74 results

The Force of the Police: An Analysis of Police Violence Based on Experience in the United States and the Imperative to Restore Legitimacy

George Floyd’s death reignited existing anger over American society’s deep and festering racial wounds. His death triggered significant social uprisings that have challenged the methods of policing that have emerged over the course of several decades. With a growing awareness of polic...

by

Roberto Cornelli

Three police officers kneel with several protesters at a demonstration.
Report

The Case for Justice

Why pursue transitional justice in the aftermath of massive human rights violations? This video provides a window into the debate about the relevance of transitional justice in today’s world.

05/08/24
Videos

Soft Vengeance: An Interview with South Africa’s Albie Sachs

ICTJ Vice President Paul Seils interviewed South African judge and human rights activist Albie Sachs.

05/10/24
Videos

Committing to Justice for Serious Human Rights Violations: Lessons from Hybrid Tribunals

This report aims to help practitioners in the transitional justice field to understand the experience of establishing and operating hybrid courts and to address some common assumptions about these entities. To do so, it looks at hybrid or mixed courts in practice, drawing on experienc...

by

Elena Naughton

Report

Holding a Mirror to Society: Acknowledgment and the Struggle for Indigenous Peoples Rights

Indigenous peoples are still some of the most marginalized and vulnerable communities around the world. In a conflict, they are often some of the most affected as their resource-rich territories are coveted by powerful and violent groups, their identity and loyalty perceived with mistrust, and their...

08/08/18
In Focus

UN Special Rapporteur on Transitional Justice Discusses New Mandate with ICTJ

ICTJ was pleased to host the newly elected United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparations, and guarantees of non-recurrence, Fabian Salvioli (Argentina), at its New York office, where he discussed his vision and priorities.

06/26/18
Press Releases

Portraits of Truth: A New Film Explores Memory and Justice Through One Man’s Journey Back to Cambodia

Angkar, screened on June 16 at the New York Human Rights Watch Film Festival, follows Khonsaly, a victim of the Khmer Rouge, on his journey to the village he fled almost 30 years ago. The film, produced by Neary Adeline Hay about her father's experience with torture and repression, is an intergenerational offering to truth and memorialization work that dances between the inheritance of abuse and its painful recollection by a survivor.

06/18/18

by

Elena Naughton

In Focus

A Noble Dream: The Tenacious Pursuit of Justice in Guatemala

Bring General Rios Montt and other high ranking members of the military to trial in the Guatemalan courts for genocide? In 1999 it was a noble dream for justice, but one with little apparent possibility of ever coming true. On International Justice Day, walk the long path to justice that led to this historic trial.

07/14/17
In Focus

Media and Transitional Justice: A Dream of Symbiosis in a Troubled Relationship

In transitional contexts, reporting does not simply present the facts, but instead shapes the parameters for interpreting divisive political issues. Coverage in such polarized contexts can mitigate or obscure the substance of transitional justice efforts to establish what happened, wh...

by

Refik Hodzic and David Tolbert

Briefing Paper

Transitional Justice and Media: A Crucial But Neglected Relationship

In a society grappling with the legacy of the past, citizens must make informed judgements and disentangle the facts from the sticky web of political rhetoric, denial, and polarizing propaganda. To do so, they rely on one key agent of social change: the media. But how can transitional processes effectively partner with the media and engage key constituencies? And what happens when media play a decisively negative role in mediating information about war crimes?

09/20/16
In Focus

International Organizations Condemn Act of Intimidation Against Another Human Rights Defender in Guatemala

The international organizations who have signed this statement are appalled at the illegal raid which occurred on August 15, 2016 at the residence of Guatemalan lawyer and human rights defender Ramón Cadena, Central America Director of the International Commission of Jurists.

08/24/16
Press Releases

Truth is the First Step Towards Peace

As we search for ways to halt the violence and foster lasting peace in societies grappling with a legacy of massive human rights abuse, there is arguably no more important day to reflect upon the importance of the struggle for truth and justice than today, March 24. Thus, we take a moment to mark the International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims.

03/24/16
In Focus

International Organizations Applaud the Initiation of the First Trial for Sexual Slavery and Violence During the Armed Conflict in Guatemala: The Sepur Zarco Case

Today the trial begins in the “Sepur Zarco” case of acts of sexual violence and domestic and sexual slavery committed from 1982 to 1986 by members of the Guatemalan army against Maya Q’eqchi’ women and the forced disappearance of several men. This will be the first time in the world that a national court has tried a case of wartime sexual slavery case.

