141 results

10 Syrian Organizations Expose Impact of Schools' Destruction in Unprecedented Collaboration in Geneva

Ten Syrian human rights organizations have been working in partnership with the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) to document and expose the long-term impacts of the attacks to and the destruction of schools in Syria. The project, Save Syrian Schools, will present its findings in a public hearing-style event in Geneva on March 22nd, at Forum Genève. The project works creatively to document human rights abuses and includes a public hearing-style event, multimedia, and high-level dialogue.

03/20/18
Press Releases

2020 Year in Review

2020 was a year of unforeseen hardships throughout the world. We may wish to write off last year as a loss and move forward. However, looking back on it as we do in this 2020 Year in Review, in which we highlight our most read content, we can find and take heart in important victories and apply lessons learned in 2021 and beyond.

02/19/21
In Focus

2021 Year in Review

In 2021, there were significant developments, some hopeful and some devastating, in the struggle for truth, accountability, and redress in countries around the world. ICTJ experts covered these events in commentaries and feature stories published on our website and in our newsletters. While 2022 is already underway and we at ICTJ are hard at work, we would like to pause a moment to take stock and reflect on the year that was.

01/25/22
In Focus

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.
World Report

Accountability in Policing COVID-19: Lessons from the Field

The global COVID-19 pandemic forced many countries to impose emergency measures, such as curfews and community lockdowns, to stem the spread of the virus. To enforce these measures, some societies have given regular police forces increased power to enforce the measures, while others h...

by

Anna Myriam Roccatello and Mohamed Suma

Briefing Paper

Accountability in Yemen Requires a Comprehensive Transitional Justice Process

In 2016, the Yemeni National Commission to Investigate Alleged Violations to Human Rights began documenting violations committed since the 2011 uprising and during the subsequent brutal civil war, which continues today. To date, the commission has documented more than 23,000 human rights abuses and referred over 2,000 cases to Yemen’s Public Prosecutor for prosecution. However, no verdict has been issued in any of these cases. To help the commissioners and members of Yemen’s judiciary advance accountability, ICTJ organized a workshop for them on transitional justice mechanisms. However, to deliver a justice that meets all the reparative needs of victims, these efforts must be an integral part of a broader, multifaceted transitional justice process.

03/20/23

by

Nour El Bejjani Noureddine

A group of people sit together for a photo in a conference room.
In Focus

Advancing Global Accountability: The Role of Universal Jurisdiction in Prosecuting International Crimes

Invoking the principle of universal jurisdiction opens the door to the possibility of some accountability in circumstances where justice is not possible in countries where the crimes took place. This study considers the challenges facing the exercise of universal jurisdiction and asse...

by

Howard Varney and Katarzyna Zduńczyk

Report

Advancing Victims’ Rights and Rebuilding Just Communities: Local Strategies for Achieving Reparation as a Part of Sustainable Development

This comparative study examines strategies used by local actors to help operationalize reparations for victims of widespread human rights violations, while highlighting the synergies between these efforts and sustainable development. It is based on the fieldwork of ICTJ and its partne...

A women in colorful African dress holds a megaphone to her mouth
Report

Afghanistan Mapping Report Opportunity to Break Cycles of Abuse

As new evidence of past violations comes to light, Afghanistan must prioritize transitional justice measures to break the cycle of abuse. ICTJ's new briefing paper provides analysis of past reports identifying the patterns of abuses and puts forth recommendations to the government of Afghanistan.

07/24/12
Press Releases

Afghanistan: The Past as a Prologue

In 2006, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) launched an unprecedented effort to document the violations of international humanitarian law in Afghanistan between 1978 and 2001. Though it has not yet been made public, the 1000-page AIHRC Conflict Mapping Report ...

by

Patricia Gossman

Briefing Paper

After the Truth Commission, Tunisia Must Pursue Inclusive Transitional Justice

Tunis, July 10, 2020— The Truth and Dignity Commission’s (TDC) final report was at last published on June 24, six year after the TDC began its work. It marks an important milestone in Tunisia’s transition, but the journey ahead to justice and democracy is a long one. Policymakers and practitioners now have the responsibility to take the next step forward.

07/10/20
Press Releases

Amidst Chaos and Despair: Lebanese Youth Explore Transitional Justice

As part of its ongoing support of the Committee of the Families of the Kidnapped and Disappeared in Lebanon, ICTJ organized a three-day virtual workshop on transitional justice for university students on July 12-14, 2021. The students all served as volunteers on a project to establish an archive of the committee’s work and activism over the past four decades and participated in a previous workshop in February 2020 that introduced them to transitional justice concepts.

09/20/21

by

Firas BouZeineddine

In Focus

Barcelona Course Examines a Responsive Approach to Justice and Peacebuilding

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.

