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Dispute Resolution Committee: Interim Constitution Accord

Implementations

Dispute Resolution Committee – 1993

In South Africa, the 1993 accord — which reaffirmed earlier agreements — outlines the duties of two overlapping bodies with a mandate of “dispute resolution: a “Goldstone Commission”, and a “National Peace Secretariat”.

Dispute Resolution Committee – 1994

The Goldstone Commission, chaired by Supreme Court Justice Richard Goldstone, was appointed with a mandate to investigate major episodes of political violence and conflict occurring between July 1991 and the April 1994 general elections. Appointed by then president FW de Klerk on 24 October 1991, the commission submitted 47 separate reports. The Commission played a crucial role in stopping political violence surrounding the peace talks. The Goldstone Commission’s “Report on Violence at Mooi River”, demonstrates their use of various methods including public testimony, public hearings, local policing, and the establishment of local dispute resolution committees at conflict sites, made up of members of conflicting societal groups or political parties at the troubled location.

The National Peace Secretariat was an apex organization that stood above the regional and local peace committees and dispute resolution committees. The essential task was “identifying township flashpoints” for the establishment of investigations and dispute resolution groups.¹

The Natal province was among the first townships for the establishment of a multi-party peace committee in September 1991. The ANC, NP, IFP and the police launched the dispute resolution committee at a meeting. The committee is to be chaired by Durban Catholic Archbishop Dennis Hurley and leading businessman Christian Pretorius.²

The regional and local committees were required to include local church, business, political and community leaders. The local peace committees and dispute committees were tasked with reporting violence to be investigated by the Goldstone Commission. In all, there were 11 regional committees and over hundred local peace committees established between 1991 and 1994 “with an annual budget of almost $12 million which enabled the hiring of full time staff for regional offices”. Such committees were functional until the establishment of the national unity government in April 1994.³

“South Africa’s peace secretariat convened,” Agence France Presse — English, November 7, 1991.
“South Africa establishes first grass roots peace committee,” Agence France Presse — English, December 11, 1991.
“Culture of Peace: Promoting a Global Movement,” UNESCO, 1995, 139-143, accessed December 5, 2010, http://www.culture-of-peace.info/monograph/pages138-139.html.