Resource Library

Last week's decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague confirming four Kenyans must answer to charges of crimes against humanity does not excuse their government from responsibility to pursue justice at home, writes ICTJ vice president Paul Seils.

Join President David Tolbert as we celebrate ICTJ at 15 years, during which there have been many pivotal moments, both for our organization and the struggle for justice globally.

This year marks ICTJ’s 20th anniversary. For the past two decades, the organization has engaged in more than 50 countries, providing technical assistance and other critical support to victims, civil society, governments, and other stakeholders. Since its beginnings, ICTJ has served as a meeting point for transitional justice experts and practitioners and a hub of knowledge, research, and analysis. As a think tank that does, it has been at the forefront of the field’s evolution.

Join ICTJ and the Center for Global Affairs for a conversation on how the ICC and the African Union can move forward, and what the AU position means for effective prosecutions within Africa and elsewhere.

As peace talks advance between the Government of Colombia and the FARC guerilla group, an essential element of negotiations is how best to examine the truth about violence and abuses committed during the armed conflict. On February 25, 2015, the International Center for Transitional Justice and the Kofi Annan Foundation will host a conference in Bogotá, titled “Truth Commissions and Peace Processes: International Experiences and Challenges for Colombia.”

From February 27-March 1, leading indigenous rights activists from around the world will join their counterparts and other experts at Columbia University to discuss access to truth, justice, and reconciliation for indigenous peoples.

A new report by ICTJ and the Kofi Annan Foundation explores common assumptions about why truth commissions are created in the wake of internal armed conflict and what factors make them more likely to succeed – or fail. The new study will be released on June 19, 2014, at a public presentation jointly hosted by ICTJ and the Kofi Annan Foundation in Geneva.

In collaboration with 11 Tunisian human rights organizations from nine regions, ICTJ recently established the network “Transitional Justice is also for Women” to engage women as active participants in transitional justice initiatives.

Transitional justice practitioners, researchers, and educators will gather next week at ICTJ’s headquarters in New York to explore the connections between transitional justice and education in peacebuilding contexts.

Members of parliament from political parties opposed to extending the work of Tunisia’s truth commission today voted to end the commission’s mandate. This came after parliamentarians from parties that support the extension walked out of the proceedings because their position is that the Organic Law that created the Truth and Dignity Commission (TDC or Instance Vérité et Dignité in French) authorized the TDC to extend its mandate. Earlier, the TDC had voted to extend its mandate by a year in order to complete its work. In a position paper distributed to members of parliament and civil society activists, ICTJ and the Victims’ Coalition for Dignity and Rehabilitation jointly said that they supported the extension of the TDC’s mandate, despite internal issues among its commissioners. ICTJ pointed out that other truth commissions elsewhere have sought and been given extensions in order to carry out key parts of their work, such as public hearings, or to complete writing their reports. Both ICTJ and the Victims’ Coalition said that an extension would allow the TDC to hold public hearings on marginalization and unemployment – which was one of the grievances that drove the Arab Spring in Tunisia. It would also give the Commission time to finalize its report and recommendations, including those on reparations.

ICTJ and the Barcelona International Peace Resource Center (BIPRC) are pleased to announce the 6th Intensive Course on Truth Commissions, focused on a practical approach about the challenges in the design and implementation of a truth commission and, this year, exploring its intersections with peace processes.

ICTJ and the Barcelona International Peace Resource Center (BIPRC) are pleased to announce the 7th Intensive Course on Truth Commissions, focused on a practical approach about the challenges in the design and implementation of a truth commission and, this year, exploring its intersections with media and the public sphere.

ICTJ is pleased to announce the appointment of Theodore M. Shaw to its Governance Board. Mr. Shaw is an internationally recognized leader in the field of civil rights law. His broad experience as a civil rights advocate and scholar will bring added strategic vision to the Center’s board.

ICTJ hosts human rights scholar Michael Ignatieff and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein for an online debate whether the international community is abandoning the fight against impunity.

On February 4, 2021, the prominent activist, intellectual, writer, and filmmaker Lokman Slim joined the long list of victims of violence and impunity in Lebanon. The courageous human rights and political activist was found shot to death in his car in southern Lebanon.

Eminent human rights defender José Zalaquett passed away on February 15. “Pepe,” as he was known by many, helped pioneer the field of transitional justice and inspired countless human rights defenders around the globe.

Eastern DRC continues to be affected by conflict and serious crimes continue to be committed against civilians living in the area by the national army (FARDC), national armed groups, and foreign armed forces. Holding perpetrators accountable is essential to dismantling the structures that allow the ongoing cycle of abuses to continue in the DRC.

From Syria to Colombia and beyond, how do societies navigate the pursuit of justice in peace processes? That question animated ICTJ’s annual Intensive Course on Transitional Justice and Peace Processes, which this month gathered 31 participants from nearly 20 countries in Barcelona to discuss the place of justice in negotiations to end conflict. Go behind-the-scenes with our instructors and participants.

The first online debate hosted by the ICTJ on the role of media in transitional justice has come to a close. The debate aimed to illuminate issues around this complex relationship and was the first in a series ICTJ will host on topics on which there is no consensus in the field.

In these convoluted times, when terrible news dominates the headlines and overwhelms our hearts and minds, it is sometimes comforting to remember the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” News from Spain on recent progress toward justice for victims of fascism may offer some inspiration, and it is why I picked this story from the many unfolding around the world to comment on in this month's World Report.

Following the recent closure of ICTJ's office in Côte d’Ivoire, we caught up with Head of the Office Mohamed Suma and Senior Expert Cristián Correa to reflect on ICTJ’s work in the country and with victims, women, and youth, as well as the reasons why ICTJ has chosen to scale down its activities.

Children born of wartime sexual violence often face rejection from the communities their mothers call home. For these families, the failure of the state to address the harm they suffered and the enduring stigma leads to their further marginalization. An ICTJ film on this stigma, and the paths to overcome it, sparked discussion at a panel held at the Austrian Mission to the United Nations.

In this edition of the ICTJ Forum, we speak with Lynn Maalouf, one of the primary authors of a new report by ICTJ entitled Lebanon’s Legacy of Political Violence. The report compiles information on hundreds of incidents of serious crimes that took place from 1975 to 2008 in all parts of Lebanon.

Can truth commissions help secure a just peace following a violent conflict in which massive human rights abuses are committed? In this special series of the ICTJ Forum, we present a series of conversations with some of the world’s top peace mediators and truth commission experts, whose collective experience include years on the front lines of critical peace agreements in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

On December 12, ICTJ’s head of office for Colombia María Camila Moreno received the Alfonso López Michelsen Award for her dedicated work to advance peace and uphold international human rights and humanitarian law.