1408 results

In Memoriam, ICTJ Founder Alex Boraine

Dr. Alex Boraine, founder of the ICTJ, was larger than life. In his long career, he touched the lives of thousands in his beloved South Africa and around the world.

12/05/18

by

Howard Varney

In Focus

Memory: Public Policy for Transformation in Colombia

ICTJ and the Center for Memory, Peace and Reconciliation of Colombia are organizing an event on Memory: Public Policy for Transformation. Dialogue at the conference will serve as the basis for providing recommendations to the process of creating the Center for Historical Memory and designing public memory policy in the country.

11/23/11
In Focus

Memory Reconstructs Society and Reestablishes Rights

In a simple house made of wood and straw and smelling of earth, women, girls, and the occasional man narrate, sometimes laughing and other times crying, the stories of how their life used to be before being forcibly displaced to San Juan Nepomuceno. This is one of the many local memory initiatives taking place throughout Colombia today.

03/13/12
In Focus

Men and Boys Are Victims Of Sexual Violence, Too

The taboo around sexual violence against men and boys can leave victims in the shadows, write ICTJ's Kelli Muddell and Sibley Hawkins. Without acknowledgment of these crimes, efforts to address injustices of the past will be hard-pressed to develop inclusive and effective responses.

03/27/17
In Focus

Mexico: Submission to the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council

The transitional justice mechanisms the Mexican government put in place to investigate the grave human rights violations committed before the political transition of 2000 did not achieve their aims.

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ICTJ

UN Universal Periodic Review Submission

A Mixed Approach to International Crimes: The Retributive and Restorative Justice Procedures of Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace

Colombia's Special Jurisdiction for Peace (SJP) aims to achieve criminal accountability through a mixed system of restorative and retributive justice. Generally speaking, the SJP envisions large-scale restorative justice measures involving public acknowledgments of responsibility, as ...

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Anna Myriam Roccatello and Gabriel Rojas

Report

Mobilizing Côte d'Ivoire's Next Generation

Issoumaila Touré grew up during Côte d'Ivoire’s devastating First Civil War (2002-2007), watching his community be torn apart by political manipulations and ethnic differences. When his country once again descended into civil war following the 2010 presidential elections, Issoumaila, then a young man in his early 20’s, came to a major crossroads in his life.

07/05/19
In Focus

Molding Justice: Women's Voices from the Tunis Gender Conference

ICTJ’s Gender Symposium, held on February 2 to 4, 2019, in Tunis, Tunisia, brought together fearless women leaders working in 8 countries to advance the needs of victims and to bring gender issues to the center of transitional justice processes. What was achieved? What experiences cut across these diverse contexts? Kelli Muddell and Sibley Hawkins reflect on these questions and more in this short podcast.

05/15/19
In Focus

More than prayers, Pope Francis’ actions can help reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Ahead of Pope Francis' visit to Bosnia Herzegovina, ICTJ's Communications Director, Refik Hodzic, asks the leader of the Catholic Church to actively contribute to "a genuine reckoning needed for a genuine peace" in a society still stuck in the past, even 20 years after the war.

02/17/15
In Focus

More Than Words: Apologies as a Form of Reparation

Official public apologies are an important element of a transitional justice policy. As a form of symbolic reparation, an apology is a formal, solemn and, in most cases, public acknowledgement that human rights violations were committed in the past, that they caused serious and often ...

Report

Morocco: Gender and the Transitional Justice Process

Morocco’s “Years of Lead” period was marked by policies of state violence against political dissidents including torture, arbitrary detention, and enforced disappearances. “ Morocco: Gender and the Transitional Justice Process” analyzes whether the various transitional justice processes undertaken by the IER sufficiently fulfill the gender-specific focus of its mandate.

10/13/11
In Focus

Morocco: Gender and the Transitional Justice Process

Established in 2004, Morocco’s Equity and Reconciliation Commission (IER: l’Instance équité et réconciliation) was one of the first attempts made in the Arab world to address human rights violations perpetrated in the post-independence period. It also aimed to include female victims o...

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Julie Guillerot; Naima Benwakrim; Maria Ezzaouini; Widad Bouab

Report

Morocco Still a Model for Justice in MENA, but Questions Remain

The month of January has a particular significance in the Middle East and North Africa. It was the month when the Arab uprisings were sparked five years ago. It was also the month when the transitional justice process was inaugurated in Morocco, 12 years ago. What can be learned from Morocco’s experience?

02/08/16
In Focus

Moving Documentary Film on Children Born of War in Northern Uganda Released by ICTJ and MediaStorm

NEW YORK, February 2, 2016 – A short documentary film depicting the devastating effects of stigma and discrimination against children born of wartime sexual violence, and their mothers, in northern Uganda was released today by the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and MediaStorm....

