Resource Library

This report focuses the Lomé Accord of 1999, that ended the Sierra Leone's 10 year civil war. It examines the negotiation dynamics influencing its creation and the impact of the accord from 1999 to 2007. The peace accord is often remembered for its unconditional amnesty provisions, wh...

This paper assesses the impact of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on conflicts in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Sudanese government challenged and undermined the jurisdiction of the ICC from the start. Conversely, the leading actors in the DRC supported ...

ICTJ's monthly newsletter, providing transitional justice news and updates from around the world. South Africa’s Constitutional Court recently made a landmark ruling on the right to speak the truth about crimes amnestied by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. ICTJ Truth-Seeking C...

Background on the challenges in addressing legacies of past violence in sub-Saharan African countries such as Uganda, Ethiopia and Eritrea. The fact sheet gives an overview of the situation in the region and ICTJ's approaches in promoting transitional justice in individual countries. ...

In August 2006 the Security Council created the UN Serious Crimes Investigation Team, as an extension of the previous investigation under the UN Integrated Mission Timor-Leste.

South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola, Mozambique and Namibia have all experienced massive violations of human rights in the recent past. Apart from Zimbabwe, where a political crisis continues, all of these states have further seen the end of major conflicts within the last two decades. Onl...

This initiative aims to promote accountability within the media through independent monitoring of the performance of the media during the TRC process. While freedom of the press is essential to the cultivation of a democratic culture, it is only fair for the media to labor in overcomi...

A range of transitional justice measures should be considered in addressing the Kenyan crisis, including holding key perpetrators to account in a court of law, providing reparations for victims of the recent violence, and vetting security forces in order to remove those involved in ab...

The Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence (CIPEV) was the outcome of the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation Accord of February 28, 2008, negotiated by Kofi Annan and the Panel of Eminent African Personalities, and its sister agreement of March 4, 2008, known as Age...

Indonesia and Timor-Leste created the Commission for Truth and Friendship (CTF) bilaterally in 2005. The commission has not yet delivered substantive transitional-justice benefits, and its public hearings have seriously compromised the goals of truth and resconciliation. This report i...

This report examines the role of women in the implementation of international peace and security instruments through a case study of transitional justice mechanisms in the Liberian context. The experiences of Liberian women have much to teach the world about women’s role in peacebuild...

Among the key challenges facing the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) today is the question of how the country will address the massive human rights atrocities of its recent past to establish a foundation for peace and security, the rule of law, and respect for human rights to prevai...

Two years after the Democratic Republic of Congo held its first elections since independence, the country is at a crossroads. One of the key challenges facing the DRC today is the question of how the country will address the massive human rights atrocities of its recent past to establ...

The Liberian Truth Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was necessitated by the Accra Comprehensive Peace Accord signed in 2003. The insertion of the TRC in the peace agreement was largely seen by various actors as Liberia’s maiden step towards addressing a history that was fraught with gr...

The settling of accounts for past abuses in Burundi seems entangled while popular consultations unfold slowly. Provisional immunities could jeopardize prospects of accountability in the absence of a comprehensive redress policy for victims and in light of continuing human rights viola...

In July 2008 the Timorese-Indonesian Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) submitted its final report on atrocities committed in East Timor in 1999. Previously the CTF had been criticized by human rights groups, especially in relation to its power to recommend amnesties and its con...

The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL or Special Court) was established in 2002 when the two United Nations (UN) ad hoc international tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda had already existed for several years and when the first lessons could be drawn from their experi...

The Special Court for Sierra Leone-which began with the hope that it would be accessible to millions of Sierra Leoneans- has fallen short of its domestic goals. The decision to try Taylor in The Hague, rather than in Freetown, and the lack of adequate outreach activities made the cour...

This report is intended to contribute to the work of National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) and of other organizations involved in providing reparations to victims in Sierra Leone. It aims to identify some of the lessons from the Year One Program program, and to help define the...

The National Accord, negotiated in February 2008 by the Panel of Eminent African Personalities led by Kofi Annan, ended the months of violence that followed Kenya’s 2007 presidential election. The transitional justice mechanisms established by the accord have created an opportunity to...

A wide array of international donors are working with Timor-Leste to help support reform in the security sector. While many of these programmes have had a positive impact, donor-driven security reform agendas have been under-coordinated. Fortunately, this is beginning to change, as ...

ICTJ calls on African states parties to the International Criminal Court to ensure fair and effective justice for serious crimes committed against Africans and others. Written in the lead up to the Rome Statute Review Conference in Kampala, May 2010.

Background on the 2004 ICC arrest warrant for Bosco Ntaganda, wanted for war crimes allegedly committed in the DRC including civilian massacres and the recruitment of child soldiers. In 2009, the Congolese government decided not to arrest Bosco, and instead appointed him a deputy comm...

Situation brief on the International Criminal Court's prosecution against Thomas Lubanga, the former leader of the Union des Patriotes Congolais (UPC) who has been charged with genocide and crimes against humanity. Due to problems with the prosecutor's proposed use of evidence, the tr...

