Resource Library

More than 30 countries have created truth commissions to investigate and report on human rights abuses. These commissions of inquiry help seek recognition for victims and promote possibilities for peace, reconciliation and democracy.

Of the more than 30 truth commissions created since the 1980s, four that were organized in Africa and the Americas are notably good examples of how circumstances in each society helped shape the commissions’ work.

In the absence of governmental action or as preparation for it, some local communities or civil society groups sometime seek to recognize and investigate the legacy of past human rights abuses. Such actions can help lead to more formal transitional justice approaches, including truth ...

Background on the ICC's record in pursuing prosecutions as a response to massive human rights abuses and discusses hybrid court tribunals as a developing judicial strategy. ICTJ offers insight into trends for states to balance international and domestic pressures to combat impunity fo...

Transitional justice is a response to systematic or widespread violations of human rights. It seeks recognition for victims and promotion of possibilities for peace, reconciliation and democracy. Transitional justice is not a special form of justice but justice adapted to societies tr...

Background on the 2004 ICC arrest warrant for Bosco Ntaganda, wanted for war crimes allegedly committed in the DRC including civilian massacres and the recruitment of child soldiers. In 2009, the Congolese government decided not to arrest Bosco, and instead appointed him a deputy comm...