Resource Library

In designing transitional justice in Armenia, policymakers, civil society activists, and international actors should remember those who have not had justice for so long: the families of those killed or injured in March 2008, the victims of torture and political detention, the mothers in black seeking the truth about why their soldier sons were killed, the old pensioners who live in cold and hunger, farmers and rural communities who need access to social services, and students and young citizens who saw that their hope for a better future required a revolution.

Banjul, June 12, 2019—“Never Again!” sings Awa Bling in her recently released song produced with the support of ICTJ. She is part of a movement of youth and prominent artists who are reclaiming this universal slogan by creating their own songs about transitional justice and bringing their voices to some of the most forgotten regions of The Gambia. Local and international fans can now access new music videos released on social media by five talented Gambian hip hop artists.

Regardless of how the world remembers Alex Boraine's legacy—or the success and shortcomings of the truth and reconciliation process in South Africa—history will recall that Boraine withstood his own, and his nation’s, transitions to cement his legacy as an architect for truth and reconciliation and a champion for justice for victims.

New York, June 3, 2019—Today, with just over a month to go before the 2019 UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, ICTJ and its partners have released the Report of the Working Group on Transitional Justice and SDG16+, entitled “On Solid Ground: Building Sustainable Peace and Development After Massive Human Rights Violations.”

In the United States, the debate over a national reparations program for slavery and Jim Crow has until now encountered political opposition. However, transitional justice approaches at the community level are increasingly surfacing to address racial injustice. A handful of 2020 presidential candidates have come out in support of reparations for slavery. Recently, Georgetown University took center stage in this debate when its student body voted in favor of a student-led initiative to establish a fee that will fund education and health care programs for the descendants of 272 enslaved persons sold by the university in 1838.

On April 11, 2019, Jaqy Mutere, cofounder and coleader of Grace Agenda, accepted an award from Physicians for Human Rights recognizing the work of the Survivors of Sexual Violence in Kenya Network and Grace Agenda, a leader in this movement. Jaqy cofounded Grace Agenda after she began working with women who, like her, had experienced sexual violence during the protests that erupted in Kenya after the contested December 2007 elections.

In December 2018, we mourned the loss of ICTJ's founder, Alex Boraine. On December 12, Fernando Travesí sat down for an intimate conversation with Vincent Mai—ICTJ’s first chairman—to learn more about a life that we will continue to commemorate in the months and years to come.

Kaneleng are women who cannot bear children or whose children died at an early age. At a two-day summit held in December 2018, 25 kaneleng received training on transitional justice concepts. They worked to develop songs, comedy, and dramas that they will use to present justice messages through their work as traditional communicators.

On January 15, 2019, victims of the 2010-2011 post-election violence in Côte d'Ivoire were shocked, yet again, to learn that the Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court in The Hague had acquitted former President Laurent Gbagbo and the former Youth Minister Charles Blé Goudé of crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the crisis.