344 results

A Path for Hope in Libya Through Civil Society

Libyan civil society organizations are fighting against all odds to support victims of human rights violations. In doing so, they themselves risk violence and do their work despite the visible and invisible pain they feel and the innumerable obstacles placed in front of them. Renewed global attention on the Libyan conflict and two new draft laws to protect activists and others may help.

11/21/22

by Francesca Folda

A woman in a headscarf and sunglasses holds up a placard with a photograph of women and writing in Arabic.
In Focus

A Path to Redress: Transitional Justice in Tunisia

“There is also the question of memory. It is necessary that all that happened becomes part of the national memory. And this will be a guarantee against the return of the dictatorship.” — Ridha Barakati, Tunisian Activist

Videos

Photo Project Invites Tunisian Youth to Confront Marginalization

A new project launched by ICTJ and the British Council challenges young Tunisians to explore youth marginalization through photography.

10/17/16
Press Releases

Photos by Youth on the Scars of the Lebanon War Spark Debate at Exhibit Opening

Earlier this month, the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and its partners opened a two-week photo exhibit at the American University of Beirut’s Jafet Library, featuring vivid and often deeply personal photographs submitted for its “The War As I See It” youth photo contest. Students, professors, experts, and journalists packed into the library space lined with the 26 photographs in oversized frames.

02/26/16
In Focus

A Political Solution to the Libyan Conflict: Is It Real or an Illusion?

On April 4 last year, the commander of the Libyan National Army Khalifa Haftar ordered his troops to advance on Tripoli and “liberate it from terrorists.” Various stakeholders issued a multitude of statements and joint declarations after the assault, all asserting that only a political solution would resolve Libya’s crisis and threatening to hold accountable any faction that escalated the conflict. But in reality, most of the stakeholders have been playing two fields all along: the diplomatic one, in which they continuously reiterate support for political solutions and UN-led initiatives, and then the battlefield.

02/03/20

by

Reem El Gantri

World Report

Preparing for Justice in a Post-Assad Syria

Though the future of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime remains to be seen, some are already planning for the complex aftermath of the regime’s demise. On January 26-27, Syrian activists joined ICTJ and other international experts in Istanbul for two days of discussion on possibilities for transitional justice in Syria.

01/31/13
In Focus

To Prevent Enforced Disappearances, Rethink the Justice and Security Equation

With enforced disappearances on the rise, ICTJ President David Tolbert says the path to prevention is clear: the international community must reorder its priorities and change its approach. The disproportionate attention on counterterrorism takes us further away from accountability and prevention, Tolbert writes. He urges the international community to lead the way in unequivocally censoring governments that use enforced disappearance as a political tactic — and ensuring there can be no impunity for this crime.

08/30/17
In Focus

To Protect Victims’ Rights, Tunisian Civil Society Looks Ahead to Engaging with Truth Commission

To offer assistance and international expertise to Tunisian civil society groups, ICTJ partnered with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for a training on public engagement in truth seeking processes. Titled “The Role of Civil Society in Truth Commissions: Participation and Advocacy for Victims in Tunisia,” the training offered around 65 participants the opportunity to examine the role of truth commissions in contexts of transitional justice, and to assess future engagement of their organizations in Tunisia’s proposed truth commission.

11/04/13
In Focus

Public Hearings Continue: Tunisians Testify to Violence, Corruption, and Marginalization

On December 17th, six years to the day after Mohamed Bouazizi set fire to himself and sparked the “Jasmine Revolution,” Tunisia’s Truth and Dignity Commission heard public testimony about events that unfolded during the revolution and the abuses of the regime it overthrew. Read victims' moving testimony about state violence, torture, corruption and marginalization as the country continues to grapple with its painful past.

12/21/16
In Focus

A Question for Assad to Ponder

As the number of victims of violence against demonstrators in Syria, Yemen, Bahrain and elsewhere in the region rises, a question emerges for the government of Bashar al-Assad of Syria, but also those of Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen, Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifah of Bahrain and the vacillating international community: Can impunity for such crimes be permitted in this day and age?

