Resource Library

The report documents that practices that included slamming detainees into walls, extended sleep deprivation, suspending them by the arms, forced nudity, threats, prolonged shackling in uncomfortable positions and disrespect of the Qur'an, were the result of officially sanctioned polic...

The framework of transitional justice, originally devised to facilitate reconciliation in countries undergoing transitions from authoritarianism to democracy, is increasingly used to respond to certain types of human rights violations against indigenous peoples -- even in cases where ...

Bosnians have a range of expectations of the ICTY—or as it is known in the region, “the Hague Tribunal” or simply “The Hague”—comparing their hopes to the goals enunciated by the Security Council when it created the Tribunal and by the ICTY itself.

The legacy of systematic human rights violations committed during violent conflict and repressive rule can reach well into the new order. Transitional justice can help societies address the past through prosecutions, truthseeking, reparations for victims and institutional reform. Just...

In dealing with counterterrorism detainees after 2001, the United States breached its obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT) and other sources of international human rights and humanitarian law. Although the current administration has turned away from some former p...

Counterterrorism detainees held in U.S. custody were subject to widespread abuses, including prolonged, arbitrary detention, physical and sexual abuse, enforced disappearance by way of the secret transfer of prisoners to undisclosed locations (“extraordinary rendition”), and other cru...

For the last 50 years Cypriots have been living amid various forms of conflict between political leaders, communities and armed forces. Divisive re-tellings of key moments in these conflicts continue to be important to the politics of all communities on the island.

The Documentation Affinity Group (DAG) was established in 2005 by ICTJ and five partner organizations as a peer-to-peer network with a primary focus on human rights documentation. Documenting Truth collects the best practices derived from the work of the DAG organizations in Cambodia,...

Background on the massive human rights violations in the states that declared independence from the Former Yugoslavia from 1991 onwards, including Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, resulting in the deaths of over 140,000 people and four million displaced. The fact sheet cove...

The transitional justice review of Bosnia and Herzegovina says that in spite of important achievements in Bosnia and Herzegovina in terms of transitional justice, a number of substantive concerns remain. The report's recommendations include supporting the implementation of the Nationa...

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of some of the major issues and recent developments in transitional justice in Serbia and Montenegro. In particular, it examines the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), local trials, the national Truth a...

Transitional Justice and Georgia's Conflicts: Breaking the Silence examines the conflicts involving Georgia from a transitional justice perspective. Frichova argues that introducing this dimension into the public discourse in Georgia and its breakaway territories could help advance co...

Details the range of measures that will be needed to address the consequences of abuses committed during the U.S. "war on terror," including independent investigations, public disclosure of the truth, prosecutions of those responsible for abuses and redress for victims of serious harm...

Response to the first 100 days of the Obama administration and the disclosure of evidence detailing abusive treatment of detainees in the "war on terror." ICTJ recommends the appointment of a special prosecutor, the creation of an independent, nonpartisan commission of inquiry and con...

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.

Treatment of historical legacies of discrimination against Aboriginal groups in Canada (First Nations, Inuit, Métis) currently focuses on settlement for abuses committed against Aboriginal children in educational institutions known as “Indian Residential Schools” (IRSs), which pursued...

As the first national truth commission to be created in an established democracy, Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is a bold experiment. It is also the first TRC to focus exclusively on crimes committed against children and indigenous groups.

Indigenous populations throughout the world are widely recognized as groups affected by political and economic marginalization. Countries that have used truth commissions to examine patterns of exclusion—including Chile, Guatemala and Peru—have found clear links between racism, politi...

The application of transitional justice mechanisms, such as war crimes trials and reparations, has significant flaws in Serbia. Lack of progress may be even greater in truth-seeking and vetting of public officials. Serbia must do much more in all areas of transitional justice, for its...

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...

This report examines the effectiveness of war crimes prosecutions in Serbia. While the War Crimes Chamber (WCC) and the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor (OWCP) have had some success, significant concerns exist - such as opposition from ethnic nationalists. Despite shortcomings, the...

This case study reviews and analyzes the deployment of international judges and prosecutors in Kosovo. It is part of a series providing information on hybrid courts' policy and practical issues. Although the Kosovo system of international judges and prosecutors has made significant st...

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...

This report disscusses the Greensboro Truth and Reonciliation Commission's Final Report on the 1979 killings of five anti-Ku Klux Klan demonstrators. It focuses on a meeting of representatives from truth recovery efforts around the world to assess the Greensboro experience. Topics cov...

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 study identifies the range of agencies in and outside the former Yugoslavia that collect documentation on war crimes and other human rights violations committed in the 1991-1999 wars. Several factors that point to the need for an overview of data-collecting agencies in the region...

This study examines various aspects of existing reparations following the 1991-1999 conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. It clarifies the different categories of reparation; identifies groups potentially entitled to compensation; assesses the extent and fairness of existing policies; a...

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.

Property Rights in Kosovo explores cultural, political and social factors dating as far back as the Ottoman period that have contributed to the present state of property rights. It examines the legacy of the armed conflict and NATO intervention of 1999 in the massive population displa...

Indigenous peoples are among those most affected by contemporary conflict. The resource-rich territories they occupy are coveted by powerful, often violent groups. Their identity is perceived with mistrust, sometimes with hate. Indigenous communities live at a precarious intersection ...

In collaboration with the Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement, ICTJ’s Research Unit examined how transitional justice can be used to address the range of injustices associated with displacement and thereby serve as part of a comprehensive approach to the resolution of displ...

As with most post-conflict challenges, the issues of displaced populations and weak security institutions each have profound effects on the other. A common cause of displacement in post-conflict environments is a lack of physical security, either because formal security institutions ...

This paper is concerned with the relationship between criminal justice and displacement that has taken place as a result of serious violations of international humanitarian law, and considers these issues within the context of justice efforts in the former Yugoslavia. It argues that ...

Although the conflict in Turkey remains ongoing and a political solution to the “Kurdish question” has not been reached, in recent years, the Turkish government has developed a series of laws and policies regarding the situation of displaced Kurds. The most significant of these polic...

In cases other than those of environmental disasters, some mix of persecution and fear of violence based on ethnicity, race, or religion, plus violations of human rights and repression based on political beliefs and opinions often characterizes forced displacement for both internally ...

This publication provides an overview of the essential best practices guiding the main aspects of a truth commission, answering basic questions relating to its goals, powers, operations, framework, protections for commissioners and witnesses, and reporting. Its intention is to provide...

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...

Where should justice for some of the world’s worst crimes be done? In national courts or at the International Criminal Court in The Hague? Our Handbook on Complementarity explores those questions, laying out the interconnected relationship between the ICC and national court systems in...

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...

Sexual violence against men and boys in times of conflict or repression is alarmingly common— and takes a markedly consistent form across contexts in terms of how it affects victims and societies as a human rights violation that is taboo to talk about. It has been committed in all cul...

Since Georgia’s independence in 1991, successive governments have struggled to deal with endemic corruption, organized crime, and various disputes along its borders, which sometimes sparked into armed conflict. Efforts to combat corruption and organized crime through its “zero-toleran...