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In the wake of the recent contentious presidential elections, Venezuelans from all walks of life took to the streets to express their collective distrust of the official results, outrage over their country's dire economic and political crisis, and demand for transformative change. For a brief moment, their sheer numbers and the of unity of their voices gave hope that a window of opportunity had opened for real change. In countries grappling with massive human rights violations, from time to time, a window of opportunity does in fact open for society to come together and a forge path toward peace and justice. Unfortunately, such windows do not remain open indefinitely.

Throughout 2023, ICTJ’s experts have offered their unique perspective on breaking news around the globe as part of the World Report. Their insightful commentaries have brought into focus the impact these events have on victims of human right violations as well as larger struggles for peace and justice. In this edition, we look back on the past year through the Expert’s Choice column.

The end of 2022 in Venezuela was marked by signs of willingness from all parties to take concrete steps toward democracy. The government and the opposition resumed negotiations and agreed to allow the United Nations to manage a fund for billions of dollars of frozen assets, which would be gradually released to address the country’s humanitarian crisis. The United States authorized the Chevron Corporation to resume limited operations for importing Venezuelan oil. Finally, the 2015 National Assembly voted to end the opposition-led interim government. While these steps are initial ones to create the conditions for trust among the parties, they offer opportunities to improve the dire circumstances in which many Venezuelans currently live.

Why pursue transitional justice in the aftermath of massive human rights violations? This video provides a window into the debate about the relevance of transitional justice in today’s world.

In 2021, there were significant developments, some hopeful and some devastating, in the struggle for truth, accountability, and redress in countries around the world. ICTJ experts covered these events in commentaries and feature stories published on our website and in our newsletters. While 2022 is already underway and we at ICTJ are hard at work, we would like to pause a moment to take stock and reflect on the year that was.

Myanmar’s democratic transition was brought to an abrupt halt on February 1, 2021, with the seizure of power by the country’s armed forces. Public protests against the military coup d'état quickly swelled to some of the largest since 2007, to which the military has responded with deadly force. Given the deteriorating situation, restoring civilian rule appears to be an increasingly immense challenge.

In Venezuela, there is now an absence of representative democracy and a vacuum of public trust in politicians. However, this situation presents an opportunity for other actors and other approaches, so far disparaged by hardliners on both sides. Civil society organizations, which have earned credibility through their dedicated work addressing the humanitarian crisis and defending human rights, can seize this opportunity.

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.

The political crisis in Venezuela has reached a breaking point. The upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for December 6 threaten to deprive the opposition of its institutional foothold, on which the legitimacy of its demand to establish an interim government rests. Moreover, observers both inside and outside Venezuela have repeatedly warned that the conditions are unsuitable for fair and impartial elections. A political solution now depends on the government backpedaling from its recent refusal to postpone the elections and allowing the European Union to observe them. It also requires the opposition to take a clear stance beyond calling for the removal of the president.

The political crisis in Venezuela seems to have reached a stalemate. In September, the Norway-mediated negotiations between the Maduro government and the opposition came to a halt, leaving both sides struggling for the upper hand. But since it remains difficult for either party to prevail, it is likely that this impasse is a momentary setback rather than an indication that the negotiations are defunct.

This report aims to help practitioners in the transitional justice field to understand the experience of establishing and operating hybrid courts and to address some common assumptions about these entities. To do so, it looks at hybrid or mixed courts in practice, drawing on experienc...

Angkar, screened on June 16 at the New York Human Rights Watch Film Festival, follows Khonsaly, a victim of the Khmer Rouge, on his journey to the village he fled almost 30 years ago. The film, produced by Neary Adeline Hay about her father's experience with torture and repression, is an intergenerational offering to truth and memorialization work that dances between the inheritance of abuse and its painful recollection by a survivor.

During the past month, over 400,000 members of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim community have been driven from their homes as part of an ethnic cleansing campaign led by the military. What lies at the root of the current violence, how is it connected to political transition, and does transitional justice have a role to play? ICTJ's Anna Myriam Roccatello answers those questions and more.

For decades, successive Myanmar political and military leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi’s, have flatly denied what millions of their citizens know: that the military has committed and continues to commit human rights violations. A new UN inquiry into those crimes is provides a moment of truth for Suu Kyi's commitment to justice, writes ICTJ's Aileen Thomson.

In the years immediately before the 2015 election, there was a palpable sense of waiting among those working in Burmese civil society. Many of their plans depended on one or two critical developments to take hold: the NLD coming to power and the signing of a nationwide ceasefire agree...

Myanmar may have a new government under Aung San Suu Kyi, but former political prisoners continue to face challenges throughout the country. A new report sheds light on prisoners' challenges and recommends steps the government can take to offer redress.

In this op-ed, ICTJ's Aileen Thomson says the concerns of former political prisoners, ethnic minorities and conflict-affected communities must be taken into account if peace and democracy in Myanmar are to endure.

With hopes running high after the National League for Democracy’s landslide victory in November, a new ICTJ paper calls on the soon-to-be-established Burmese government to seriously consider taking steps to deal with Myanmar’s troubled past as a way to help end the cycle of violence and human rights violations in the conflict-torn country.

This briefing paper calls on the soon-to-be-established NLD-led Burmese government to seriously consider taking steps to deal with Myanmar’s troubled past as a way to help end the cycle of violence and human rights violations in the conflict-torn country.

In this op-ed, ICTJ's Aileen Thomson and Bo Kyi argue that in the wake of Myanmar's historic elections, the release of all political prisoners held by the government would be an important step towards national reconciliation.