05/03/11
In Focus

Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Complementarity?

Think you're an expert on how national courts and the ICC work together? Put your knowledge to the test!

07/14/16
In Focus

Reaction to the death of Judge Antonio Cassese from the legal community

David Tolbert, President of International Center of Transitional Justice: "I join many others in giving a final salute to Nino Cassese. He was man of extraordinary energy, singular determination and extraordinary intellectual talents but at the same time was an unassuming man, with a ready smile, an engaging anecdote and plenty of self-deprecation. Nino was a driving force behind the field of international criminal justice, not only through his leadership of both the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) but through his unstinting writing and advocating on this most crucial of subjects."

10/29/11
In Focus

Ready for Change: Lebanon’s Youth Rise Up

For over a month now, Lebanese people have been in the streets peacefully calling for an end to corruption, economic disenfranchisement, and government mismanagement, calling instead for accountability and reform of the systems that have allowed these things to occur. The protests are historic for several reasons: their scope and magnitude, as well as the way they have unified a country that has for so long had division baked into nearly every aspect of life, down to its system of governance.

12/03/19
World Report

Recap on the Save Syrian Schools Campaign’s Events in Geneva

On March 22 in Geneva, we listened to the experiences of Syrians affected by attacks on schools. The Save Syrian Schools project presented the results of its one-year-long research—an unprecedented collaboration of 10 Syrian human rights organizations and the ICTJ.

03/22/18
In Focus

Repairing from the Bench: From Finding Responsibility to Fashioning Judicial Redress

What does the obligation to provide reparations mean when serious human rights violations are at issue? This report explores the evolving interpretation of the right to reparation in international law and jurisprudence and how domestic courts have provided judicial reparations at the ...

by

Adriana Garcia Garcia, Fatima Yasmin Bokhari, and Masha Lisitsyna

A man on a bicycle rides past a building whose exterior wall is covered in a colorful mural with writing in Spanish.
Report

A Revitalized Peace Process in Yemen Must Include Victims

Yemen's nine-year conflict has devastated the country and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The regional upheaval stemming from the ongoing war on Gaza has created more obstacles on the country's already complex path toward peace and shifted attention away from the set of UN-brokered commitments agreed upon by the parties to the conflict in December 2023, which include a nationwide ceasefire. Amid these challenges, it is more imperative than ever to support civil society and victims and bring attention to victims’ grievances and needs.

06/04/24
A field monitor from Yemen's National Commission to Investigate Alleged Violations of Human Rights (NCIAVHR) examines destruction caused by the war in the Salah District in Taiz Governorate in 2023. (Maher Al Absi/NCIAVHR)
World Report

Revolutionary Truth: Tunisian Victims Make History on First Night of Public Hearings for TDC

Victims of Tunisia’s dictatorship shared their stories publicly on November 17 in a historic moment for the country. The Truth and Dignity Commission (TDC) - charged with investigating gross human rights violations in the country since 1955 committed under the dictatorship - held its first public hearings in Tunis, gathering victims to testify to their experiences under dictatorship. The hearings present an essential opportunity for the country to confront its painful past. Since its inception in 2014, the TDC has received over 62,000 submissions and heard testimony from about 11,000 people.

11/17/16
In Focus

Rooting Out Corruption in Tunisia: A Youth Leader’s Perspective

Youth activists in Tunisia have played a vital role in keeping corruption at the center of public debate since the country's revolution in 2011. Through decentralized, nationwide protest movements, young Tunisians have been calling for measures that root out systems of endemic corruption. ICTJ sat down with one youth leader to discuss her activism and views on Tunisia's transitional justice process.

02/21/20

by

Christopher Boland

In Focus

Save the Judiciary, Save the Revolution

The appearance of Hosni Mubarak in the opening of his trial this week reassured millions of Egyptians that their revolutionary struggle was not in vain. But the truth about Mubarak’s ability to participate in his trial is still unclear. With the public doubting the court’s seriousness, Mubarak’s appearance could have been a political decision aimed at boosting confidence. If this is the case, the judiciary risks appearing politicized in the eyes of Egyptians.