In October 2008, fighting erupted in the North Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between rebel troops of Laurent Nkunda's Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple (CNDP) movement, local militia groups, and troops of the Forces Armées de la République Démocr...

Difficult Peace, Limited Justice: Ten Years of Peacemaking in the DRC reviews the efforts to address justice during ten years of varied peace negotiations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A close look the dynamics of peace talks and the resulting accords -- including those of Sun ...

Background on the role of amnesty in processes of transitional justice and the 2009 DRC Amnesty Law. Given a fragile justice system and culture of impunity, this law risks rewarding blanket amnesty for all crimes committed in the DRC. ICTJ gives suggestions to break the culture of imp...

In Congo over the past decade, demands for justice have been largely unmet in peace negotiations: impunity for the worst crimes is entrenched, and the root causes of the conflict remain unaddressed. As the European Union, often through the European Union Special Representatives (EUSRs...

Background on conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR) in the context of Jean-Pierre Bemba’s trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC is preparing to prosecute Bemba of the DRC for alleged rapes, torture and murders that...

Situation brief on the International Criminal Court's upcoming pretrial hearings on whether to pursue charges against Jean-Pierre Bemba for crimes his troops allegedly committed in the Central African Republic (CAR) in 2002-03. The ICC prosecutor opened an investigation in May 2007 in...

Background on the challenges in addressing legacies of past violence in sub-Saharan African countries such as Uganda, Ethiopia and Eritrea. The fact sheet gives an overview of the situation in the region and ICTJ's approaches in promoting transitional justice in individual countries. ...

The situation in Uganda presented a challenging first case for the International Criminal Court (ICC). The origins of the conflict between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the government are complex, and many people in the north resent the government for failing to protect them fr...

Timor-Leste has implemented a number of transitional justice mechanisms to address the legacy of human rights violations that occurred in relation to the 1975 Timorese civil war and 24-year Indonesian occupation.These mechanisms have failed to provide victims with meaningful reparatio...

Providing the Minister for Social Solidarity with the unfettered discretion to dismiss and appoint members of the institute’s Governing Board renders the institute vulnerable to politicization and undermines the institute’s ‘technical, administrative and financial autonomy.

In August 2006 the United Nations Security Council mandated the establishment of the Serious Crimes Investigation Team (SCIT) as an extension of the previous “serious crimes” process, under the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT). Early in 2008, the team began assisting the c...

Few conflicts have garnered as much attention as the recent one in Darfur. Widespread atrocities reported by several organizations including an International Commission of Investigation compelled the United Nations (UN) Security Council to refer the situation in the western region of ...

Sierra Leone has made tremendous progress in implementing transitional justice commitments incumbent on the authorities under the Lomé Peace Agreement (LPA) and international law.

One of the major challenges facing parliamentary democracy can be the restriction of people's participation in democratic processes, especially the opportunity to vote in periodic elections.

The Liberia Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released its final report in December 2009 after more than three years of operations. The report offers valuable insights into Liberia’s turbulent history, including the gross human rights violations committed during the country’s ...

Efforts underway to address the 2008 Kenyan post-election crisis and the conditions that caused it have provided the country with a unique opportunity to address its long history of human rights violations.

The passing of the Constitution of Kenya of 2010 and its promulgation on August 27, 2010, heralds the deep desire of Kenyans, as individuals and communities, to live in a society that respects and protects their liberties and livelihoods without discrimination. With respect to transit...

Kenya plunged into a dark episode of violence following the controversial presidential election of 2007. The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) recently announced its investigation into issues of complementarity, peace, justice, victims, and affected communities in the country. ...

Years have lapsed since the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in March 2002, but the DRC government has yet to meet its legal obligation to incorporate the statute into national law. Adopting such legislation is esse...

The International Criminal Court (ICC) opened its second trial against Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui on November 24, 2009. The men are former leaders of armed rebel movements from the Ituri district in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC or Congo) presents a critical test for the International Criminal Court (ICC). All of the accused in current ICC trials are from DRC. The Court plays a vital role in DRC regarding complementarity, peace, justice, victims, and affected communities....

Transitions focuses on Sudan's referendum on whether the south will be independent. Suliman Baldo, ICTJ Africa Program Director, talks about the referendum and prospects for peace in Sudan.

Essential among South Africa's transition programs was a process to disarm, demobilize, and reintegrate ex-combatants and to create a new defense force integrating the armed forces of opposing parties into a united military structure. Yet, DDR remained largely independent from other t...

In Sierra Leone, the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) process and transitional justice initiatives occurred in temporal proximity. Disarmament and demobilization were largely successful in Sierra Leone. Some research suggests, however, that accountability measures ...

In Sierra Leone, the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) process and transitional justice initiatives occurred in temporal proximity. Disarmament and demobilization were largely successful in Sierra Leone. Some research suggests, however, that accountability measures ...

While Rwanda has gone further than any other post-conflict state in prosecuting lower-level perpetrators for mass atrocity, transitional justice mechanisms were deliberately kept separate from the DDR program. On one hand, DDR largely succeeded despite a firm policy against amnesty. O...