Can an Apology Ever Be Enough for Crimes of the Past?

This chapter locates apology as a fundamental element of the right of victims to reparations as recognised under international law, as having to be made publicly, and as constituting an acknowledgement of responsibility. The chapter, while focusing on apologies in South Africa, also examines apologies for serious international crimes made in other contexts before regional bodies, international tribunals and by Heads of State to populations at large. The chapter critiques the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s approach to apologies, and its flawed emphasis on Ubuntu and reconciliation, which permitted perpetrators to avoid accountability or responsibility, leading to the mistaken belief that they were entitled to forgiveness for the serious crimes of the past. The chapter advances the argument that, in the context of apartheid crimes, an apology is deeply offensive if not accompanied by an acknowledgement that apartheid was declared a crime against humanity, and an acceptance of responsibility and reparations for its crimes. By analysing the apologies tendered by the last apartheid-era President and struggle stalwart Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the chapter demonstrates that any discourse on forgiveness and reconciliation is obscene if not accompanied by acknowledgement or commitment to reparations.