Resource Library

States have the obligation to prevent human rights violations, investigate them, identify and punish their intellectual authors and accessories after the fact, and may not invoke existing provisions of domestic law to avoid complying with their obligations under international law. ...

South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola, Mozambique and Namibia have all experienced massive violations of human rights in the recent past. Apart from Zimbabwe, where a political crisis continues, all of these states have further seen the end of major conflicts within the last two decades. Onl...

The purpose of this paper is to outline a proposal for a reparations program for Timor-Leste. Timor-Leste has experienced a number of mechanisms designed to provide justice for past wrongs. These have attempted to provide truth, criminal justice, and security sector reform. However to...

This research note presents preliminary population-based data on attitudes about peace and justice in northern Uganda. The survey data presented in this report were collected from April to June 2007 in eight districts of northern Uganda.

In the U.S., the democratic principle that openness in government can act as an important check against the possibility of government abuse has been steadily undermined. A critical information gap, only partially addressed through fragmented investigative efforts within and outside go...

ICTJ provides an overview of various United States Commissions of Inquiry. This publication includes briefs on the Senate and House Committee Investigations of the Palmer Raids in 1920, the Senator Frank Church Committee in 1975, a commission into wartime relocation and internment of ...

This article examines the various points at which accountability for economic crimes, including large-scale corruption, intersects with accountability for human rights violations. Because corruption and human rights violations are mutually reinforcing forms of abuse, the field of tran...

Unofficial Translation of Iraq’s Accountability and Justice Law.

Document from the High Court of South Africa regarding a case on enforced disappearances.

Hybrid courts are defined as courts of mixed composition and jurisdiction, encompassing both national and international aspects, usually operating within the jurisdiction where the crimes occurred. Drawing on the lessons learned from hybrid courts created since 1999, this publication ...

This publication is intended to assist in the implementation of principles contained in international human rights documents and treaties. It is a practical tool to provide guidance on implementing reparations initiatives. Its focus is not on redressing single or isolated human rights...

Vetting—the process by which abusive or corrupt employees are excluded from public office—is often practiced in post-conflict societies, yet remains one of the least studied aspects of transitional justice. In a co-publication of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) and the Inte...

Most comprehensive book-length study of reparation programmes currently available, including case-studies, thematic chapters, and national legislation documents. Contains contributions from an international and cross-disciplinary group of leading scholars and practitioners. Provides a...

Part of a series of practitioner-oriented publications by OHCHR, focused on the establishment and implementation of reparations programs. Download the PDF from the OHCHR website

Part of a series of practitioner-oriented publications by OHCHR, this report provides operational guidelines on the implementation of vetting programs within the broader context of institutional reform in post-conflict or post-authoritarian societies. Download the PDF from the OHCHR w...

DDR programs are seldom analyzed to consider justice-related aims; and transitional justice mechanisms rarely articulate strategies for coordinating with DDR. Disarming the Past: Transitional Justice and Ex-combatantsexamines how these two types of initiatives have connected—or failed...

Women face a double marginalization under authoritarian regimes and during and after violent conflicts. Nonetheless, reparations programs are rarely designed to address the needs of women victims. What Happened to the Women? Gender and Reparations for Human Rights Violations, argues f...

Given that women represent a very large proportion of the victims of conflicts and authoritarianism, it makes sense to examine whether reparation programs can be designed to redress women more fairly and efficiently and seek to subvert gender hierarchies that often antecede the confli...

Developing societies emerging from conflict and authoritarianism are frequently beset by poverty, inequality, weak institutions, broken infrastructure, poor governance, insecurity, and low levels of social capital. The same countries are also often the scene of massive human rights vi...

In many societies, histories of exclusion, racism, and nationalist violence often create divisions so deep that finding a way to deal with the atrocities of the past seems nearly impossible. These societies face difficult practical questions about how to devise new state and civil soc...

In August 2006 the Security Council created the UN Serious Crimes Investigation Team, as an extension of the previous investigation under the UN Integrated Mission Timor-Leste.

Background on the challenges in addressing legacies of past violence in sub-Saharan African countries such as Uganda, Ethiopia and Eritrea. The fact sheet gives an overview of the situation in the region and ICTJ's approaches in promoting transitional justice in individual countries. ...

Looking Back to Move Forward. An interview with Daniela Gavshon, Head of ICTJ's Honiara office, about the Solomon Islands Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Remedying Human Rights Violations. An interview with Ana Cutter Patel, deputy director, ICTJ International Policymakers Program.

Kenya’s Struggle toward Accountability and Justice. An interview with Njonjo Mue, head of ICTJ’s Nairobi office, and Comfort Ero, deputy director of ICTJ’s Africa Program.