This article examines Diane Orentlicher's 'Updated Set of Principles for the
Protection and Promotion of Human Rights through Action to Combat
Impunity' and their implications for African countries. The article argues
that these principles provide avenues through which records relating to human
rights violations, abuses and those arising out of truth and reconciliation
commissions may be preserved and made accessible as part of a nation's
collective memory. The article further examines how these principles are
currently applied to the management of South African Truth and Reconciliation
Commission archives, though the principles themselves were formulated after the
Commission had finalized its work. The article concludes by examining the
possibility of adopting these principles by African governments.