02/01/16
Press Releases

Carlos Dada: Guatemalan Victories over Impunity Have Inspired People across Central America

The resignation and indictment of President Otto Pérez Molina for corruption was a significant victory over impunity in Guatemala. In an interview with journalist Carlos Dada, we discussed how recent developments in Guatemala could impact other countries in Central America, such as Honduras and El Salvador.

09/22/15
In Focus

Forty Years after Cambodian Genocide, A New Documentary Celebrates the Music that Lived On

The new film "Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll" explains the events of 1960s and 70s through the eyes of the musicians and artists who ushered in a new era of sound, only to be silenced too soon. As the world commemorates the 40th anniversary of the genocide in Cambodia, the new documentary presents the untold story of how their music managed to survive.

04/15/15
In Focus

Barcelona: ICTJ Trains Advocates from 18 Countries on Truth Commissions

Transitional justice practitioners and activists from 18 different countries gathered in Barcelona to attend the 6th Intensive Course on Truth Commissions, organized by the ICTJ and the Barcelona International Peace Resource Center on September 29 - October 3.

10/16/14
In Focus

ICTJ Program Report: Truth and Memory

In this edition of the ICTJ Program Report, ICTJ Senior Associate Felix Reátegui discusses the principles behind the Truth and Memory program, and explains the imperatives of uncovering, acknowledging, and memorializing the past.

09/18/14
In Focus

After Guilty Verdicts in Khmer Rouge Tribunal, Broader Struggle for Accountability Continues in Cambodia

On August 7, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) found two senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, guilty of crimes against humanity. For many victims who have been waiting for 35 years, the judgment still felt like bittersweet justice.

08/21/14
In Focus

Kofi Annan Foundation and ICTJ Call for Contextualized Approaches to Peace Processes

Truth commissions can make important contributions to peace processes if all parties can agree on common objectives and there is genuine local political will to shed light on past events. This is the key finding of a new study – titled “Challenging the Conventional: Can Truth Commissions Strengthen Peace Processes?” – to be released on 19 June 2014 by ICTJ and the Kofi Annan Foundation.

06/18/14
Press Releases

Challenging the Conventional: Can Truth Commissions Strengthen Peace Processes?

This joint report by ICTJ and the Kofi Annan Foundation explores common assumptions about why truth commissions are created in the wake of armed conflict and what factors make them more likely to succeed – or fail. It arises from a high-level symposium hosted by the two organizations ...

Report

Nexus Between Transitional Justice and Development

ICTJ participated in the launch of a new report on the relationship between transitional justice and development, launched by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida).

05/27/14
In Focus

Lawyers for Guatemala’s Ixil Community Take Justice Demands to Inter-American Commission

Guatemalan lawyers for victims in the case against former dictator Efraín Ríos Mont filed a petition before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to condemn the state of Guatemala for the impunity for crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity committed against the Ixil people.

12/02/13
In Focus

ICTJ Forum Series: Truth Commissions and Peace Mediation

Can truth commissions help secure a just peace following a violent conflict in which massive human rights abuses are committed? In this special series of the ICTJ Forum, we present a series of conversations with some of the world’s top peace mediators and truth commission experts, whose collective experience include years on the front lines of critical peace agreements in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

11/22/13
In Focus

ICTJ Program Report: Reparative Justice

Reparations seek to recognize and address the harms suffered by victims of systematic human rights violations. ICTJ’s Reparative Justice program provides knowledge and comparative experience on reparations to victims' groups, civil society and policymakers worldwide. In this edition of the ICTJ Program Report, we look at ICTJ's work on reparations in dynamic transitional contexts such as Nepal, Colombia, Peru, DRC, and Uganda.

05/13/13
In Focus

ICTJ: Conviction of Ríos Montt on Genocide a Victory for Justice in Guatemala, and Everywhere

The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) welcomes today’s verdict in Guatemala by the High Risk Court in the trial of former military dictator José Efrain Ríos Montt. The 86-year-old ex-general was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity against the indigenous Mayan Ixil population during Guatemala’s Civil War. He was sentenced to a total of 80 years in prison. José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez, the co-accused, who headed military intelligence under Ríos Montt, was found innocent.

05/10/13
Press Releases