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New York, September 2003 - Participants in the ICTJ's Consultants Summer Institute. 
Leuven, Belgium, February 2006 - Left to right: Paul Lemmens, Priscilla Hayner, Mark Freeman, Stephan Parmentier. 
Demonstrators outside hearings of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1996. Photo courtesy of the South African Department of Justice. |
Workshops and CoursesICTJ runs regular 3-5 day training courses in English and French aimed at senior and mid-career NGO leaders, diplomatic staff, academics and graduate/law students. Current offerings: ICTJ and the Barcelona International Peace Center (Barcelona, Spain) September 28 - October 9, 2009 Truth, Memory and Justice: Exploring Truth Commissions and Transitional Justice | Course description
Recent offerings: ICTJ and NYU Law at the National University of
Singapore (Singapore) The Greentree Estate (New York, NY) Cour de Cassation (Paris, France)
ICTJ AND THE BARCELONA INTERNATIONAL PEACE CENTERTRUTH, MEMORY, AND JUSTICE: EXPLORING TRUTH COMMISSIONS AND TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE
The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), in partnership with the Barcelona International Peace Center, and under the auspices of the City Council of Barcelona, is pleased to announce its new Intensive Course on Truth, Memory, and Justice: a two-week intensive, non-credit course on transitional justice, with a special focus on truth commissions and other truth-seeking efforts, based in Barcelona, Spain. DATES & LOCATION This course will be held from September 28, 2009 to October 9, 2009 at the Castell de Montjuïc, a late 17th century fortress overlooking Barcelona and its harbor on the Mediterranean Sea. TOPICS This course will explore what happens when a society undergoing a deep political transformation confronts past human rights violations. This involves moral, political and legal questions of fundamental relevance for the quality of a successor regime after peace negotiations or democratic transitions. Truth commissions -- sometimes called truth and reconciliation commissions -- will be the central focus of the course, although these will be studied in the broader context of a holistic approach to dealing with the past. The course will seek to understand how and why truth commissions have emerged as accountability mechanisms, what they seek to achieve (e.g. broad forms of justice? A national narrative about the past? Reconciliation?), and their varied relationships with criminal justice and trials. Moreover, the course will critically appraise these initiatives, recognizing both their strengths and weaknesses and examining some cases of truth commissions that have been counterproductive in terms of accountability efforts. Finally, although it will begin with the theory and history of truth commissions, the course will have an emphasis on questions of relevance to practitioners, and those around the world who are directly connected to efforts to create truth commissions are strongly encouraged to apply. Participants will receive a rigorous theoretical introduction to the overall field of transitional justice and then will delve into the challenges of truth-seeking institutions. Participants will examine the relationship between truth-seeking and other accountability mechanisms, including prosecutions, vetting/lustration, memorialization, reparations, and institutional reform. In that light, the course will explore the intersection between efforts to achieve truth, justice and accountability, and negotiations to ensure sustainable peace. The curriculum will integrate gender-based considerations and be supplemented with weekly sessions and colloquia led by expert field practitioners, as well as case-study presentations of truth-seeking initiatives developed around the world, including both historical examples (South Africa, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Morocco) as well as more current initiatives (e.g. Canada, Colombia, Kenya, the United States, and Nepal). The course format will be include a combination of lectures, colloquia with visiting experts, and participatory exercises intended to focus on the design of transitional justice mechanisms and truth-seeking efforts especially, including an in-depth simulation on creating a truth commission. OBJECTIVE The course aims to equip busy professionals with the knowledge required to conceive, implement, and engage with transitional justice policies and programs that are in line with international best practices. The course also seeks to prepare practitioners directly involved with the creation of truth commissions with the tools necessary to make substantial contributions to these initiatives. PROFILE OF CANDIDATES The program is primarily targeted at mid-career and senior staff of multilateral agencies, governments, NGOs, foundations, and universities who wish to undertake an intensive course on cutting-edge developments in this important and expanding field. Practitioners directly involved in creating truth commissions or similar efforts are especially encouraged to apply, as are practitioners directly involved in the peacebuilding field, peacekeeping missions, or other contexts where transitional justice intersects with Peacebuilding. We also welcome advanced graduate students/faculty in these fields. The course is especially intended for anyone who will be directly involved in the creation of transitional initiatives generally, and truth-seeking institutions specifically. DETAILS & COST This course will be taught in English. The course fee is 1200 Euros, payable within 15 business days following admission into the course. Included in this fee is the cost of accommodation during the course in individual living quarters at the Residence of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas in Barcelona (http://www.resa.es/esl/residencias/investigadors/), as well as all meals, including daily refreshments; transportation to and from the student's residence; and course materials. (Payment arrangements will be described in the acceptance letters.) Limited scholarships may be available, depending on funding. INSTRUCTORS The primary instructor for the course is Louis Bickford, Director of the Policymakers and Civil Society Unit, and adjunct professor at New York University and the New School for Social Research. Facilitators/instructors will include ICTJ senior staff such as Eduardo Gonzalez, Deputy Director for the Americas; Caitlin Reiger, Deputy Director of the Prosecutions Program; Graeme Simpson, Director of Thematic Programs; and Priscilla Hayner, Director of the Peace and Justice Program and of ICTJ's Geneva office. MATERIALS Upon arrival at the course, applicants will receive a resource packet including a CD-ROM of extensive core readings and materials on transitional justice. TRAVEL Although the ICTJ does not cover participants' travel, visa, or insurance costs, it will provide letters in support of participants' visa applications. APPLICATION PROCESS Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, but are due no later
than July 10th, 2009. Successful applicants will be notified in
early August. The course will be limited to a maximum of 30 participants. (Updated June 2009) |