02/02/17
Press Releases

Moving from Mirage to Reality: Transitional Justice and Prevention in Morocco

This study examines how transitional justice measures in Morocco have helped prevent state violence repression and social and economic exclusion. These measures included the Equity and Reconciliation Commission, which diagnosed some historical wrongdoings and called for reform to prev...

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Mustapha Hadji

Report

Much Work Ahead for Spain in Facing the Ghosts of the Past

In this op-ed, David Tolbert says Spain's democratic institutions exist side by side with long-term impunity, and argues that it's time for the country to address deep wounds that linger between different sides of the conflict.

10/10/14
In Focus

UN Must Act Decisively to Uphold the Rule of Law

When 26-year old Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi incinerated himself on December 17, 2010, his act resonated across an entire region and sparked what is known as the Arab Spring. His cry echoed across the world because it was a universal call for justice, basic fairness, and equal treatment. Indeed, it was a call for the rule of law. In a new op-ed, ICTJ's President David Tolbert calls upon the UN General Assembly to prove its commitment to justice and the rule of law.

08/15/12
In Focus

EU Must Protect Bosnia’s War Crimes Court

The War Crimes Chamber of Bosnia’s State Court is one of the most successful undertakings to address the legacy of mass atrocities in national courts. As this important institution finds itself under serious threat, the European Union must act quickly to put a stop to attempts of the Bosnian Serb political leadership to undermine Bosnia’s capacity to prosecute war crimes at state level.

02/08/12
In Focus

‘We Must Resist, Persist, and Never Desist’—Colombian and African Civil Society Exchange Local Strategies for Promoting Reparations  

On November 28, 2023, ICTJ organized an international dialogue in Bogotá, Colombia, to share innovative strategies for advancing victims’ rights to redress for human rights abuses and for establishing more victim-centered development policies. The gathering also marked the official launch of ICTJ’s new report—Advancing Victims’ Rights and Rebuilding Just Communities Local Strategies for Achieving Reparation as a Part of Sustainable Development—which presents findings from a two-year comparative study of local efforts in Colombia, The Gambia, Tunisia, and Uganda to advance reparations.

02/15/24
Two women seated indoors look intently ahead of them.
In Focus

Myanmar: Submission to the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council

In 2008 and 2009, the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) conducted extensive research on impunity in Myanmar (previously known as Burma). This submission is based largely on that research, as well as developments in the last six months.

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ICTJ

UN Universal Periodic Review Submission

Natural Connections: Linking Transitional Justice and Development Through a Focus on Natural Resources

Natural resources are a natural connecting point for postconflict development and transitional justice. Understanding the specific role of natural resources in the maintenance of authoritarian regimes and the facilitation of armed conflicts is central to transitional justice's aim of ...

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Emily E. Harwell and Philippe Le Billon

Navigating Amnesty and Reconciliation in Nepal’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission Bill

During peace negotiations, there is often a belief that providing amnesties for certain crimes will help promote national reconciliation. Nepal's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Bill currently contains provisions on both amnesty and reconciliation. However, the Bill itself i...

by

ICTJ

Briefing Paper

Navigating Amnesty and Reconciliation in Nepal’s TRC Bill

As Nepal’s parliament enters the final discussions on a draft Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) bill, questions remain regarding the relationship between amnesty and reconciliation provisions within the bill.

12/20/11
In Focus

Navigating Paths to Justice in Myanmar's Transition

This report asserts that dealing with past abuses in Myanmar is essential to achieving genuine progress on peacebuilding and economic development in the country. Conflict and high levels of political repression have racked Myanmar for more than half a century. Both President Thein Sei...

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Patrick Pierce and Caitlin Reiger

Report

U.S. Needs Justice for the ‘War on Terror’

As the United States and global audiences were informed of the death of Osama bin Laden at the hands of U.S. special forces, we are reminded how crucially important justice is in the discourse on America’s fight against terrorism. On the eve of these momentous events, ICTJ President David Tolbert spoke to an audience at American University in Washington about the need for the U.S. to ensure accountability for the conduct of its “war on terror.”

05/04/11
In Focus

Neglected Duty: Providing Comprehensive Reparations to the Indonesian "1965 Victims" of State Persecution

This report outlines Indonesia's international law obligations to provide remedies to the "1965 victims" of General Soeharto's persecution and stigmatization of those affiliated with the Indonesia Communist Party. It traces the history of this persecution, provides an overview of curr...

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ICTJ; Teresa Birks

Report

Negotiating justice: Guidance for mediators (February 2009 report)

Negotiating Justice: Guidance for Mediators provides guidance on grappling with justice issues in peace negotiations. Co-published with the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, the report seeks in particular to provide peace process actors with basic facts of law, guidance on amnesties a...

