This week, the International Criminal Court heard closing arguments in the trial of Dominic Ongwen, a top commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Northern Uganda. Among the 70 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity he faces are 19 counts of sexual and gender-based crimes, including rape, sexual slavery, and forced marriage—the widest range of such crimes ever to be brought to trial before the court. The case thus marks a milestone in the jurisprudence of these international crimes.

At least one girl and nine other civilians were killed today during the shelling of 10 schools, as the latest escalation in conflict continues, Save the Children and partner Hurras Network can confirm. Some schools were in class, some had broken up for the day, and some were being used as shelters.

According to Hurras Network, this is the highest number of schools hit by attacks in Idlib in a single day since at least the start of 2019. Twenty-two schools have now been hit since the start of 2020 – almost half of them today.

From Africa to the Americas to Asia and Europe, transitional justice mechanisms that are locally owned and focused on the needs of victims have repeatedly helped to address grievances and pave the way for more peaceful societies to take root, delegates said today amid calls for the Security Council to take decisive approaches to conflicts in concert with other United Nations bodies. Among those leading that call was Yasmin Sooka of the Foundation for Human Rights in South Africa and Chair of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Right

As subscribers, you enjoy timely commentary on what’s happening in transitional justice around the world written by one of our experts exclusively for our monthly World Report newsletter. In this month’s edition, we bid farewell to 2019 by looking back on the experts’ choices of the past year.