Resource Library

Building a constitutional state and pursuing social change is best approached by looking at prior successes. Here is a comparison between the Kenyan and South African constitutions and an outline of how constitutional litigation unfolded in South Africa.

The DDR process in Colombia aims to guarantee citizens their fundamental rights while at the same time to create space for the integration of demobilized armed groups. It remains to be seen if the Colombian DDR and transitional justice model can be implemented such that it satisfies b...

In El Salvador there was a complex relationship between peacemaking and democratization. The DDR and transitional justice initiatives were connected by the timetable for the implementation of the peace accords. Progress in DDR was dependent on the implementation of political reforms, ...

In Colombia, international crimes can be tried under the ordinary national jurisdiction as well as a limited number of cases under the Justice and Peace Law of 2005 (JPL). Neither jurisdiction has served to highlight the widespread or systematic nature of state-sponsored violence. ...

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. ...

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.

During the 1970s, political violence in Argentina resulted in massive violations of human rights including thousands of deaths, prolonged and arbitrary arrests, disappearances, unfair trials, pervasive torture, in addition to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. Since the restorat...

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...

On August 24, 2009, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that he was appointing Assistant U.S. Attorney John Durham to conduct a preliminary review into the possibility that federal laws were violated in the interrogation of specific detainees outside of the United States. The ...

Amicus curiae on petition for a writ of certiorari, to the United States Court of Appeals for the second circuit.

This research brief provides case studies on the use of pardons in Argentina, Chile, El Salvador, Peru and South Africa following periods of mass abuse, and highlights subsequent political and civil society action to overcome impunity exacerbated by pardons and amnesties.

ICTJ provides an overview of investigative reports into detention and interrogation practices by the U.S. government. The purpose of this brief is to provide a sampling of reports to survey the ways in which these have been commissioned, what they have covered, and how they relate to ...

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...

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...

States have the obligation to prevent human rights violations, investigate them, identify and punish their intellectual authors and accessories after the fact, and may not invoke existing provisions of domestic law to avoid complying with their obligations under international law. ...

In the U.S., the democratic principle that openness in government can act as an important check against the possibility of government abuse has been steadily undermined. A critical information gap, only partially addressed through fragmented investigative efforts within and outside go...

ICTJ provides an overview of various United States Commissions of Inquiry. This publication includes briefs on the Senate and House Committee Investigations of the Palmer Raids in 1920, the Senator Frank Church Committee in 1975, a commission into wartime relocation and internment of ...

This case study offers an overview of some of the major issues and recent developments in transitional justice in Croatia. While the main focus is on war crimes prosecutions before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and Croatian courts, it also examines trut...

This study examines the development of restitution and reparations in international law and practice over the last century. It aims to provide recommendations on how restitution can best contribute to transitional justice by reviewing four case-studies: the Czech Republic, South Afric...

From 1976 to 1983 Argentina was ruled by a military dictatorship and an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 people "disappeared." This paper outlines transitional justice developments in Argentina - including the investigation and prosecution of human rights violations. The current movement to...

This paper provides an overview of the major issues and recent developments in transitional justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). It examines the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), local trials, the proposed Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Sr...

Since the end of open armed conflict in the former Yugoslavia, there has been little progress in transitional justice. This particularly applies to Serbia and Montenegro, which has lurched from one political crisis to another. This paper provides an overview of some of the major issue...

This report considers the work of the Special Prosecutor's Office (SPO) in Mexico, established to deal with crimes that public servants commit against social and political groups. It describes the basic requirements of investigation into "system crimes," emphasizing the need for an ap...

This memorandum is a legal analysis of the applicability of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide to events which occurred in Turkey-Armenia during the early twentieth century. It was drafted by independent legal counsel based on a request made to...

Recent speculation indicates that U.S. President George W. Bush may grant pardons to administration officials and members of the military who might face prosecution for authorizing, ordering, endorsing, justifying or committing acts pursuant to the “war on terror.” While a pardon appl...

Case studies on the use of pardons in Argentina, Chile, El Salvador, Peru, and South Africa.

Examples of pardons in international jurisprudence, including Inter-American Court and Commission, European Court of Human Rights, UN Treaty Bodies, and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Research Brief: Selected examples of Defence, Intelligence and Justice Investigative Reports into detention and interrogation practices.

