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Transitional Justice and Development
In April, the World Bank released its 2011 World Development Report (WDR) entitled Conflict, Security, and Development. It is the first WDR that links transitional justice to security and development and places human rights violations at the heart of its analysis of conflict.
The past year has seen historic developments in the ever-stronger struggle of peoples across the planet united in their unwavering demands for justice and dignity. The popular uprisings of the Arab Spring led by young, courageous activists toppled dictators and inspired millions around the world. The ongoing violence and repression in Syria and Egypt demonstrate the long road that lies ahead for these societies to regain their humanity, but no one doubts anymore the power of masses to demand a state acts as a guarantor of rights rather than a repressive power. Ratko Mladic was arrested after sixteen years on the run, closing the circle for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY),the first international war crimes court after the Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals. From Nepal to Peru, from Canada to Brazil, from Colombia to Kenya, societies worked to come to terms with the legacies of troubled pasts, grappling with the pain of victims and their rightful claims to truth, accountability, and redress. We at ICTJ did our best to be there in 2011, to stand with communities who embarked on the difficult journey of reckoning with the past for the sake of a peaceful future. These are some of the images and words that tell our story of 2011.