Resource Library

In the aftermath of massive human rights violations, the voices of young people carry enormous potential: they can tell the truth about the past while offering new paths forward as their societies pursue peace and justice. However, if institutions want the insights of young people, they must avoid pre-formulated solutions and instead engage with youth on their own terms. A new guide released by ICTJ today aims to provide the tools necessary to do so, offering recommendations about how to responsibly and effectively gather statements from young people.

A new, photo-filled publication from the International Center for Transitional Justice details how photos taken by Lebanese young people across the country helped to spark discussion about the disturbing, often-overlooked legacy of the Lebanese civil war.

When armed conflict or atrocities have torn a society apart, it can be difficult for people to regain trust in the government and reconcile with those they see as their enemies or abusers. While the idea of reconciliation has been closely linked to transitional justice, misunderstandings of the term have sometimes led to superficial, even harmful approaches to addressing the past. A new paper from the International Center for Transitional Justice looks at different understandings of reconciliation and its place in transitional justice.

A new ICTJ report argues that discussions about a future return of refugees and coexistence among groups currently at war in Syria must begin now, even in the face of ongoing violence and displacement.

A new book by ICTJ titled Justice Mosaics: How Context Shapes Transitional Justice in Fractured Societies examines the challenges of responding to massive human rights violations in different and difficult circumstances in today's world.

The International Center for Transitional Justice today repeated the call for the withdrawal of the revamped “Economic Reconciliation” Draft Law. As one of the key expert organizations that has supported the transitional process in Tunisia since its inception, ICTJ has opposed the flawed “Economic Reconciliation” Draft Law since it was first presented in 2015, because its provisions undermine key goals of transitional justice: accountability, truth and reform.

This is the third time that the Tunisian government, supported by several Members of Parliament, has put debate of the National Reconciliation Law on the political agenda. Rearranged in form but with the same substantial faults, this law has mobilized the opposition — for the third time — of approximately 20 civil society organizations that met yesterday and plan to soon hold a press conference.

A new briefing paper from the International Center for Transitional Justice provides guidance for national courts issuing decisions on redress of human rights violations involving sexual violence. It encourages judges, advocates and prosecutors to consider the full range of possible forms of redress when ordering reparations for victims, to make use of relevant national and international decisions in interpreting domestic laws, and to pay particular attention to how sexual violence may affect different victims.

ICTJ has named the globally recognized jurist and human rights expert Juan E. Méndez as its delegate to the Colombian Selection Committee created by the 2016 peace agreement signed between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

ICTJ has formally accepted the invitation to participate in Colombia’s Selection Committee, reflecting its commitment to work for peace and victims’ rights in that country. It has not yet selected its delegate, contrary to prior reports.