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NEW YORK, August 19, 2019—The International Center for Transitional Justice announces the addition of two distinguished members to its Board of Directors. Ellen Taus and Brad Smith bring to ICTJ decades of experience in leadership roles at major global institutions.

ICTJ is pleased to announce the “Overseas: Writing Contest,” an open call for young migrants originally from or currently residing in Lebanon, Libya, or Tunisia to share their personal experiences of migration in the form of a short, written testimony.

As we prepare to welcome the New Year, we hope all practitioners will find this special edition of the World Report of particular interest, as it provides a unique overview of the most significant developments in transitional justice in 2012. As part of the 2012 ICTJ Year in Review, our website presents a multimedia gallery which highlights ICTJ’s work in 2012, and includes stories spanning from Colombia to Canada to Cote d’Ivoire. We also invite you to listen to this month's ICTJ Forum, in which ICTJ President David Tolbert reflects on significant events of the past year in the field of transitional justice.

On January 21, ICTJ and UNICEF held a special event to launch an important new report on the links between education and transitional justice. The launch was accompanied by a panel discussion moderated by ICTJ President David Tolbert.

To encourage public engagement in truth-telling and memorialization in Colombia, ICTJ and the Center for Historic Memory (Centro de Memoria Histórica) are pleased to announce a photography contest for non-professionals.

View the live broadcast of tonight's panel discussion with Richard Goldstone, David Tolbert, Hassan Jallow and Diane Orentlicher from 6:30pm–8:30pm.

ICTJ and the Center for Global Affairs of New York University (NYU) co-hosted a panel discussion on the impact of international ad hoc tribunals in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and the possible lessons these courts’ experiences hold for the International Criminal Court (ICC). In a discussion...

Ten years have passed since Tunisians took the streets to demand “Employment, Freedom, and National Dignity.” The revolution’s loud, courageous voice against corruption, extreme inequality, and repression echoed around the globe and inspired the “Arab Spring.” Today, Tunisians are still proud of their revolution. However, they continue to strive for goals, yet unattained, that the political class does not even seem to understand. It was thus not surprising to see large protests on the 10th anniversary, demanding concrete action and new public policies to advance social justice and better integrate marginalized regions and populations.

In their debate hosted by the Economist, Richard Dicker and Jack Snyder have touched on critical issues that frame the peace and justice debate. In my view, however, the peace and justice debate should focus more concretely on the central issues that will affect the lives of victims and affected societies, rather than solely seeking to resolve geopolitical or national power dynamics.

In seeking to establish accountability for past atrocity, many transitional justice mandates have also sought to redress crimes against indigenous populations. To further explore this relationship, ICTJ and our partners in Canada and Colombia are holding two side events to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

JAKARTA, Dec. 12, 2011—A report released today by the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), together with the Indonesian Association for Families of the Disappeared (IKOHI) and the Coalition for Justice and Truth (KKPK), calls on the government of Indonesia to fulfill its obligation to provide reparations to thousands of victims of gross violations of human rights.

A report released today by ICTJ, together with the Indonesian Association for Families of the Disappeared (IKOHI) and the Coalition for Justice and Truth (KKPK), calls on the government to fulfill its obligations to provide reparations to thousands of victims of gross human rights violations.

Following a restive year, Indonesia's human rights record is one of the situations under review during the 13th session of the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process in May–June 2012.

JAKARTA/NEW YORK, April 7, 2011—A joint report released today by the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and KontraS (the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence) examines the variety of state-sponsored initiatives to address mass violations of human rights in...

Despite the overwhelming percentage of Lebanese who were affected by recent wars and political unrest, discussion of Lebanon’s past is largely absent from public spheres. A new documentary follows youth in Lebanon as they set out to find the truth.

For decades, successive Myanmar political and military leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi’s, have flatly denied what millions of their citizens know: that the military has committed and continues to commit human rights violations. A new UN inquiry into those crimes is provides a moment of truth for Suu Kyi's commitment to justice, writes ICTJ's Aileen Thomson.

In a new op-ed, ICTJ Vice President Paul Seils argues that Kenya’s Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) should have been the shining light that led the way in restoring trust and confidence in office holders, institutions and government. Instead, its final report is mired in pointless controversy. Now, Kenya has a key opportunity to address allegations that the president's office interfered with the report's findings.

On February 13, 2024, the interactive cultural exhibit “If There Is Truth, There Is Future” opened to the public at Bogotá’s Center for Memory, Peace and Reconciliation. As part of the Colombian Truth Commission’s post-closure cultural and educational outreach activities, the exhibit aims to inform Colombians of all generations about the commission’s findings and inspire them to take action to prevent a recurrence of conflict.

