Resource Library

From March 27 to 30, some 20,000 Canadians gathered in Edmonton, Alberta, for the final national event of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). Established in 2008, the TRC is now entering a new stage: the writing of its final report based on the more than 6,500 statements it has gathered.

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.

ICTJ is deeply saddened by the death of Guatemalan Supreme Court Justice Doctor Cesar Barrientos Pellecer, this past March 2. Guatemala has lost one of its greatest crusaders against impunity in the country.

The Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), the first of its type in the United States, marks one year of work.

In December, ICTJ partnered with NYU School of Law and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice to host Auschwitz survivor and Judge Thomas Buergenthal for the 7th Annual Emilio Mignone Lecture on Transitional Justice.

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.

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.

Dating back to the 1980s, when peace settlements were made across Latin America, truth commissions have become an important component of peace negotiations. In this opinion piece, ICTJ President David Tolbert calls for societies to give truth commissions a chance of fulfilling their potential by learning from their failures and success.

The recent verdict issued by the Justice and Peace Courtroom of the High Tribunal of Bogota on October 30th against Hebert Veloza Garcia, paramilitary commander of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), sets a valuable precedent for the prosecution of system crimes in Colombia.

ICTJ and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at NYU School of Law are pleased to announce that Judge Thomas Buergenthal will be the speaker of the 7th Annual Emilio Mignone Lecture on Transitional Justice. Buergenthal is one of the world’s most distinguished jurists, whose name is synonymous with human rights and international justice. The lecture will be held on Thursday, December 12, from 6:00 to 7:30pm, in New York City.

A short biography of Hebert Veloza Garcia aka "H.H."

The Justice and Peace Chamber ruling in the hearing to verify the legality of the charges against Hebert Veloza Garcia contained information on the context in which these occurred. According to the Tribunal, it thus seeks to “contribute elements that underpin the analysis of the modus operandi, the patterns, if any, and the dynamics in which the criminal structure under the command of Hebert Veloza Garcia, alias “H.H.” was organized, as well as to “establish the judicial truth with respect to the criminal actions of the paramilitary groups in different regions of the country.”

The first verdict in the Justice and Peace process case against paramilitary commander Hebert Veloza Garcia, alias “H.H.”, will be announced on October 30, and will be a landmark in Colombia's compliance with its obligation to investigate, prosecute, and sanction those who have committed international crimes and serious human rights violations in the country.

Next week, the Colombian courts will issue the first partial verdict in the Justice and Peace case against the paramilitary leader Hebert Veloza García, alias “HH,” one of the most significant cases of the Justice and Peace process. Ahead of the HH partial verdict on October 30th, ICTJ is launching a comprehensive timeline on transitional justice measures implemented in Colombia since 2005 that recognize victims' rights to truth, justice, reparations, and the guarantee of non-recurrence.

The significance of Charles Taylor’s judgment rendered few days ago in The Hague goes far beyond Taylor himself, or even the Special Court for Sierra Leone. This decision will be an unavoidable legal precedent in any future deliberation of the role played by leaders and states in crimes committed by forces they support in other countries, writes ICTJ's president David Tolbert in this op-ed.

For more than 20 years, the Amnesty Law has hindered El Salvador from pursuing accountability for perpetrators of serious crimes committed against civilians during the civil war fought between the government and leftist insurgents in the 1980's. However, this may change in very near future. On September 20, the Constitutional Court admitted a petition claiming that the Amnesty Law passed in March 1993 –which shielded perpetrators of serious crimes committed during the 12-year civil war– is unconstitutional.

ICTJ welcomes the 6th National Event of Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, part of the TRC’s journey towards completion of its mandate: to learn the truth about what happened in the residential schools, and to inform all Canadians about this history.

Ten years ago, on August 28, 2003, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Peru presented its final report, clarifying the grave human rights violations committed between 1980 and 2000 during the internal armed conflict and the regime headed by Alberto Fujimori. This month, ICTJ joins Peru to examine the legacy and impact of the TRC.

Human rights organizations in Brazil have created an online platform Brasil Nunca Mais Digital to preserve evidence and other documents related to more than 7,000 political prisoners tried before Brazil’s Military Supreme Court, during that country’s military dictatorship.

ICTJ is launching a new multimedia page featuring projects that highlight the human perspective of issues in transitional justice and seek to engage a wide variety of audiences in a discussion on accountability for massive human rights abuses. Here's why we think multimedia can play a key role in deepening public understanding of transitional justice, and convey the guiding principles of ICTJ.

The one-day forum “Latin American Experiences with Truth Commissions,” organized by the International Center for Transitional Justice in Bogotá on July 22, brought together leading experts to discuss experiences and lessons learned from truth-seeking processes that shed light on massive human rights violations in four countries: Argentina, Guatemala, Paraguay, and Peru.

Nine international human rights and legal groups have welcomed the resumption of the Guatemalan trial of Efraín Ríos Montt, the former military dictator, for genocide and crimes against humanity. The trial has taken another step towards its conclusion with the hearing of final arguments from the prosecution and victims’ representatives today and yesterday.

In this new opinion piece, ICTJ President David Tolbert says the United States has publicly lauded the rule of law as it applies to other countries and offered significant financial and political support to torture victims of foreign regimes; yet it has failed to acknowledge or address its obligation to victims of its own detention policies. To regain its credibility in the eyes of the world, the US government must take steps to acknowledge and address past violations and provide redress to victims of US-sanctioned abuses.

Elementary and high school teachers and students in the Montréal area gathered today for “Education Day,” an event convened by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) to kick off the TRC’s historic Québec National Event, scheduled from April 24 to 27, 2013.

The world has turned its eyes to Guatemala, where the trial of retired generals Efraín Ríos Montt and José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez is drawing to a dramatic close. With a verdict expected soon, ICTJ spoke with Francisco Soto, executive director of the Center for Legal Action on Human Rights in Guatemala (CALDH). In this Q&A, Mr. Soto describes how civil society in Guatemala has been a crucial force in the long struggle for justice, and reflects on the historic significance of this trial, for both Guatemala and the world.