08/08/11
In Focus

Seeking the Truth about the Missing in Lebanon: An Interview with Nizar Saghieh

Lebanon has ruled that families of missing and disappeared persons would be allowed access to the investigation files and full report of the Commissions of Inquiry on the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared in Lebanon. In a new episode of our ICTJ Forum, we speak with lawyer Nizar Saghieh about what the ruling means for Lebanese families who continues to search for their missing loved ones.

04/02/14
In Focus

On Sequences and Linkages: the Relationship between Justice, Security and Development

Some habits die hard. This is especially true of ways of thinking. Despite significant changes in national and international law and practice in the last thirty years—the period that corresponds with the emergence of transitional justice as a field—the recent upheaval in the Middle East and Northern Africa region has provoked proposals that hearken back to a period that we may have thought long gone.

04/29/11
In Focus

Shedding Light on the Mental Health Needs of Families of the Missing in Syria

On February 8, ICTJ held an event in The Hague on the missing and disappeared in Syria, in partnership with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The event brought together activists, journalists, artists, and policymakers to reflect on the critical humanitarian needs of victims and their families and the role of the newly established international body on the missing in Syria, which is mandated in part to address these needs.

03/11/24
Two women seated on chairs engage in a conversation.
In Focus

Side by Side with Victims: What Is Transitional Justice?

Years after conflict, dictatorship, or historical injustice, victims throughout the world are still seeking redress and for their dignity to be affirmed. ICTJ has been standing alongside victims since 2001. We have worked in more than 50 different countries, helping to advance transitio...

Videos

On Sixth Anniversary of Revolution, Tunisia Truth and Dignity Commission Holds Public Hearings

Six years to the day after Ben Ali fled the country, Tunisians are gathering around televisions, radios and computers for more victim testimony hosted by the Truth and Dignity Commission. Watch the livesteam below and follow us on twitter at @theICTJ for live coverage.

01/14/17
In Focus

'On Solid Ground:' New Report on Transitional Justice and SDG16+

New York, June 3, 2019—Today, with just over a month to go before the 2019 UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, ICTJ and its partners have released the Report of the Working Group on Transitional Justice and SDG16+, entitled “On Solid Ground: Building Sustainable Peace and Development After Massive Human Rights Violations.”

06/03/19
Press Releases

Sons of a Father's Disappearance and a Mother's Struggle

This year, to mark the International Day of the Disappeared, we bring the story of Ziad and Ghassan Halwani, two brothers in Lebanon whose father was kidnapped and disappeared when they were young. Their story is a powerful testament to the long-term impact of disappearances on the life course of those who are still growing up.

08/28/14
In Focus

Speaking Clearly: The ICC's Challenge in the Middle East and North Africa

The International Criminal Court (ICC) must better communicate what is driving its actions to the public of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and elsewhere around the world if it is to develop confidence in its capacity to act as a guardian of international criminal law.

06/09/11
In Focus

UN Special Rapporteur Delivers First Annual Report

On August 9, 2012, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation, and nonrecurrence Pablo de Greiff presented the first annual report to the Human Rights Council. The report provides an overview of key activities undertaken by the Special Rapporteur between May 1 and July 25, reviews the foundations of the mandate and outlines the strategy for its implementation.
08/27/12
In Focus

UN Special Rapporteur on Internally Displaced Persons Meets with ICTJ to Discuss Her Recent Report on Transitional Justice

On Friday, October 19, ICTJ welcomed the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Ms. Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, at its headquarters in New York, where she gave an informal presentation. Jimenez-Damary’s eye-opening report on the human rights of IDPs takes up the crucial importance of including the voices and concerns of IDPs in transitional justice mechanisms.

