ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the role of reparations in contributing to justice, recognition, and healing for survivors of gross human rights violations. Thus far, the activities associated with reparations have by and large been confi ned to the legal realm. By focusing on the role of reparations in addressing human rights violations in the international context, the meaning of the term, and the complexity of the process of obtaining reparations, we show that the notion of reparations encompasses measures far beyond the legal system and that it has far-reaching political and social implications for societies seeking to make amends for prior misdeeds and oppression. Second, by drawing on the cases of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and of the controversy over reparations for slavery in the United States, the chapter highlights the contested nature of reparations claims-making and argues that reparations efforts have as much potential for positive social transformation as they do for division.
