30 results

2023 Year in Review

Throughout 2023, ICTJ’s experts have offered their unique perspective on breaking news around the globe as part of the World Report. Their insightful commentaries have brought into focus the impact these events have on victims of human right violations as well as larger struggles for peace and justice. In this edition, we look back on the past year through the Expert’s Choice column.

01/05/24
A collage of feature images from the 2023 Expert's Choice commentaries.
Opinion

Achieving a Delicate Balance: Victim Participation in International and Domestic Criminal Proceedings

The role of victim participation in international criminal proceedings, whether in international, hybrid, or national courts, has long been a matter of public deliberation among criminal justice practitioners and human rights activists. In the aftermath of mass atrocities and repression, the...

08/11/22

by

Elena Naughton

A man and woman embrace, touching foreheads.
In Focus

Acknowledgment of Responsibility in the Framework of the Justice and Peace Law: Lessons and Recommendations for the Comprehensive System for Truth, Justice, Reparation, and Non-Recurrence

This study, carried out in partnership with Aulas de Paz and Universidad Santo Tomás, explores experiences of acknowledgment of responsibility under Colombia’s Justice and Peace Law. Drawing on interviews with victims, former combatants, and judicial officials, it identifies key lesso...

A person lights a candle during an anti-war protest in Barranquilla, Colombia.
Report

Colombia's Justice and Peace Law: 20 Years and Counting

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Justice and Peace Law—which created Colombia's first transitional justice system—media outlet Verdad Abierta, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, and ICTJ partnered to produce an investigative four-part series in Spanish that critically assesses its legacy. ICTJ has now translated the first two installments into English.

01/21/26
A woman displays black-and-white mugshot photos of men laid out on a flat surface on her lap
In Focus

As Colombia Marks 20 Years of ‘Justice and Peace,’ A New ICTJ Podcast Unearths the Seeds of War

This year, Colombia commemorates the 20th anniversary of Law 975, which established the country’s first transitional justice process, called Justicia y Paz (or Justice and Peace). With this anniversary top on mind, and as the current government engages with eight of the remaining armed groups in pursuit of its “Total Peace” strategy, ICTJ recently teamed up with podcast producers Sillón Estudios to create a four-part series that delves into the peace process with the AUC and considers key lessons learned.

08/20/25
A black background with light-yellow knock-out font that reads "el cascarón y la semilla"
In Focus

In Colombia, Precedent Is Set for Acknowledging Past Atrocities

International Center for Transitional Justice The Final Peace Agreement signed in 2016 between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP) guerrillas and the Colombian government created an ambitious and innovative transitional justice system called the Comprehensive System of Truth...

05/17/22
A man stands at a podium with a microphone, holding up a small white flower.
In Focus

Colombia’s Total Peace Conundrum

Colombia’s new president Gustavo Petro was elected to office on a progressive campaign to strengthen democracy, implement social reforms, and bring “total peace” to the country. His approach to peace encompasses political negotiations with all remaining insurgent groups and simultaneous dialogues with criminal organizations geared toward their voluntary submission to justice in exchange for punitive leniency. But eight months into his administration, Petro’s efforts to deliver on his campaign promise are facing numerous challenges.
04/03/23

by Veronika Hoelker and Naryi Vargas

Several people standing some distance apart in a room are bound together by thick bands of while tape.
Opinion

Finding Hope Across Continents of Pain

On September 15, ICTJ organized a side event on the missing and disappeared in Syria, sponsored by the governments of Luxembourg and Finland, during the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The event was a timely one, as it addressed a recent proposal for the creation of a new...

10/21/22

by Nousha Kabawat and Elena Naughton

In Focus

From Combat to Territorial Control: Recommendations for a Security Policy Adapted to Contemporary Violence in Colombia

Colombia currently faces a transformed, fragmented form of violence centered on territorial and social control rather than the traditional insurgency. This briefing paper argues that state security strategies remain misaligned, relying on outdated military approaches and metrics. To a...

Image of first page of the briefing paper "From Combat to Territorial Control"
Briefing Paper

From Combat to Territorial Control: Adapting Security Policy to Contemporary Violence in Colombia

Colombia currently faces a transformed, fragmented form of violence centered on territorial and social control rather than the traditional insurgency. This report argues that state security strategies remain misaligned, relying on outdated military approaches and metrics. To avoid lon...

by

Naryi Vargas Cáceres

An aerial view of a group of soldiers interacting with a large civilian crowd in a rural setting
Report