11/28/18
In Focus

Special Report on COVID-19: Keeping Justice in Sight

Sparing almost no corner of the world from its wrath, the COVID-19 pandemic has now spread to every country. In an effort to slow the contagion, governments in most countries have been taking drastic measures requiring all residents other than essential workers to confine themselves in their homes, and shutting down vast sectors of their economies. The impact has been crushing. COVID-19 has profoundly affected every country where ICTJ currently works: Armenia, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Uganda. We recently caught up with ICTJ’s heads of country programs to learn more about the impact the pandemic is having on transitional justice and society more broadly.

05/19/20
In Focus

Special Units, Special Responsibilities: How Can Search Bodies Deliver Answers to the Families of the Disappeared?

On International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the families of the missing maintain their vow: "until we find them." As special bodies to search for their loved ones develop, what do victims expect?

08/29/16
In Focus

State Repression and Polarized Politics Thwart Hopes for Justice in Egypt

After toppling Hosni Mubarak’s dictatorship in February 2011, Egyptians were eager for a reckoning with past injustices. But after years of political turmoil, the possibility of a genuine transitional justice process in Egypt is uncertain. We turned to three leading Egyptian activists to examine if there really is a chance for justice and reform in Egypt in the near future.

09/28/15
In Focus

Statement by Bridges of Truth Member Organizations The Path to Accountability Through European Courts

The start of 2022 was marked by two important victories in the fight for justice and redress for victims of human rights violations in Syria. The first was the sentencing of Anwar Raslan, a former colonel in the Syrian intelligence service, to life in prison by the Higher Regional Court in Koblenz...

01/26/22
Press Releases

Statement on the UN Resolution Establishing an Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria

On June 29, 2023, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution creating a new independent institution on the missing in the Syria Arab Republic. Eighty-three member states voted in favor, 11 voted against, and 62 abstained. ICTJ welcomes the resolution, which represents a momentary reprieve in Syria’s otherwise bleak justice landscape. This vote represents a critical step forward in supporting all those who seek answers about the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones and who suffer daily from the indignities and grave hardships that ensue when a loved one goes missing.

07/21/23
People are assembled in the UN General Assembly chamber in New York and large screen shows a voting result, with 83 in favor, 11 against, and 62 abstentions.
In Focus

A Step Closer to Uncovering the Fate of Loved Ones: Lebanon Forms a Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared

Beirut, June 23, 2020 — Almost a year and a half after passing Law 105 for the missing and disappeared, the Lebanese government has finally appointed the members of the National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared. ICTJ welcomes this action, which is another step closer to uncovering the fate of thousands of victims. However, the appointment of the commissioners will be meaningless, unless the government demonstrates greater commitment to addressing the families’ right to the truth and takes the necessary action to create a commission that is credible and effective.

06/23/20
Press Releases

A Step Toward Justice in Syria

On Thursday, January 13, 2022, the Higher Regional Court in Koblenz, Germany, convicted Anwar Raslan, a senior official in the Syrian government, for crimes against humanity. The landmark trial, the first ever to prosecute a member of Bashar al-Assad’s regime for such crimes, highlights a crucial component without which Raslan would never have been convicted: the role of victims in achieving justice.

02/01/22

by

Nousha Kabawat

World Report

Strategic Plan 2022-2027

ICTJ is more than two decades old. At the time it was established, many of those who contributed to transitions in Argentina, Chile, Guatemala, South Africa, and the former Yugoslavia saw the value of a specialized organization that could draw from diverse national experiences to prov...

The cover of a report with the text, "2022-2027, Strategic Plan," with an image of people embracing underneath.
Report

A Struggle Against Invisibility: Gender Justice in the Middle East and North Africa

Transitional justice measures should serve to rectify, not replicate, patterns of discrimination against women. These mechanisms can challenge structural causes of gender inequality, by publicly acknowledging the factors that made such abuse possible. In the Middle East and North Africa, like in many other contexts, it is a challenge to ensure transitional justice measures do not further entrench the invisibility of gender-based abuses. As different countries consider the ways to confront the legacies of past abuses, ICTJ works with women’s groups across the region to build their capacity to engage in discussions around transitional justice and gender.

