548 results

International Community Commits to Nuanced, Comprehensive Transitional Justice at UN Security Council Open Debate

As UN member states convene virtually this week for the annual General Assembly, they will likely focus on a narrow list of agenda items, topped by issues related to the deadly coronavirus pandemic and a global economic downturn. For this reason, ICTJ would like to recall the vital importance of justice for global peace, security, health, and development by sharing findings from an analysis of the open debate on transitional justice that the UN Security Council held on February 13, 2020, as part of its peacebuilding and sustaining peace agenda.

09/21/20
In Focus

The Case Against Former President Uribe

On August 4th, former President Alvaro Uribe surprised the country with a tweet announcing that he would be placed under house arrest for suspected witness tampering and obstruction of justice by the Special Instruction Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice as part of an investigation that has been underway since 2018. According to the court, this decision was made out of a concern for possible obstruction of justice, which appears to be consistent with the ongoing investigation into these same charges. This is undoubtedly an unprecedented situation.

08/31/20

by

Maria Camila Moreno Múnera

World Report

Truth, Accountability, and Asset Recovery: How Transitional Justice Can Fight Corruption

On March 2 and 3, 2020, transitional justice and anti-corruption policymakers, experts, and activists from the Gambia, Kenya, South Africa, Armenia, and Tunisia met in Tunis for a two-day conference to share solutions to a common problem: How can countries emerging from dictatorship, ...

by

Ruben Carranza

Report

Don’t Call It ‘International Justice Day’

It may seem trivial for me to write about why those who continue to mark July 17 as "International Justice Day" should finally stop calling it that. Many human rights groups (including ICTJ), United Nations agencies, and governments have been publicly using that phrase since 2010. It is for victims of massive and systematic human rights violations, including abuses that amount to international crimes under the Rome Statute, that it is important to end the misconception that the phrase encourages.

08/03/20

by

Ruben Carranza

World Report

A Mixed Approach to International Crimes: The Retributive and Restorative Justice Procedures of Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace

Colombia's Special Jurisdiction for Peace (SJP) aims to achieve criminal accountability through a mixed system of restorative and retributive justice. Generally speaking, the SJP envisions large-scale restorative justice measures involving public acknowledgments of responsibility, as ...

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Anna Myriam Roccatello and Gabriel Rojas

Report

Who Is Worth a Statue?

In the wake of the mass demonstrations in the United States, activists in European cities similarly took the streets to protest against racism and police violence. In Belgium, mostly young activists have defaced statues of King Leopold II with red paint, insisting public spaces be "decolonized" that commemorate the monarch who personally owned the Congo for more than two decades before relinquishing it to the Belgian government which then controlled it for half a century. Are Belgian and other societies in Europe ready to reckon with the truth of their colonial legacies?

07/01/20

by

Santa Falasca

World Report

Reflections and Recommendations for Transitional Vetting

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 ...

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Daniel Blocq, Alexander Mayer-Rieckh, and Roger Duthie

Research Brief

From Optimism to Disillusionment: Examining Civil Society Perceptions of Police Vetting in Kenya

This report examines the police vetting in Kenya that was part of a broader reform in response to the 2007-2008 post-election violence, focusing on why civil society became disillusioned with the initiative. Drawing on interviews with civil society representatives and former members o...

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Daniel Blocq, Mary Mwikali, and Agatha Ndonga

Report

The Persistent and Widespread Need for Police Reform: Lessons from Kenya’s Police Vetting Process

The role of police in society is to protect residents and enforce the rule of law. As a public institution, and particularly one whose function includes the state-sanctioned use of force, the effectiveness of the police depends on its integrity and legitimacy. When the police abuses its power, by brutalizing civilians and or engaging in corruption, it loses its credibility and the public’s trust. In Kenya, enforcement of measures to halt the spread of COVID-19 have been accompanied by acts of police brutality, of the kind that Kenyans have been through multiple times before.

06/24/20
In Focus

Here We Are Again: Will Racist Violence in the United States Ever End?

It happened again. George Floyd’s name is now added to the tragic list—already far too long—of other people of color whose lives have been cut short as a direct result of the United States’ long history of racism and white supremacy. We at ICTJ are outraged by the cruel and senseless murder of an unarmed Black man by police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As we try to process this horrific act and grieve the tragic loss of another human life, we must also grapple with the hard truth that it is frankly unsurprising that this list of names continues to grow.

06/05/20

by

Fernando Travesí

In Focus