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Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, Priscilla Hayner

Negotiating Peace and Justice: A Course on the Place of Transitional Justice in Peace Processes

The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and the Barcelona International Peace Resource Center (BIPRC) are pleased to announce an Intensive Course on Transitional Justice and Peace Processes, taking place in Barcelona, Spain, June 6 - 10, 2016. It will focus on practical examples of recent or paradigmatic peace processes where the question of justice formed a significant part of the negotiating context.

03/10/16
In Focus

Negotiating Peace and Justice: Announcing ICTJ's 2017 Intensive Course on Transitional Justice and Peace Processes

ICTJ is pleased to announce an intensive course on transitional justice and peace processes to be held in Barcelona, Spain on October 9-13. Applications are now open.

06/21/17
In Focus

Negotiating Peace in Indonesia: Prospects for Building Peace and Upholding Justice in Maluku and Aceh

Indonesia’s history is littered with episodes of mass violence, whether state-sponsored, communally driven or separatist in nature. But in recent times the Indonesian government has successfully negotiated several peace agreements and brought about an end to mass human rights violatio...

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ICTJ, IfP, Scott Cunliffe, etal

Report

Negotiating peace in Liberia: Preserving the possibility for Justice

This report focuses Liberia's Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of 2003. It examines many key decisions that were made in creating the CPA, and centers on questions of justice, accountability and the rule of law. It notes developments in the four years after the CPA was signed, an...

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ICTJ, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue; Priscilla Hayner

Report

Negotiating Peace in Nepal: Implications for Justice

In April 2008 historic elections to Nepal’s Constituent Assembly led to a political watershed: former Maoist guerrillas surprised everyone by coming out ahead, suggesting that a new era had come to Nepal. In its first sitting, the Constituent Assembly declared Nepal a republic and bro...

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ICTJ, IfP, Warisha Farasat and Priscilla Hayner

Report

Negotiating peace in Sierra Leone: Confronting the justice challenge

This report focuses the Lomé Accord of 1999, that ended the Sierra Leone's 10 year civil war. It examines the negotiation dynamics influencing its creation and the impact of the accord from 1999 to 2007. The peace accord is often remembered for its unconditional amnesty provisions, wh...

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ICTJ, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue; Priscilla Hayner

Report

In Negotiation of Women’s Rights after Revolution, MENA Activists Take Lessons from Tunisia

An ICTJ immersion course brought together women from Egypt, Yemen, Syria, and Libya to closely observe Tunisia’s emerging experience in transitional justice, including the ways in which issues of gender-based violence and the experiences of women are being addressed.

05/07/13
In Focus

Negotiations with ELN Offer Colombia a Path Towards Comprehensive Peace

ICTJ welcomes the announcement of formal peace talks between the Government of Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN). This new process opens the possibility of achieving comprehensive peace in the country and entering a new phase in Colombian history.

03/31/16
Press Releases

Nepal: New Study by ICTJ Finds Conflict Victims Continue to Have Acute Needs; Calls for Comprehensive Reparations

A new study by ICTJ finds that victims of human rights violations committed during Nepal’s 10-year armed conflict continue to experience hardship – and calls on the government to implement a comprehensive reparations program to respond to their acute and long-term needs.

09/16/14
Press Releases

Nepal: Rethinking Transitional Justice Post Elections

In this opinion piece, Lucia Withers argues that Nepal's elected parties and their representatives should not limit their discussions to the establishment of a truth commission or whether it will provide for amnesties and/or prosecutions. Rather, they should focus on designing policies that are more comprehensive and that would better serve the rights and needs of conflict victims and contribute to broader peace-building efforts.

11/18/13
In Focus

In Nepal, Victims’ Silence Cannot Be Bought

Six years after a peace agreement formally ended the conflict in Nepal, the slow, painstaking process of building the country’s new democracy has yet to provide comprehensive reparation to victims. To fully acknowledge the experience of victims of the conflict, Nepal’s government should not mistake the issuance of relief through material benefits for the implementation of a comprehensive reparation program. This is one of the central recommendations of "Relief, Reparations, and the Root Causes of Conflict in Nepal," a major new report from ICTJ, and authored by Ruben Carranza.

10/05/12
In Focus

Nepal’s Wives of Disappeared Face Continued Legal, Financial Struggles, Says New ICTJ Report

In a briefing paper released on the eve of the International Day of the Disappeared, ICTJ documents the experience of the wives of the disappeared in Nepal and calls for measures to address the poverty, social stigma, and legal limbo they continue to face in their day-to-day lives.

08/29/13
Press Releases

Nepali Voices: Perceptions of Truth, Justice, Reconciliation, Reparations and the Transition in Nepal

The survey sought to ascertain the opinions and expectations of the victims and their families in Nepal on a range of transitional justice issues, such as human rights violations, truth-seeking, justice, accountability, reparations, and reconciliation.

