In all the TRC was comprised of seventeen commissioners: nine men and eight women and divided into three committees (Human Rights Violations Committee, Amnesty Committee, and Reparations and Rehabilitation Committee). The Human Rights Violations Committee gathered testimony of politically motivated gross human rights abuses; the Amnesty Committee dispensed amnesty to perpetrators who gave "full disclosure" of atrocities they had committed for political ends; lastly, the Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee which sought to recommend to the government a policy for providing long-term reparations for victims, as well as short-term relief payments.
The aim of the TRC was to combat impunity and recreate a culture of accountability, and most importantly to uncover truth about gross human rights violations and assist families of the victims in getting closure. In short, “the TRC was a prudent step for reconciling the South African community”.
www.sahistory.org.za/truth-and-reconciliation-commission-trc