It has been nearly 30 years since one of the darkest episodes in Colombia’s recent history: the siege of the Justice Palace. Late last year, the families of those disappeared managed to take a step forward in their long struggle to obtain some measure of justice when the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a ruling condemning the Colombian state for responsibility in the disappearance of 12 individuals.

As UN member states convene virtually this week for the annual General Assembly, they will likely focus on a narrow list of agenda items, topped by issues related to the deadly coronavirus pandemic and a global economic downturn. For this reason, ICTJ would like to recall the vital importance of justice for global peace, security, health, and development by sharing findings from an analysis of the open debate on transitional justice that the UN Security Council held on February 13, 2020, as part of its peacebuilding and sustaining peace agenda.

On November 28, ICTJ hosted an international conference to explore the synergies between reparations and sustainable development in Bogotá, Colombia. The event, titled “Advancing Victims’ Rights and Rebuilding Just Communities: An International Dialogue on Reparations and Sustainable Development,” brought together ICTJ partners from The Gambia, Tunisia, and Uganda along with civil society and government representatives from Colombia to discuss local strategies for advancing reparations for human rights abuses and how repairing victims and affected communities can contribute to local and national development. On the occasion, ICTJ also launched a new research report on the topic.

At this conference which will be held August 24 in Bogotá, national and international actors will present reflections and recommendations on criminal investigation and prosecution strategies, such as the selection and prioritization of cases, for a better development of the Justice and Peace Process in Colombia.

On 26 June each year, the world marks the International Day in Support of the Victims of Torture. The day was instituted in 1997 by the General Assembly of the United Nations, in an effort to build up the unanimity of condemnation required to abolish torture effectively in our time. In the effort to...

As the Special Court for Sierra Leone wraps up cases against accused war criminals, a conference will be held later this week in Freetown to assess the Court’s work and lasting legacy. The conference is part of a larger international effort to look at how the court has helped to bring peace and establish the rule of law for the people of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the region as a whole.

When perpetrators of serious international crimes are brought to justice by the country in which they committed their crimes, it signals a strong commitment to accountability and the rule of law. To ensure that domestic investigations and prosecutions occur for serious crimes such as genocide and crimes against humanity, the need for international assistance goes beyond the walls of the courtroom: development agencies and rule of law actors can provide countries with essential support to fairly and effectively prosecute serious international crimes in their own courts.

On Monday, December 10, the International Center for Transitional Justice will help tell the stories of victims and human rights activists at the forefront of the struggle for human rights across the globe. Send us images and texts that portray efforts seeking accountability, truth, remembrance, and redress in your community: we will share them on ICTJ’s Facebook page, and feature a selection of these stories on our website.

As we mark July 17, designated International Justice Day by the states parties of the International Criminal Court (ICC) just over two years ago, we should not limit our focus to the work of the court or criminal justice as such. Pursuing justice in the aftermath of atrocity presents an opportunity to do three crucial things: reaffirm a society’s shared values about basic ideas of right and wrong; restore confidence in the institutions of the state charged with protecting fundamental rights and freedoms; and recognize the human dignity of the victims of atrocities that have taken place.

As we approach International Justice Day on July 17, calls for accountability for human rights abuses resound across the globe, from Cairo to Washington, from Bogotá to Kinshasa, from Srebrenica to Colombo. The demands for justice are today a driving force of social change and popular revolutions, and their reach now extends to those at the highest levels of power.

Nine international human rights and legal groups have welcomed the resumption of the Guatemalan trial of Efraín Ríos Montt, the former military dictator, for genocide and crimes against humanity. The trial has taken another step towards its conclusion with the hearing of final arguments from the prosecution and victims’ representatives today and yesterday.

Today the trial begins in the “Sepur Zarco” case of acts of sexual violence and domestic and sexual slavery committed from 1982 to 1986 by members of the Guatemalan army against Maya Q’eqchi’ women and the forced disappearance of several men. This will be the first time in the world that a national court has tried a case of wartime sexual slavery case.

The international organizations who have signed this statement are appalled at the illegal raid which occurred on August 15, 2016 at the residence of Guatemalan lawyer and human rights defender Ramón Cadena, Central America Director of the International Commission of Jurists.

On May 12, the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers agreed to create a mechanism to receive claims for damages caused by the Russian crime of aggression in Ukraine. The new registry is intended to receive information on claims of damage, loss, or injury caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since February 24, 2022 and assess their eligibility for future adjudication or compensation. Many of the register’s chief proponents are hailing its creation as a key step toward accountability for the many violations of international law that Russia has committed in or against Ukraine. However, the register alone will not be sufficient to address the multitude of harms caused by the war.

