67 results

Indigenous Peoples and Claims for Reparation: Tentative Steps in Peru and Guatemala

In situations of large scale violence and repression, reparations are best conceptualized as rights-based political projects aimed at giving victims due recognition and at enhancing civic trust both among citizens and between citizens and state institutions. This paper explores, in th...

by

Ruth Rubio-Marín, Claudia Paz y Paz Bailey and Julie Guillerot

Briefing Paper

Unfulfilled Expectations: Victims' perceptions of justice and reparations in Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste has implemented a number of transitional justice mechanisms to address the legacy of human rights violations that occurred in relation to the 1975 Timorese civil war and 24-year Indonesian occupation.These mechanisms have failed to provide victims with meaningful reparatio...

by

ICTJ

Briefing Paper

The Contemporary Right to Property Restitution in the Context of Transitional Justice

This study examines the development of restitution and reparations in international law and practice over the last century. It aims to provide recommendations on how restitution can best contribute to transitional justice by reviewing four case-studies: the Czech Republic, South Afric...

by

ICTJ; Rhodri C. Williams

Briefing Paper

Memory: Public Policy for Transformation in Colombia

ICTJ and the Center for Memory, Peace and Reconciliation of Colombia are organizing an event on Memory: Public Policy for Transformation. Dialogue at the conference will serve as the basis for providing recommendations to the process of creating the Center for Historical Memory and designing public memory policy in the country.

11/23/11
In Focus

Colombia's Landmark Ruling Orders Reparations for Former Child Soldiers

December 16, 2011 saw the world’s first ruling mandating reparations be paid for the unlawful recruitment of minors into armed forces. More than 300 former youth paramilitaries in Colombia will receive reparations including monetary compensation and medical and psychological care.

01/17/12
In Focus

Colombia Commemorates its First National Victims’ Day

Colombia marked the country’s first National Day of Memory and Solidarity with the Victims April 9. For the millions who have suffered human rights violations in Colombia’s entrenched armed conflict, this was a day for their voices to be heard and their suffering to be acknowledged by the state; a nationwide call for accountability and reconciliation in a highly divided society.

04/10/12
In Focus

Photo Gallery: Colombia's National Victims' Day

On April 9, Colombia commemorated for the first time the National Day of the Memory and Solidarity with the Victims. This photo gallery collects the expressions of commemoration that took place in three cities in the country: Bogotá, Medellín and Villavicencio.

04/13/12
In Focus

Reparations and the Lubanga Case: Learning from Transitional Justice

The conviction of Thomas Lubanga is a milestone for the international criminal justice system established by the Rome Statute, and may make an important contribution to the development and definition of the right to reparations in international human rights law. ICTJ has produced a br...

by

ICTJ; Ruben Carranza

Briefing Paper

Reparations and the Lubanga Case: Learning from Transitional Justice

The conviction of Thomas Lubanga is a milestone for the international criminal justice system and may make an important contribution to the development and definition of the right to reparations in international human rights law. Accompanying a submission filed with the ICC in advance of its reparations proceedings, ICTJ has produced a briefing note examining what lessons the court can learn from the broader transitional justice field.

04/18/12
In Focus

Feature Series: Colombia’s Justice and Peace Process

Colombia’s Justice and Peace Law (JPL) lies at the heart of the country’s efforts to dismantle notorious paramilitary groups and provide justice to thousands of their victims. As the government seeks to reform the JPL to allow for a more effective process, ICTJ will run a series of features to provide a deeper insight into the background and successes and challenges of the law.

05/08/12
In Focus

Justice and Peace: Progress and Great Challenges

It has been nearly seven years since the passage of the Justice and Peace Law (JPL) in Colombia. The process continues today amidst controversies and important reflections on the direction it should take. What progress has been made and what are the shortcomings of how the law has been implemented?

05/10/12
In Focus

Reforming the Justice and Peace Law: A Forum for Debate

With the goal of creating an opportunity for debate between civil society and the Colombian government on JPL reform, ICTJ and the Mission to Support the Peace Process from the Organization of American States have organized an event titled “Challenges and Opportunities of the Justice and Peace Law Reform,” to take place May 14 in Bogotá.

