Features

May 19, 2006

NEW BOOK: The Handbook of Reparations

Seminal Work on Reparations Makes Global Debut

The ICTJ today announced its global launch of The Handbook of Reparations, a groundbreaking collection of essays analyzing massive reparations programs for victims of human rights violations published by Oxford University Press. Over the coming month, events in The Hague, Brussels, Geneva, and New York will publicize and celebrate this tremendous accomplishment, reaffirming the Center's deep commitment to working on reparations programs all over the world as an integral part of its holistic approach to transitional justice.

At more than 1000 pages, this comprehensive study is the result of more than three years of intensive international and interdisciplinary research and the collaborative work of 27 authors from 14 countries. Written from a transitional justice perspective, the book employs a unique approach in examining national reparations programs by analyzing the experiences, needs, and impacts on victims.The Handbook provides a broad range of essential information about past experiences with massive reparations programs as well as normative guidance for future practice. Organized around three main sections, the book delves into 11 case studies, 9 thematic studies, and numerous primary documents and legislation.

Focusing on such varied contexts as Chile, Malawi, the September 11 Fund, and post-war Germany, the case studies offer new information about programs in different parts of the world that have never before been analyzed. The thematic papers are no less groundbreaking, tackling theoretical and practical issues also rarely addressed but that arise in the design and implementation of reparations programs, including the impact of psychosocial interventions and the impact of reparations on gender justice.

The ICTJ's distinct approach to reparations has already significantly influenced a number of reparations efforts. The approach was adopted by: the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the chapter on reparations in its final report; the recent Commission on Illegal Detention and Torture in Chile; the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Sierra Leone; and in various international documents including Diane Orentlicher's Joinet Principles on combating impunity. Most recently, the Center's approach significantly influenced the design and implementation of the Moroccan truth commission's reparations program.

The ICTJ hopes that The Handbook will become a standard reference for scholars, practitioners, government officials, policymakers, NGOs, and multilateral organizations as they seek to design, fund, and implement successful reparations programs.

The Handbook of Reparations is available for purchase from Oxford University Press. Click here to read Pablo de Greiff's "Introduction."