New Paradigm for South Sudan: The Christian Contribution to the South African TRC

The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was one of the most successful truth commissions of the twenty-first century. This thesis presents an analysis of Christian involvement in the South African TRC, with a view to suggesting how the South African experience might be adapted by the Churches in the South Sudanese situation. A contextual analysis of the information available on the South African TRC identifies certain elements that could help South Sudan achieve peace and reconciliation, proposing that the South African model of reconciliation may possibly work well in South Sudan. It maintains, however, that for it to work in the South Sudanese situation, certain requirements will need to be met. These include the public transparency of its processes, the non-interference of political actors in its proceedings and procedures, and a clear commitment to the idea that any reconciliatory process must be a community-centred exercise. The Churches of South Sudan, it is argued, can have an important role in fostering such values in the South Sudanese process, and so in moving the country towards peace.