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ICTJ; Advocacy Forum

Report

A New Animated Film Explores the Trauma and Resilience of Families of the Disappeared in Syria

ICTJ and the Bridges of Truth project are launching Tomorrow We Continue, a new short animated documentary that follows a young mother of two whose husband was detained and disappeared by security forces in Syria some years ago. The film takes the viewer on her journey as a refugee searching for safety in Berlin and depicts the daily struggles she encounters once settled as she tries to earn a living and care for her children while continuing to search for her husband. Since the uprising in Syria began in 2011, more than 100,000 people have been disappeared or arbitrarily detained. The families they leave behind may move to safer places as refugees, but the search for their loved ones persists wherever they go. This film is one of their stories.

12/19/22
Tomorrow We Continue - Film Poster
Press Releases

New Book from ICTJ Examines How Transitional Justice Must Adapt to Difficult Circumstances in Today’s World

A new book by ICTJ titled Justice Mosaics: How Context Shapes Transitional Justice in Fractured Societies examines the challenges of responding to massive human rights violations in different and difficult circumstances in today's world.

05/16/17
Press Releases

New Book from ICTJ Explores Links Between Culture and Transitional Justice

A new book from ICTJ explores the ways in which cultural and social factors interact with national efforts to achieve accountability and reform in the wake of human rights abuses or conflict. How can journalists influence national views on a legacy of violence? How can art be used to spark discussions on accountability? These and other questions are addressed in Transitional Justice, Culture, and Society: Beyond Outreach.

04/28/14

In a New Book, Women Relatives of the Missing in Lebanon Use the ‘Ink of Their Hearts’ to Tell Their Stories

The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and the Committee of the Families of the Kidnapped and Disappeared in Lebanon (CFKDL) will release Windmills of Our Hearts, a new book of short stories by 15 women relatives of missing and forcibly disappeared persons in Lebanon. On June 1, ICTJ and CFKDL will host a public launch and book signing event at Dar el Wardieh in Hamra, Beirut.

05/24/23
Windmills of Our Hearts - High Res Print Visual
Press Releases

New Edition of Hatun Willakuy Shares Findings of Peru’s Truth Commission, Aimed at Wider Audiences

Three human rights groups have joined together to publish a new English edition of Hatun Willakuy, a book presenting the abridged findings of Peru’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, on its tenth anniversary. The book, which is available online, will allow a larger number of readers to benefit from the findings of Peru’s truth-seeking process.

05/23/14
Press Releases

New Guide Explores Realities Facing Syria’s Disappeared, Arbitrarily Detained, and Their Families

New York, March 1, 2022—“There can be no peace in Syria until the rights of the wrongfully detained, disappeared, and their families are fully restored,” warns a new publication released today by the Bridges of Truth, a collaborative of eight Syrian civil society organizations and ICTJ. A Guide to...

03/01/22
Press Releases

New Guide for Syrian Youth Inspires Creative Thinking About Transitional Justice

New York, December 4, 2019—"Get ready to speak up and be heard because your voice matters!”—that is the message a new guidebook released today on transitional justice sends to Syrian youth. Produced by ICTJ and Dawlaty, a Syrian human rights organization based in Beirut, the guidebook introduces the concepts of transitional justice to young audiences in an engaging and interactive way while capturing the challenges of applying them in difficult contexts.

12/03/19
Press Releases

New Handbook from ICTJ Explains the Most Important Concept Behind the ICC

A new handbook written by ICTJ vice president Paul Seils explores the relationship between the ICC and national courts.

07/19/16
Press Releases

New Hope for Political and Humanitarian Agreements in Venezuela

The end of 2022 in Venezuela was marked by signs of willingness from all parties to take concrete steps toward democracy. The government and the opposition resumed negotiations and agreed to allow the United Nations to manage a fund for billions of dollars of frozen assets, which would be gradually released to address the country’s humanitarian crisis. The United States authorized the Chevron Corporation to resume limited operations for importing Venezuelan oil. Finally, the 2015 National Assembly voted to end the opposition-led interim government. While these steps are initial ones to create the conditions for trust among the parties, they offer opportunities to improve the dire circumstances in which many Venezuelans currently live.

02/01/23

by Cristián Correa

A man in a small dark room without electricity lights a match to start a hotplate where a pot sits.
World Report

New ICTJ Guide Offers Recommendations for Interviewing Young People As Part of Truth Seeking and Documentation Efforts

In the aftermath of massive human rights violations, the voices of young people carry enormous potential: they can tell the truth about the past while offering new paths forward as their societies pursue peace and justice. However, if institutions want the insights of young people, they must avoid pre-formulated solutions and instead engage with youth on their own terms. A new guide released by ICTJ today aims to provide the tools necessary to do so, offering recommendations about how to responsibly and effectively gather statements from young people.

02/01/18
Press Releases