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The Desmond Tutu Peace Centre (DTPC), co-founded by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mrs. Leah Tutu in 1998, plays a unique role in building and leveraging the legacy of Archbishop Tutu to enable peace in the world.

The distinctive values and practices that brought a peaceful transition to South Africa, including reconciliative and restorative rather than retributive justice, are the cornerstones of the teachings of Archbishop Tutu, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and former Chairperson of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

During apartheid in South Africa, Desmond Tutu emerged as a voice for the voiceless; someone who was able to "articulate the aspirations and the anguishes" of marginalised people.

After the 1994 elections and Nelson Mandela's inauguration as the country's first democratically elected president, Archbishop Tutu was asked to preside over a process "to heal a wounded and traumatised nation". The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established to bear witness to apartheid-era crimes, record and in some cases grant amnesty to the perpetrators.

It subsequently became an important model for other commissions of its kind throughout the world. Archbishop Tutu articulates that the main lesson learnt from this process was that "all human beings are fundamentally good". Despite the most horrendous atrocities committed, "people amazed the world with the exhibition of their magnanimity, their generosity of spirit, their willingness not to seek revenge and retribution, but to be willing to forgive".

Archbishop Tutu mustered a group of close friends and associates to form the Desmond Tutu Peace Trust in 1998. The Trust administers and oversees the development of the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre.