Resource Library

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.

In the wake of Charlottesville, some took to Twitter to distance the United States from the white supremacist march using #ThisIsNotUs. But this is us, writes Virginie Ladisch, and white Americans have an obligation to educate themselves about the history and persistence of white supremacy in their country.

Fania Davis thinks the time has come for a truth-telling process about racial injustice in the United States, and she is working to make it a reality. We sat down with her and her colleague, Jodie Geddes, to discuss their vision for a national process, what they hope it would achieve, and what they have learned from their conversations with local leaders so far.

As grassroots efforts to confront the legacy of racial injustice in the United States take hold from New Orleans to Maine and beyond, how can transitional justice experiences around the world inform their work? That was a major focus of a recent conference ICTJ co-convened, hosted by Kean University.

To mark 15 years of ICTJ, we asked staff past and present for the memories that stand out from their work. Former ICTJ consultant and Executive Director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Greensboro, North Carolina Jill Williams reflects on her efforts to bridge a cultural gap in the pursuit of shared values.

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?

As the government and FARC reach a peace deal, they have agreed to the creation of a special unit that will search for, locate and identify the disappeared. What do victims expect from this new body?

This summer, our Intensive Course on Transitional Justice and Peace Processes brought experts from around the world together in Barcelona to examine how transitional mechanisms can be integrated into peace negotiations. Read about the course and watch interviews with our experts.

The African Union, the Kofi Annan Foundation and ICTJ opened a high-level conference examining the role of truth commissions in peace processes. The two-day conference, titled “Truth Commissions and Peace Processes in Africa,” has gathered senior staff from the African Union and member states as well as international and national experts to reflect on lessons learned from truth commissions that have emerged from peace processes in Africa and other continents.

ICTJ and the Human Rights and Atrocity Prevention Clinic at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law are pleased to announce a strategic research partnership to examine international law and practice regarding enforced disappearance and the missing.

The month of January has a particular significance in the Middle East and North Africa. It was the month when the Arab uprisings were sparked five years ago. It was also the month when the transitional justice process was inaugurated in Morocco, 12 years ago. What can be learned from Morocco’s experience?

ICTJ welcomes the recent agreement announced by the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to address issues of truth, justice, reparations and non-recurrence and hopes that it will pave the way for the successful completion of the negotiations to end the decades-long armed conflict in Colombia.

ICTJ welcomes the recent agreement announced by the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to commit to immediately implement measures to search for, locate, and identify those who have disappeared during the 50-year armed conflict and – if a final peace agreement is reached – to create a special unit dedicated to these tasks.

ICTJ welcomes the agreement reached between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group to create a truth commission, after a peace agreement is signed.

In the wake of the agreement between Colombia and FARC to form a truth commission, ICTJ's Fernando Travesí and Félix Reátegui discuss the role such a body should be expected to fulfill.

ICTJ, in alliance with organizations Corporación Caribe Afirmativo, Colombia Diversa and Santa María Fundación organized meetings with activists and victims of the conflict to learn more about the needs of the LGBTI community, and to consider how transitional justice measures—especially non-judicial approaches—can contribute towards protecting their rights.

70-94% of the victims of enforced disappearances are men. But what happens to the women left behind? ICTJ's Amrita Kapur explains why women are uniquely impacted by the crime, and how transitional justice can help.

As peace talks advance between the Government of Colombia and the FARC guerilla group, an essential element of negotiations is how best to examine the truth about violence and abuses committed during the armed conflict. On February 25, 2015, the International Center for Transitional Justice and the Kofi Annan Foundation will host a conference in Bogotá, titled “Truth Commissions and Peace Processes: International Experiences and Challenges for Colombia.”

It has been nearly 30 years since one of the darkest episodes in Colombia’s recent history: the siege of the Justice Palace. Late last year, the families of those disappeared managed to take a step forward in their long struggle to obtain some measure of justice when the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a ruling condemning the Colombian state for responsibility in the disappearance of 12 individuals.

With the publication of the much-delayed US Senate Intelligence Committee’s partial report on the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program, at long last the truth is out. In this op-ed, ICTJ's President David Tolbert asks the United States to acknowledge the truth, hold the perpetrators accountable and address its obligation to the victims of its detention policies.

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.

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.

The recent re-election of Colombia’s president, Juan Manuel Santos, brings hope to a country seeking to end a half-century of conflict. But, as with so many peace processes, finding a balance between creating a stable accord and acknowledging the terrible injustices that occurred during the conflict can be difficult to achieve.

ICTJ President David Tolbert will be a featured speaker at this year’s Al Jazeera Forum in Doha, Qatar. Al Jazeera Forum is the flagship event of Al Jazeera Media Network, at which Al Jazeera showcases its contribution to the world of media and politics.

To mark International Women’s Day, we invite you to read about four countries at the top of our gender justice priorities in the coming year, each with its own history, context, and complex sets of challenges.