07/26/16
In Focus

Barcelona Course Explores Linkages Between Prevention and Transitional Justice

From October 1 to October 5, 2018, ICTJ hosted its eleventh intensive course on transitional justice in collaboration with the International Peace Center for in Barcelona. Participants included leaders in their respective fields, including human rights law, community justice and legal services, peacebuilding, education, and humanitarian affairs.

10/24/18
In Focus

A Bitter Legacy: Lessons of De-Baathification in Iraq

Based on significant field research and interviews with the Higher National de-Baathification Commission, this report focuses on Iraq’s purge of members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party, which is the most well-known example of large-scale and politically based dismissals in the Middle ...

by

Miranda Sissons and Abdulrazzaq Al-Saiedi

Report

A Blow to Hopes for Peace in Yemen

Eight years into a brutal war, the people of Yemen are still suffering through the worst humanitarian crisis on earth. The war has resulted in over 370,000 deaths, more than half of which are linked to indirect causes such as hunger and preventable diseases. Around 4 million people have been...

10/03/22

by

Nour El Bejjani Noureddine

World Report

Breaking the Ground on Peace and Stability: Transitional Justice and the Rule of Law

Transitional justice, at the core of its mission, strives to “break the ground on a future of peace and stability.” For countries with a violent or repressive past—and this can be said of most—implementing truth-seeking, criminal justice, reparations, and institutional reform measures forms the basis for establishing a culture of justice and respect for the rule of law.

05/15/12
In Focus

Can a Saudi Peace Plan Finally End the War in Yemen and the Suffering of Millions?

Saudi Arabia’s recent proposed plan to end the brutal conflict in Yemen comes as it enters its seventh grueling year. The initiative was widely welcomed by countries in the region and around the world. The United Nations considers the initiative to be in line with its efforts to broker a peace deal in Yemen and reiterated that “all actors and stakeholders must do their utmost to facilitate an immediate agreement that brings Yemen back to a path towards peace.” However, the Saudi initiative is only the latest in a series of attempts to establish peace in Yemen. Other recent ceasefire agreements have failed.

04/01/21

by

Nour El Bejjani Noureddine

World Report

A Catalyst for Change: Engaging Youth in Transitional Justice

Although youth are key political and social stakeholders who have much to contribute to—and gain from—transitional justice processes, they often remain marginalized from such processes or are given only a limited and predetermined space in which to engage. In recent years, the peacebu...

by

Virginie Ladisch

Briefing Paper

Catalyzing Transformative Change: The Power of Art and Culture to Inspire Action

For many years now, the International Center for Transitional Justice and other organizations have supported young activists and artists as they harness the power of art, culture, and new media to advance truth, justice, reform, and redress, not only where they live, but across borders and in collaboration with others. This innovative and inspiring work offers lessons about how to increase civic engagement and help societies know the truth about their country’s past and actively shape the national narrative.

07/05/22

by

Nour El Bejjani Noureddine

Wide Awake - Jacques Vartabedian - Push
In Focus

Committing to Justice for Serious Human Rights Violations: Lessons from Hybrid Tribunals

This report aims to help practitioners in the transitional justice field to understand the experience of establishing and operating hybrid courts and to address some common assumptions about these entities. To do so, it looks at hybrid or mixed courts in practice, drawing on experienc...

by

Elena Naughton

Report

Conference Explores Uncertain Path Forward for Tunisia’s Specialized Criminal Chambers

TUNIS—ICTJ hosted a conference on May 2 and 3 to address the current challenges facing Tunisia’s Specialized Criminal Chambers (SCC) as it proceeds to adjudicate cases of serious human rights violations committed under the former regime. The 90 guests who attended included members of Tunisia’s Truth...

05/10/18
In Focus

COVID-19 Set to Deepen Yemen’s Humanitarian Crisis

In war-torn Yemen, COVID-19 presents an imminent danger to the country’s 30 million people, 80 percent of whom rely on humanitarian aid to survive. For more than five years, brutal conflict has devastated the country and its economy, infrastructure, and public services including the health care system. By most accounts, the likelihood is high that the disease will spread through Yemen as the number of cases in neighboring countries continues to grow.

04/30/20

by

Nour El Bejjani Noureddine

World Report

Dead at the Root: Systemic Dysfunction and the Failure of Reform in Lebanon

Lebanon has long been afflicted by a combination of political deadlock and a lack of accountability that has resulted in ongoing human rights violations and overall systemic rot. Comprehensive reforms, along with an inclusive truth-seeking process, broad public dialogue, and other way...

by

Nour El Bejjani Noureddine and Anna Myriam Roccatello

Briefing Paper

Facing a Troubled Past, Yemen Debates Transitional Justice Measures

As Yemen prepares to embark on a national dialogue about its future, addressing the legacy of the past human rights violations remains one of its key challenges. A Law on Transitional Justice and National Reconciliation has been under discussion since February 2012 and may now be adopted in the coming weeks.

06/25/12
In Focus