This briefing paper focuses on the topic of prosecuting international and other serious crimes in Kenya, including crimes committed in the context of the postelection crisis of late 2007 and early 2008. In particular, it identifies and analyzes obstacles and opportunities for such pro...

This paper analyzes the contents of the Final Report that the Kenyan Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) presented to President Uhuru Kenyatta on May 21, 2013, after four years of investigations. In particular, it evaluates the report’s information and findings, the lo...

This briefing paper reviews the Kenyan government’s response to sexual and gender-based violence committed against women, men, and children during the 2007/2008 post-election crisis. It draws on interviews with over 40 survivors about their experience and analyzes the laws and transit...

This briefing paper assesses the situation in Ukraine with respect to democratic reforms being undertaken in the country following the mass uprising that ousted former President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014. It examines issues of corruption and impunity, as well as the historica...

This paper weighs the possible modes and competing policy objectives of punishing FARC members for serious crimes in the context of Colombia’s ongoing peace negotiations. It argues that punishment has to occur in a way that does not damage one of the underlying objectives of the peace...

In this briefing paper ICTJ addresses one of the crucial points of the peace negotiations between the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP): the possibility of providing recourse to the broadest amnesty possible and pardons as pa...

In transitional contexts, reporting does not simply present the facts, but instead shapes the parameters for interpreting divisive political issues. Coverage in such polarized contexts can mitigate or obscure the substance of transitional justice efforts to establish what happened, wh...

The term reconciliation has long been associated with the field of transitional justice and is often presumed to be one of its goals. At the same time, reconciliation has been both controversial and vague as a concept, giving rise to different understandings and approaches. This paper...

Haiti is currently confronting several challenges regarding stability, the rule of law, and corruption. The establishment of the United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH) in April 2017 is aimed at contributing to state and civil society efforts to effectively add...

For decades, Kenyans have yearned for a police service that is accountable to the people and adheres to national laws and international human rights standards. The police stand accused of regularly meting out violence on the public, extra-judicial killings, and other human rights viol...

When the Syrian people took to the streets in March 2011, nobody could have predicted that the ensuing crisis would become the largest international calamity in recent history. Syrians’ calls for freedom and justice, which rode the wave of revolutions in neighboring countries, have be...

Although youth are key political and social stakeholders who have much to contribute to—and gain from—transitional justice processes, they often remain marginalized from such processes or are given only a limited and predetermined space in which to engage. In recent years, the peacebu...

This paper explores political exclusion in Kenya and its consequences on the social fabric of the nation. It draws from past governmental reports and analysis to formulate new recommendations that can inform current discourse. It first provides an overview of ethnicity in Kenya. It th...

In its report, the Kenya Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission concluded that “corruption is endemic in Kenya” and that “there is a direct link between corruption and gross violation of human rights.” This paper considers the extent of impunity for corruption in Kenya, how corr...

Between April 15 and May 3, 2019, ICTJ held a number of consultations with Kenyan youth from several informal settlements in Nairobi and Mombasa to reflect on their understanding of security sector reforms and their connection to the ongoing national dialogue process, particularly as ...

In its primary findings, Kenya's Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission noted that women and girls have been subject to systematic, state-sanctioned discrimination in all spheres of their lives, and that the state has failed to take measures to end the practices that restrict wo...

This policy brief presents recommendations for transitional vetting based on insights from research on vetting practice. It is meant to complement existing guidelines on vetting put forth by the United Nations and other international organizations. It defines vetting and the risks it ...

Mexico is overwhelmed by criminal violence and human rights violations in ways that ordinary rule of law mechanisms cannot address. While not undergoing a political transition, Mexico could benefit from transitional justice experiences when designing policies for pursuing accountabili...

This briefing paper examines how transitional justice approaches can guide the discussion around dismantling systemic racism in the United States to focus on root causes of violence and racial injustice. Drawing from relevant experiences internationally and within the United States, i...

The global COVID-19 pandemic forced many countries to impose emergency measures, such as curfews and community lockdowns, to stem the spread of the virus. To enforce these measures, some societies have given regular police forces increased power to enforce the measures, while others h...

This briefing paper examines the various actions that Ukrainian officials and members of the international community have launched to investigate and prosecute war crimes and other human rights violations committed in Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February 2022. It explo...