Mary Ingouville Burton 
Truth and Reconciliation Commission 

2016 is the twentieth anniversary of the first sitting of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and provides a suitable momentto look back on the achievements, and the shortcomings, of the Commission’s work. Even at the time of its existence, the TRC came in for criticism from a variety of quarters: both President Mbeki and ex-President FW de Klerk took legal action to challenge or prevent the publication of the Commission’s report. But the Commission also fulfilled a vital and important role in the transition from apartheid to democracy, and it has become a model for other countries wishing to undertake similar journeys to deal with past atrocities and come to some kind of national resolution, reconciliation or closure.