09/26/12
In Focus

Symposium: The Trial of Saddham Hussein

This article examines and evaluates the Iraq Tribunal's Dujail Trial. The trial marks the beginning of a longer accountability process in the country and can potentially make a lasting contribution to transitional justice. This study assesses the fairness and effectiveness of the tria...

by

Ethics & International Affairs; Miranda Sissons

Briefing Paper

Syria: UN and Arab League Must Act Swiftly to Address Crimes

As the international community considers its response to the surging violence in Syria, those responsible for gross human rights violations in the country should be held to account, said the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) today.

08/16/11
Press Releases

Telling Women's Stories of Repression in Tunisia

During the Ben Ali dictatorship in Tunisia, Najet Gabsi, an educator pursuing a diploma in law, was imprisoned for six months for her political activities. Through her participation in the "Voices of Memory" art exhibition, she was able to reignite her passion for activism and articulate the harms she endured at the hand of the regime.

08/13/19
In Focus

Ten Years On, ICTJ Continues to Develop the Field of Transitional Justice

As ICTJ celebrates ten years of existence and contribution to the development of the field of transitional justice, we are poised for a future of continued engagement with partners and communities seeking to overcome legacies of mass violence and repression. Ten years on, we now work in a world increasingly aware of the of the costs of failing to systematically transition from conflict and human rights abuse to the rule of law and equal rights for all citizens, and on the other hand, of the increasing complexity of doing so.

09/27/11
In Focus

The Anfal Trial and the Iraqi High Tribunal: The Complainant Phase of the Anfal Trial

This update covers the first, complainant phase of the Anfal trial, which lasted for twenty-three sessions from August 21 to November 27, 2006. Seventy-six complainants presented testimony regarding their experiences during the Anfal campaign. Information is taken directly from obser...

by

ICTJ, Bill van Esveld

Report

The Anfal Trial and the Iraqi High Tribunal Update Number Three: The Defense Phase and Closing Stages of the Anfal Trial

This update series summarizes developments in the Anfal trial of Saddam Hussein, his cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, and five other co-defendants before the Iraqi High Tribunal. It covers the trial's defense and closing phases. Five of the six defendants were sentenced to either multiple ...

by

ICTJ; Clark Gard

Briefing Paper

‘The Bird Will Not Return to the Cage:’ An Analysis of Tunisia’s 2019 Elections

Recently, Tunisia held its third parliamentary elections since the revolution and the second presidential elections since late President Béji Caid Essebssi passed away on July 25, 2019. It remains to be seen if the election’s results will usher in a new era of dignity, for which Tunisians took the streets in 2010 and 2011.

10/25/19

by

Salwa El Gantri

In Focus

The Case for Action on Transitional Justice and Displacement

As the refugee crisis deepens, does action on transitional justice issues have to wait for peace? A new paper explores what sort of consultation and documentation work can be done now, while conflict is ongoing, to shape outcomes moving forward.

by

Roger Duthie and Paul Seils

Briefing Paper

The Case for Justice

Why pursue transitional justice in the aftermath of massive human rights violations? “The Case for Justice” provides a window into the debate about the relevance of transitional justice in today’s world.

07/16/12
In Focus

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.

Videos

"The Earthquake That Builds": The Impact of Public Hearings in Tunisia

In Tunisia, the Truth and Dignity Commission's public hearings have fundamentally altered the dialogue around the past in Tunisia. To mark the International Day for the Right to Truth ICTJ Director of Communications Refik Hodzic sat down with two women whose work has been critical to the success of the commission – ICTJ Salwa El Gantri and TDC Commissioner Ibtihel Abdellatif – to discuss what they have taken away from public hearings so far.

03/24/17
In Focus

The Expert’s Choice 2022 Year in Review

Throughout 2022, ICTJ’s experts weighed in on breaking news in more than 10 countries, offering incisive analyses of the political dynamics behind the coverage and the implications for justice, peace, and the rights of victims. In this December edition of the World Report, we look back at the year that was through our Expert’s Choice commentaries, bringing you all of our team’s valuable insights together in one place.

01/04/23
A collage of photos of transitional justice contexts from around the world
World Report