ICTJ interview with Pablo Parenti, of the Attorney General’s Unit for coordination and monitoring cases involving violations of human rights during the Argentine dictatorship.

The Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) will hold its second of seven national events from June 28 to July 1 in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. The event will provide survivors of Canada’s Indian Residential Schools (IRS) and other participants an opportunity to contribute to documenting and publicizing what took place in this program of forced assimilation.

The report by the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict has reaffirmed the importance of justice in the pursuit of sustainable peace in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Released September 15, 2009, the 575-page report (PDF) documents violations of international law...

NEW YORK, Oct. 4, 2010--Ten years after Israeli security forces killed 13 Palestinian demonstrators, 12 of them citizens of Israel, the families' calls for accountability have gone unanswered, the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) said today. "Despite an official commission of...

A new youth coalition has announced they will act as advocates for the rights of their fellow young Ivorians, and tell a new history of the violence that has so far been silent.

NEW YORK, Mar. 18, 2011—“Those responsible for the shelling of a market in Abidjan must be identified and held accountable,” said ICTJ president David Tolbert referring to yesterday’s attack on a food market in Abobo, a suburb of the Ivory Coast’s capital, in which 100 people were killed or wounded...

In this op-ed, ICTJ President David Tolbert argues that Japan's recent, controversial apology to South Korean "comfort women" falls short of international standards.

On April 11, 2019, Jaqy Mutere, cofounder and coleader of Grace Agenda, accepted an award from Physicians for Human Rights recognizing the work of the Survivors of Sexual Violence in Kenya Network and Grace Agenda, a leader in this movement. Jaqy cofounded Grace Agenda after she began working with women who, like her, had experienced sexual violence during the protests that erupted in Kenya after the contested December 2007 elections.

June 20, 2019 — In a tightly packed room at the United Nations, human rights experts gathered for a historic symposium to commemorate a dark chapter of South Korea’s past, the Jeju Uprising and Massacre that began on April 3, 1948, and continued until 1951, which Koreans now refer to as “the 4.3 Jeju” events. Over 100 persons, including notable academic panelists, human rights experts, journalists, diplomats, religious leaders, and peace activists attended the symposium.

The Italy-based research center Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso is hosting an online debate on the ICTY's contribution to reconciliation. The debate, featuring Refik Hodzic of ICTJ and Dr. Janine Clark of the University of Sheffield, who will present arguments for and against the notion that ICTY has contributed to reconciliation. Outside audiences are invited to participate online.

On February 6, 2022, President Kaies Saied announced that he would dissolve Tunisia’s Supreme Judicial Council. While his supporters welcomed the declaration with satisfaction, many more across broad segments of society greeted it with outrage and resentment. That the president made this unilateral announcement on the premises of the Ministry of Interior—responsible for public security—stung all the more, as if to send a message that he would not hesitate to use executive power to counter perceived disobedience, judicial or otherwise.

In the latest round of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, the Turkish president called on both delegations to act responsibly and agree to a ceasefire. He reminded them of their historical mission to achieve a "just peace." While we may not know how and when this conflict will end, we already know some of what Ukrainian society will be grappling with in the near future. Significant portions of country’s civilian infrastructure have been destroyed. More than 4 million Ukrainians are now refugees; another 10 million are internally displaced; and a rising but still undetermined number have been killed, are missing, or are wounded. The real question is what does a just peace mean for Ukrainians.

View the live broadcast of tonight's Annual Emilio Mignone Lecture on Transitional Justice, from 6:00pm–7:40pm. Try Ustream's free video streaming desktop app

This year’s Annual Emilio Mignone Lecture on Transitional Justice, coordinated by ICTJ and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at the NYU School of Law, focused on the intersection between transitional justice and international development.

Colombia continues to endure a complex conflict spanning more than four decades that has resulted in almost 400,000 registered victims and has displaced more than three million people. In a podcast with ICTJ’s vice president Paul Seils, we explore the concepts of prioritization and selection of cases and their relevance to Colombia's Justice and Peace process.

It has been nearly seven years since the passage of the Justice and Peace Law (JPL) in Colombia. The process continues today amidst controversies and important reflections on the direction it should take. What progress has been made and what are the shortcomings of how the law has been implemented?

ICTJ convenes a high-level conference in Abidjan to discuss the progress in investigating and prosecuting serious crimes committed in Cote d’Ivoire during the 2010 post-election violence.

A Haitian court’s decision to drop charges of crimes against humanity against former president Jean-Claude Duvalier is a blow to the victims of his brutal dictatorship and sends a disturbing signal that the country cannot fulfill its basic legal obligations, ICTJ said today.