Desde tiempos inmemoriales, hacer justicia por un crimen equivale generalmente a imponer un castigo a quien lo perpetró. Incluso hoy, un sector de la sociedad, entre los que se cuentan víctimas y legisladores, siguen creyendo que no se ha impartido justicia a menos de que el culpable reciba una sentencia  severa, punitiva, por ejemplo una pena de prisión larga o incluso la pena capital para los crímenes más atroces. Sin embargo, la teoría de la justicia ha evolucionado a pasos agigantados en este siglo.

Since time immemorial, justice for a crime has generally meant punishment of the wrongdoer. Even today, some members of society, including victims and lawmakers, still believe that justice is not served unless the guilty party receives a stern and punitive sentence, such a long prison term or even capital punishment for the most serious crimes. However, the theory of justice has evolved tremendously in the last century.

On February 26, the International Center for Transitional Justice and NYU Law’s Center for Human Rights and Global Justice welcomed former President of Colombia and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Juan Manuel Santos for a conversation on the role of transitional justice in peace negotiations, along with Liv Tørres, the director of the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies.

As we bid farewell to 2019 and commence a new decade, we take this opportunity to reflect on the past year and look ahead to a defiant future. It is a time to recognize the achievements and challenges of 2019 and consider the lessons we learned through our experience and research to help us work better in the future.