 1075 -- c. 1220 ) Dutch Cape Colony ( 1652 -- 1806 ) Mthethwa Paramountcy ( c. 1780 -- 1817 ) Ndwandwe Kingdom ( c. 1780 -- 1819 ) Cape Colony ( 1795 -- 1910 ) Zulu Kingdom ( 1816 -- 97 ) Natalia Republic ( 1839 -- 43 ) Natal Colony ( 1843 -- 1910 ) Orange Free State ( 1854 -- 1902 ) South African Republic ( 1856 -- 1902 ) Griqualand East ( 1861 -- 79 ) Griqualand West ( 1870 -- 73 ) Goshen ( 1882 -- 83 ) Stellaland ( 1882 -- 85 ) Nieuwe Republiek ( 1884 -- 88 ) Upingtonia ( 1885 -- 87 ) Klein Vrystaat ( 1886 -- 91 ) Orange River Colony ( 1902 -- 10 ) Transvaal Colony ( 1902 -- 10 ) Union of South Africa ( 1910 -- 61 ) Transkei ( 1976 -- 94 ) Bophuthatswana ( 1977 -- 94 ) Venda ( 1979 -- 94 ) Ciskei ( 1981 -- 94 ) Events 1652 -- 1815 Dutch settlement French Huguenot settlement Khoikhoi -- Dutch Wars Xhosa Wars Battle of Muizenberg Battle of Blaauwberg Anglo - Dutch Treaty of 1814 1815 -- 1910 Mfecane 1820 Settlers Great Trek Boer Republics Mineral Revolution Witwatersrand Gold Rush South African Wars South Africa Act 1909 1910 -- 1948 Maritz Rebellion Rand Rebellion Great Depression 1946 African Mine Workers ' Union strike Bantustans Apartheid era 1948 general election Apartheid legislation Pass laws Internal resistance Coloured - vote constitutional crisis Defiance Campaign Congress of the People Freedom Charter Women 's March 1956 1957 Alexandra bus boycott Sharpeville massacre 1960 republic referendum International isolation Academic boycott Disinvestment Sporting boycott Olympics Rugby union Rivonia Trial Tar Baby Option Durban Moment Border War Israeli alliance Israel -- South Africa Agreement Soweto Uprising Weapons of mass destruction Project Coast Constructive engagement Church Street bombing 1983 constitutional reform referendum Rubicon speech Dakar Conference Third Force CODESA 1992 apartheid referendum Saint James Church massacre Bophuthatswana crisis Shell House massacre Post-apartheid 1994 general election Government of National Unity Reconstruction and Development Programme Truth and Reconciliation Commission Arms Deal Floor crossing Soweto bombings African Renaissance Xenophobia Marikana massacre 2012 Western Cape farm workers ' strike Nkandlagate 2014 platinum strike # RhodesMustFall protests # FeesMustFall student protests Tshwane riots Political culture African nationalism Afrikaner Calvinism Afrikaner nationalism Azania Baasskap Boerehaat Black Consciousness Movement Day of the Vow Greater South Africa Honorary whites Rooi gevaar Slavery Swart gevaar Uitlander Volkstaat Defunct organisations Civic and political organisations Afrikaner Bond Afrikaner Broederbond Afrikaner Party AITUP APO AVF BPC Black Sash CDA CTEG COD Congress Alliance COSG CP Dominion Party DP ( 1973 -- 1977 ) DP ( 1989 -- 2000 ) DPP ECC FA FD Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners GNP Het Volk HNP IDASA ID IP ISL Jeugkrag Johannesburg Reform Committee Labour Party ( 1910 -- 1958 ) Labour Party ( 1969 -- 1994 ) Liberal Party ( 1953 -- 1968 ) NA NCP NIC NLP NNP NP NPP NRP NUSAS PFP Progressive Party ( Cape Colony ) Progressive Party PRP Radio Freedom Reform Party SABP SADECO SAIC SASO SAYCO SAYRCO South African Party ( Cape Colony ) South African Party ( 1911 -- 1934 ) South African Party ( 1977 -- 1980 ) TNIP Torch Commando UFP United Party Unionist Party Volksparty Workers Party WOSA Trade unions and social movements APF BCM BLATU CNETU CTSWU FCWU FNETU FOSATU ICU IWW ( SA ) MUSA NEUM NURHS PAWE SAAPAWU SACTU SAIF SARHU SATUC Die Spoorbund UDF Umkosi Wezintaba Paramilitary and terrorist organisations APLA ARM BBB Boeremag Greyshirts MK Ossewabrandwag Orde van die Dood SANF Histories of political parties African National Congress Democratic Alliance Pan Africanist Congress of Azania Category Truth and Reconciliation Commission Country Argentina Australia Bangladesh Bolivia Brazil Canada Chad Colombia Democratic Republic of the Congo Chile Czech Republic Ecuador El Salvador Fiji Germany Ghana Guatemala Haiti Kenya Liberia Mauritius Moroccan Nepal Nigeria Panama Peru Poland Philippines Rwanda Sierra Leone Solomon Islands South Africa South Korea Sri Lanka Timor - Leste ( East Timor ) 2001 -- 2005 2005 -- 2008 Togo Uganda Ukraine Uruguay Tunisia United States of America Yugoslavia ( Federal Republic of ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Truth_and_Reconciliation_Commission_(South_Africa)&oldid=801030737 '' Categories : Truth and reconciliation commissions ( South Africa ) 1996 establishments in South Africa Reconciliation Organisations associated with apartheid Events associated with apartheid Defunct organisations based in South Africa Political history of South Africa Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from June 2016 Use dmy dates from July 2012 Use South African English from July 2012 All Wikipedia articles written in South African English Articles needing additional references from February 2016 All articles needing additional references All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from February 2016 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans Dansk Deutsch Español Français Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Nederlands Suomi Svenska Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 17 September 2017, at 07 : 19. 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Question: main reason for the establishment of the trc
Answer: bear witness to, record, and in some cases grant amnesty to the perpetrators of crimes relating to human rights violations