05/11/12
In Focus

Judgment Denied: The Failure to Fulfill Court-Ordered Reparations for Victims of Serious Crimes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Following field research in late 2009 and a 2010 workshop in Kinshasa, ICTJ produced a report in French on the challenges of enforcing court-ordered reparations. This briefing paper outlines and summarizes the challenges and recommendations discussed in the report. It also proposes ad...

by

Sharanjeet Parmar; Guy Mushiata

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

“No Accountability, No Dignity:” Colombia Celebrates International Justice Day

As Colombia marked International Justice Day, the importance of accountability for violations committed during the decades of conflict was underscored in the number of victims awaiting justice—376,000 registered in the Attorney General’s Office, more than 4 million in total. And while July 17 is celebrated as the date of adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, it is clear that in countries like Colombia accountability extends beyond criminal trials.

07/19/12
In Focus

Dealing with the 2006 Internal Displacement Crisis in Timor-Leste: Between Reparations and Humanitarian Policymaking

The 2006 crisis in Timor-Leste saw close to 15 percent of the population displaced from their homes, threatening to sink the country into protracted instability and violence. Remarkably, five years later the country was back on track, with the internal displacement issue largely resol...

by

Peter Van der Auweraert

Report

Justice for the Disappeared is at the Heart of Transitional Justice

As the world marks August 30, the International Day of the Disappeared, we are reminded that forced disappearances and transitional justice share a common history. Indeed, processes working in concert that came to form the field of transitional justice were born from the search for truth and justice about the disappeared.

08/28/12
In Focus

ICTJ Program Report: Colombia

The latest ICTJ Program Report explores transitional justice issues in Colombia and charts our work in the country with the longest running armed conflict in the world. In this interview, head of ICTJ's Colombia office Maria Camila Moreno answers questions on the ongoing transitional justice mechanisms in the country, and describes ICTJ's work with the government and civil society groups on issues of criminal justice, reparations and memory. She provides a look ahead to the new peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the FARC, and identifies key transitional justice issues at stake for the talks.

10/02/12
In Focus

Peace and Justice at the Negotiating Table: Colombia Talks Peace with FARC

An end could be in sight for the longest-running armed conflict in the Western Hemisphere. Peace negotiations between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels have begun on 17 October in Oslo, Norway, and will continue in Havana, Cuba.

10/22/12
In Focus

Voices of Dignity: A Story of Struggle for Victims’ Rights

Where states commit widespread and systematic crimes against their citizens, or fail to seriously try to prevent them, they have a legal obligation to acknowledge and address the suffering of victims. Reparations, both symbolic and material, publicly affirm that victims are entitled to redress. Through video and three photogalleries, ICTJ’s multimedia project Voices of Dignity tells the story of two courageous women from Colombia, and their struggle for acknowledgement and redress in a country where more than four million people have been affected by decades of civil war.

11/27/12
In Focus

Can Reparations Help Fight Discrimination Against Women?

In times of transition, reparations can make a tangible impact on the everyday lives of victims. As part of a larger process of social change, reparations programs should be part of an integrated approach to addressing the fundamental rights of victims, not just their immediate needs. In this way, reparations programs have the potential to be transformative. It was this potential that was considered at a recent international seminar, "Transformative Reparation for Women Victims of Armed Conflict," held in Colombia, on November 16, 2012.

11/29/12
In Focus

Judgment Denied: The Failure to Fulfill Court-Ordered Reparations for Victims of Serious Crimes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (French)

Following field research in late 2009 and a 2010 workshop in Kinshasa, ICTJ produced a report in French on the challenges of enforcing court-ordered reparations. This briefing paper outlines and summarizes the challenges and recommendations discussed in the report. It also proposes ad...

Briefing Paper

'Pay Back What We Have Lost': ICTJ Report Spotlights Congolese Government’s Failure to Pay Court-Ordered Reparations for Army Crimes

“Judgment Denied,” a report from the ICTJ, details four military court cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo involving dozens of victims, egregious human rights violations, and nearly $1 million in outstanding awards owed by the government. In every case, serious crimes were committed against civilians by members of the Congolese Army, but the government has yet to pay compensation ordered by the courts.

02/20/13
Press Release

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

A Reflection on ICTJ’s “Voices of Dignity”

ICTJ's documentary Voices of Dignity inspired Wilson Herrera, professor of philosophy and researcher at the Universidad del Rosario in Colombia, to reflect on the role of victims in a democratic society, and on the importance of empowering them as agents of change and rights-holders, rather than relegating them to the status of permanent victims.

09/27/13
In Focus