83 results

The Expert’s Choice 2025 Year in Review

Throughout 2025, ICTJ’s experts offered thoughtful analysis on conflicts and major political developments in more than 10 countries as part of the World Report newsletter. Their insightful commentaries shed light on the obstacles that victims, civil society, and their partners must navigate as they pursue sustainable peace and justice. In this edition, we look back on the past year through the Expert’s Choice column.

01/06/26
Collage of feature images from Experts Choice pieces in 2025
Opinion

A Landmark Court Decision Opens New Avenues for Accountability for Apartheid-Era Crimes in South Africa

On April 14, 2025, the Johannesburg High Court handed down a landmark judgment. From his bench in courtroom 4D, Judge Dario Dosio dismissed the defense team’s objections to the inclusion of murder and apartheid as crimes against humanity charges in the indictment against two individuals accused of a deadly 1982 attack on anti-apartheid student activists. In so doing, the court cleared the way for crimes against humanity charges to be pursued in a South African domestic court for the first time. It also opened the door to the first ever prosecution of apartheid as a crime against humanity anywhere in the world.

06/03/25

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Howard Varney

Several people wearing T-shirts seated with backs camera in a courtroom and facing toward the judge who seated in an elevated stand and is facing the camera and audience
Opinion

Hearing Victims’ Testimonies: A Meaningful Step Toward Justice in the Central African Republic

In 2021, the Central African Republic created the Truth, Justice, Reparation and Reconciliation Commission (CVJRR) to establish the truth, pursue justice, and restore victims’ dignity, with a view to ultimately achieving national reconciliation. In this fragile country, battered by successive episodes of violence, justice, in its broadest sense, has always been and remains a lifelong demand of victims. After a lengthy operationalization phase, the CVJRR is now finally getting ready to start registering and hearing victims’ testimonies. The first step in this process is statement taking, which requires taking several key factors into account to be successful.

02/01/24
A group of people stand outside in Bangui, Central African Republic, for a group photo.
Opinion

Victims’ Hope for Justice Postponed in the Central African Republic

After seven years of waiting for the UN-backed Special Criminal Court (SCC) in the Central African Republic to begin operations, victims of the country’s civil war had hoped to finally see the first tangible step toward justice on April 25 when the first trial opened in the capital Bangui. The trial was initially set to begin on April 19, 2022, but was abruptly postponed when the defense attorneys failed to show up in an apparent boycott over their wages. When the defense lawyers returned to court on April 25, they immediately requested an adjournment, which was granted, and the trial was postponed again until May 16. It is very likely that this incessant postponement will further deflate already diminished confidence among victims in the SCC’s ability to deliver justice.

05/02/22
Opinion

Gearing Up the Fight Against Impunity: Dedicated Investigative and Prosecutorial Capacities

This study explores specialized units established in 23 countries to investigate and prosecute serious international crimes. Notwithstanding the challenges faced by these units, the study concludes that countries with a specialized institutional approach are considerably more successf...

several judges dressed in black gowns sit on a judicial bench.
Report

Soft Vengeance: An Interview with South Africa’s Albie Sachs

ICTJ Vice President Paul Seils interviewed South African judge and human rights activist Albie Sachs.

Videos

Seeds of Justice

This multimedia project brings together voices of five Sierra Leoneans of different backgrounds reflecting on the legacy of the court as it nears the completion of its mandate.

Videos

‘A Drop of Water on a Hot Stone:’ Justice for Victims in the Central African Republic

Providing justice to victims of human rights abuses in fragile contexts such as the Central African Republic (CAR) is challenging for reasons related not only to the state’s stability, capacity, and political will, but also socioeconomic inequality in the country. This research report...

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Rim El Gantri and Arnaud Yaliki

A young girl stands in the doorway to her house
Report

Advancing Global Accountability: The Role of Universal Jurisdiction in Prosecuting International Crimes

Invoking the principle of universal jurisdiction opens the door to the possibility of some accountability in circumstances where justice is not possible in countries where the crimes took place. This study considers the challenges facing the exercise of universal jurisdiction and asse...

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Howard Varney and Katarzyna Zduńczyk

Report

The Movement of Latin American Hip Hop Expressions and ICTJ Cohost an International Hip Hop Festival on Truth, Memory, and Resistance

Bogotá, November 20, 2020—ICTJ and the Movement of Latin American Hip Hop Expressions have joined forces to cohost the third International Hip Hop Encounter, which will take place virtually this week from November 25 to November 28. The four-day online event will bring together artists and musicians from across Latin America and Africa along with activists, social leaders, and civil society representatives. The festival’s theme is the role of hip hop music and culture in uncovering truth, preserving memory, and resisting violence and oppression.

11/23/20
Press Release