Resource Library

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?

1,300 are still missing in Nepal, nearly a decade after the country's bloody civil war ended. The peace agreement was meant to provide for the families of the disappeared, but today they are still searching for answers. As a new government body begins investigations, victims wonder: is the commission fully committed to addressing their needs?

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.

Today, ICTJ opened a two-day conference in Kampala, Uganda, gathering activists and officials from the African Great Lakes Region to discuss efforts at redress and accountability for serious human rights violations committed in their countries.

Civil society leaders, members of victims' groups and state officials throughout the Great Lakes region will convene in Kampala, Uganda next week at a conference hosted by ICTJ. Attendees will share their experiences working for redress in their communities and discuss what strategies have proven effective at the local level.

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.

As we search for ways to halt the violence and foster lasting peace in societies grappling with a legacy of massive human rights abuse, there is arguably no more important day to reflect upon the importance of the struggle for truth and justice than today, March 24. Thus, we take a moment to mark the International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims.

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.

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.

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.

During Nepal's armed conflict, more than 13,000 people were killed and 1,300 forcibly disappeared. Today, a new government has voted to create a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as well as a Commission of Inquiry on the Disappearance of Persons. Many victims have protested the flaws in the proposals; meanwhile, no comprehensive reparations have been provided for those left most vulnerable by conflict. In this interview with ICTJ's Santosh Sigdel, we discuss developments related to ICTJ's work in Nepal.

Truth commissions can make important contributions to peace processes if all parties can agree on common objectives and there is genuine local political will to shed light on past events. This is the key finding of a new study – titled “Challenging the Conventional: Can Truth Commissions Strengthen Peace Processes?” – to be released on 19 June 2014 by ICTJ and the Kofi Annan Foundation.

Seven and a half years after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, Nepal's Parliament voted to establish the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a Commission of Investigation on Disappeared Persons. In this op-ed, ICTJ's Eduardo González Cueva explains why many victims have rejected the bill.

As Nepal’s Parliament discussed key proposal to establish truth-seeking bodies, the ICTJ expresses deep concern that the bill retains flaws already rejected by the country’s Supreme Court in January.