Dr. Charles Villa-Vicencio is executive director of the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, based in Cape Town. He was formerly the National Research Director in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in which capacity he was responsible for the five-volume report of the Commission handed to President Mandela in October 1998. Prior to that he was Professor of Religion and Society at the University of Cape Town. He was appointed a Fellow of that University in 1994. The work of the Institute, of which he is head, focuses on political analysis, the promotion of reconciliation and social reconstruction, and comparative work in the area of transitional justice – with a specific focus on African Countries. He has a close working relationship with a range of universities and research institutes in different parts of the world, in Africa and in South Africa. He is consulted on issues of transitional justice in different African and other global contexts.

Publications include: Looking Back – Reaching Forward: Reflections on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa (2000), Through Fire with Water: The Roots of Division and the Potential for Reconciliation in Africa (2003).