Resource Library

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.

Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was recently sentenced by the ICTY to 40 years for genocide and crimes against humanity, crimes which have decisively shaped the society in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this essay, ICTJ’s Refik Hodzic explores what would it take for this poisonous legacy to be dismantled and makes a case for acknowledgement and reparations as matters of moral imperative, but also of political necessity.

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.

In this op-ed, ICTJ Vice President Paul Seils calls on the international community to prioritize the return of Syrian refugees to their homes instead of posturing about Assad's ouster.

In a new briefing paper, ICTJ's Paul Seils and Roger Duthie examine what steps the international community can take during a crisis to support democracy and accountability.

What happens when a state refuses to acknowledge the suffering of victims of mass atrocities? Or when the public celebrates perpetrators as heroes? Earlier this month, a panel discussion hosted by The International Center for Transitional Justice and New York University’s Center for Global Affairs grappled with the impact of denial on justice.

After consulting nearly 2,000 of their peers, youth activists in Cote d'Ivoire present their reparations policy recommendations in a special event on Friday.

After a society is torn apart by conflict or repression, who decides whether to remember or forget the painful past? Can forgiveness happen without acknowledgement of wrongdoing? Is there a difference between forgetting and denial? Join us as ICTJ debates the impact of remembrance on reconciliation with David Rieff and Pablo de Greiff.

The Ivoirian government has a critical opportunity to define and implement a reparations policy that responds to the needs of the most vulnerable victims of the political, military and social crises experienced by Côte d’Ivoire between 1999 and 2012, according to the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ).

The first piece in of our "Transitional Justice and Education" series examines the role of school systems in Bosnia and Northern Ireland.