The new film "Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll" explains the events of 1960s and 70s through the eyes of the musicians and artists who ushered in a new era of sound, only to be silenced too soon. As the world commemorates the 40th anniversary of the genocide in Cambodia, the new documentary presents the untold story of how their music managed to survive.

Transitional justice practitioners and activists from 18 different countries gathered in Barcelona to attend the 6th Intensive Course on Truth Commissions, organized by the ICTJ and the Barcelona International Peace Resource Center on September 29 - October 3.

On August 7, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) found two senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, guilty of crimes against humanity. For many victims who have been waiting for 35 years, the judgment still felt like bittersweet justice.

Continuing political repression, cronyism, and ongoing conflicts are disrupting attempts to put Myanmar on a linear path to democracy, peace, and development, says a new report from the ICTJ. According to the report, titled “Navigating Paths to Justice in Myanmar’s Transition,” dealing with current and historical abuses is essential to achieving genuine progress on peacebuilding and economic development in the country.

This report asserts that dealing with past abuses in Myanmar is essential to achieving genuine progress on peacebuilding and economic development in the country. Conflict and high levels of political repression have racked Myanmar for more than half a century. Both President Thein Sei...

In the latest ICTJ program report, we speak with Patrick Pierce, head of ICTJ’s Myanmar program, who analyzes the state of transitional justice in the country. Pierce provides a look into the kind of technical assistance ICTJ is providing to civil society groups in Myanmar working to strengthen democratic institutions and increase confidence in the peace process.

Reparations seek to recognize and address the harms suffered by victims of systematic human rights violations. ICTJ’s Reparative Justice program provides knowledge and comparative experience on reparations to victims' groups, civil society and policymakers worldwide. In this edition of the ICTJ Program Report, we look at ICTJ's work on reparations in dynamic transitional contexts such as Nepal, Colombia, Peru, DRC, and Uganda.

Why pursue transitional justice in the aftermath of massive human rights violations? “The Case for Justice” provides a window into the debate about the relevance of transitional justice in today’s world.

JAKARTA, Nov. 15, 2011—Experts and stakeholders from Cambodia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Burma, Timor-Leste, Thailand, and Nepal, along with international experts are gathering in Jakarta’s Hotel Atlet from November 15–16 to discuss the need for progress on prosecuting serious crimes in Asia.

ICTJ hosted a conference on “Strengthening Indigenous Rights through Truth Commissions” July 19-21, 2011. Regional and international experts convened to discuss how truth commissions can incorporate and address indigenous peoples’ rights. Videos of each session and summaries of the conference proceedings are available.

ICTJ's expert conference on the relationship between truth-seeking and indigenous rights is in session. View the live stream here.

This paper explores the challenges to uncovering the truth about the atrocities committed under the Khmer Rouge and achieving justice for victims in Cambodia. It discusses which transitional justice mechanisms are applicable and what opportunities to achieve truth and accountability e...

The Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia's reparations mandate may seem narrow and restrictive. Yet there are several potential ways in which the Court can make the right to reparations meaningful for civil parties and for many other Cambodians. It has the ability to inf...

ICTJ provides constructive comments on the draft Internal Rules for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). While the draft Internal Rules provide greater procedural clarity for the ECCC proceedings, ICTJ lists several concerns in five areas that must be focused o...

Demobilization was first initiated in Cambodia in 1992, but there have been few attempts to link disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) processes to transitional justice measures. The government's overriding consideration has been the preservation of stability, narrowly i...

The Cambodian diaspora in France and Belgium has been actively following the development of efforts to prosecute Khmer Rouge officials responsible for crimes committed in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. Diasporas have assumed a new and important role in the judicial and political aren...

The military rulers of Burma (also known as Myanmar) convened a National Convention to draft a new constitution. After many delays, the convention completed the draft on September 3, 2007. An analysis of the constitution’s provisions suggests that instead of being a true catalyst for ...

The three conference organizers stressed the importance of bringing the stakeholders of victim participation in the ECCC together to encourage a dialogue to identify and address the various opportunities and challenges presented by victim participation, particularly as Civil Parties, ...

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,...

This paper is meant to help the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), the civil parties before the court and other Khmer Rouge period survivors and their families deal with practical and legal issues in the course of fulfilling the reparations mandate of the ECCC. ...

This transitional justice review of Cambodia addresses both the achievements of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) and the persisting concerns of political influence, corruption and delays that have the potential to undermine the judicial process. The review c...

Transforming a Legacy of Genocide presents the findings of a November 2007 survey of visitors to Choeung Ek, a public memorial of one of Cambodia's notorious "killing fields" during the Khmer Rouge regime, where approximately 20,000 people were killed between 1975 and 1979. The survey...

Overview of the proceedings of the ECCC, the hybrid tribunal created in 2006 to try senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge and those "most responsible" for the crimes that took place. The court has five suspects in custody and has almost completed its first trial which began in March of 20...

The Burmese government cannot change in a meaningful way until it eliminates the culture of impunity for human rights violations that has developed during the past 48 years. The international community can help this effort by establishing a commission of inquiry into the violations. R...

In 2008 and 2009, the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) conducted extensive research on impunity in Myanmar (previously known as Burma). This submission is based largely on that research, as well as developments in the last six months.

This document presents a non‐exhaustive summary of some of the topics discussed at a workshop on outreach organized by the ICTJ in collaboration with the ECCC from March 3-5, 2010. It first provides a general overview of the ECCC functions and outreach activities. Thereafter, it highl...

Demobilization was first initiated in Cambodia in 1992, but there have been few attempts to link disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) processes to transitional justice measures. The government's overriding consideration has been the preservation of stability, narrowly i...