2019 Year in Review
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Building Sustainable Peace and Development After Massive Human Rights Violations
As the convening member of the Working Group on Transitional Justice and SDG16+, ICTJ launched “On Solid Ground” at the beginning of June 2019. The report articulates the contributions of transitional justice to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 16 on peace, justice, and inclusion, and related goals on gender and inequality (SDG16+). In contexts of serious and massive human rights violations, sustainable peace and development will be more attainable if societies effectively pursue justice for those violations. Transitional justice provides a framework for addressing the needs of victims and helping to reduce the “justice gap”—that is, the failure to provide justice to people and communities outside the protection of the law—in such extraordinary circumstances.
Focusing on prevention, the report makes the case that transitional justice can foster trust in institutions and among people and groups; strengthen rule of law and access to justice; help to transform gender inequalities; and reduce inequality, marginalization, and corruption. It emphasizes a problem-solving approach to transitional justice, which requires context-specific and locally led innovation, the meaningful participation of victims, and balancing a concern for political settlements and stability with the aim of maximizing long-term change. It also describes the critical role of the international community.
The recommendations that resulted from this analysis were ultimately targeted to United Nations (UN) members states participating in the 2019 UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. The report is the product of the deliberations of the Working Group on Transitional Justice and SDG16+. An earlier working draft of the report was submitted to the Task Force on Justice. The methodology the Task Force used to prepare its final report—including taking people centered approaches, gathering relevant data, and proposing evidence-based solutions to justice problems—is one that is relevant to and should inform transitional justice.
Find the report here, in English, Arabic, French, and Spanish.
A Letter from the Executive Director
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.
At the dawn of this second decade of the 21st century, we are witness to a world in constant and rapid flux, full of uncertainty, and all too often driven by the self-interest of elites rather than universal principles and human rights. We continue to grapple with many of the same challenges of yesterday: devastating conflicts around the world that have left behind millions of victims; persistent impunity for the most heinous of crimes; the dismissal of justice, human rights, and humanitarian law; and the rise of nationalist narratives that perpetuate and further entrench racism, marginalization, and exclusion.
Those of us committed to justice and human rights, however, have reason to be hopeful for positive change, justice, and inclusion. This past year, we have also been buoyed by massive, mostly peaceful social protests in capitals and regional hubs in country after country, in which broad sections of society have filled the streets to demand their rights, access to justice, an end to endemic corruption and political and economic disenfranchisement, and urgent and long overdue redress for past injustices and historical grievances. Especially uplifting is the fact that leading these demonstrations, and in some cases revolutions, have been women, youth, and grassroots civil society organizations.
These citizen- and civil society-led movements, which have taken shape and come to life independently from the political establishment in often starkly different countries and regions, have breathed revitalizing fresh air into what has been a bleak global climate for justice and human rights for much of the past decade. Though not an antidote, they clearly articulate social demands, spark new ideas for solutions, and offer inspiration and hope for a better tomorrow.
ICTJ remains steadfast in its mission to help societies dealing with legacies of massive human rights violations and break cycles of violence to build a more peaceful, just, and inclusive future. At the heart of all that we do are the voices and needs of victims and the civil society organizations that advocate for them; they are the most powerful catalysts for real change. Disproportionately among victims in these societies are women, young people, and members of marginalized ethnic or religious communities. They are most often the targets of human rights abuses and bear the brunt of discriminatory political, social, and economic policies. The only path to a truly sustainable peace and development that guarantees justice for all is one where victims and civil society actively and meaningfully participate in transitional justice processes.
ICTJ partners with victims’ groups, women’s associations, youth-led action networks, and other local and national civil society organizations all over the world. We work with and support these groups because they know the local context — the social and political actors and dynamics, the extent and impact of the violations, and the root causes of conflict. They gather evidence and document abuses, they provide psychosocial support to victims and their families, and they mobilize the local population to take action in pursuit of justice and inclusion. For our part, we share our technical expertise and accumulated international experience, we help connect them with other political stakeholders and representatives of national institutions and international and multilateral organizations, and we offer a platform to share their stories with and influence the wider public. Together, we strive for redress, justice, accountability, and meaningful reforms.
In 2020 and the decade to come, we intend to strengthen existing and nurture new partnerships with grassroots civil society organizations and champions of justice at the local level. We will build on the achievements and lessons learned of last year and seize the opportunities they have opened. Side by side with victims, we will secure justice for all.
Fernando Travesí
Executive Director, ICTJ
