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Tunisia has faced many challenges since the launch of the National Dialogue on Transitional Justice two years ago, including political assassinations that rocked the process as well as a number of political blockages. Yet the Tunisian people came through a complex and challenging process and achieved important results — results that can provide the foundation to confront a long legacy of human rights abuses and pave the way towards a democratic transition built on the rule of law and trust between citizens and the state.

ICTJ welcomes the launch of Tunisia’s Truth and Dignity Commission (TDC), a momentous step in the country’s effort to establish the truth about past human rights violations.

Three years after the so-called the “Arab Spring,” the post-revolution era has so far been marked by a mix of hope and hardships. At the 8th Al Jazeera Forum, ICTJ President David Tolbert explains what went wrong.

Since the uprising that sparked the "Arab Spring," Tunisians have demonstrated unwavering commitment to transitional justice. In this interview, ICTJ's Head of Office Rim El Gantri gives an overview of the country's efforts to address the truth about the past, seek justice for abuses committed under decades of repression, and provide reparations for harm suffered under the former regime.

ICTJ participated in the launch of a new report on the relationship between transitional justice and development, launched by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida).

ICTJ President David Tolbert will be a featured speaker at this year’s Al Jazeera Forum in Doha, Qatar. Al Jazeera Forum is the flagship event of Al Jazeera Media Network, at which Al Jazeera showcases its contribution to the world of media and politics.

After emerging from its revolution with a new constitution and a comprehensive transitional justice law, Tunisia is setting into motion a process to learn the truth about the country’s time under repressive rule.

ICTJ is pleased to announce it will host a series of online debates on new challenges and cutting-edge issues in transitional justice.

In this op-ed, ICTJ President David Tolbert argues that in order to meet the EU’s high standards on the rule of law and human rights, Serbia must address the legacy of its recent past in which Slobodan Milosevic’s regime and the institutions under its control were involved in some of the most notorious crimes committed in Europe since World War II.

In the span of only one month, Tunisia has witnessed the historic passing of a transitional justice law and adoption of a new constitution. A key actor in the country's transition is the media.

To mark International Women’s Day, we invite you to read about four countries at the top of our gender justice priorities in the coming year, each with its own history, context, and complex sets of challenges.

In December, ICTJ partnered with NYU School of Law and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice to host Auschwitz survivor and Judge Thomas Buergenthal for the 7th Annual Emilio Mignone Lecture on Transitional Justice.

As the Tunisian government takes firm steps to investigate human rights abuses committed since 1955, including under the Ben-Ali regime, ICTJ calls for care and attention in appointing members to the upcoming Truth and Dignity Commission.

Marking three years since Tunisia's revolution, ICTJ President David Tolbert argues that transitional justice developments in the country are not only worthy of attention, but serve as useful markers for transitions in the region and beyond.

Three years after Tunisia's revolution, victims in the south of the country are still facing severe economic and social marginalization. In recent workshops with ICTJ, they explain why collective reparations and development are both central parts of their vision of justice.

ICTJ welcomes the historic passage of the Draft Organic Law on the Organization of Transitional Justice Foundations and Area of Competence by the Tunisian National Constituent Assembly (NCA). In a nearly unanimous vote on Sunday, 125 of 126 deputies voted in favor of the law.

ICTJ mourns the passing today of Nelson Mandela, a luminary in the struggle for equal rights in South Africa and around the world. “Nelson Mandela’s courage in the face of oppression, his steadfast commitment to his principles and his magnanimous leadership during a difficult period of transition have long been an inspiration to me personally as well as to millions around the world. As we mourn our loss today, we celebrate a life of true greatness, dedicated to justice, without rancor or bitterness,” said David Tolbert, president of ICTJ.

Can truth commissions help secure a just peace following a violent conflict in which massive human rights abuses are committed? In this special series of the ICTJ Forum, we present a series of conversations with some of the world’s top peace mediators and truth commission experts, whose collective experience include years on the front lines of critical peace agreements in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

More truth commissions are being created now through peace agreements than at any other time in history. But are they living up to high expectations for truth, accountability, and reconciliation in societies emerging from violent conflicts? This week, the Kofi Annan Foundation and the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) held a three-day, high-level symposium to explore the challenges and benefits of truth commissions emerging from peace processes.

To offer assistance and international expertise to Tunisian civil society groups, ICTJ partnered with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for a training on public engagement in truth seeking processes. Titled “The Role of Civil Society in Truth Commissions: Participation and Advocacy for Victims in Tunisia,” the training offered around 65 participants the opportunity to examine the role of truth commissions in contexts of transitional justice, and to assess future engagement of their organizations in Tunisia’s proposed truth commission.

ICTJ and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at NYU School of Law are pleased to announce that Judge Thomas Buergenthal will be the speaker of the 7th Annual Emilio Mignone Lecture on Transitional Justice. Buergenthal is one of the world’s most distinguished jurists, whose name is synonymous with human rights and international justice. The lecture will be held on Thursday, December 12, from 6:00 to 7:30pm, in New York City.

A group of leading world experts on truth-seeking and memorialization has called for the mayor of Prijedor, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to publicly acknowledge and memorialize the non-Serb victims of atrocities committed in the city in the early 1990s.

A group of leading world experts on truth-seeking and memorialization has called for the mayor of Prijedor, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to publicly acknowledge and memorialize the non-Serb victims of atrocities committed in the city in the early 1990s.

Enforced disappearances are among the cruelest of crimes. To the kidnapping, torture, and in many cases, murder of the victim, perpetrators intentionally create fear and uncertainty about the fate of the missing person. Although men are predominantly targeted, the impact on women is severe and lasting.

In the brutality of armed conflict or tyranny of a repressive regime, many who go missing are never found again: whether “disappeared” by agents of the state or abducted by an armed faction, the whereabouts of thousands are still unknown to this day. On this International Day of the Disappeared, ICTJ recognizes that enforced disappearances constitute crimes against humanity, and they affect women in ways unique from the impact on men.

Children and youth are especially vulnerable to the effects of conflict and gross human rights violations. In this edition of the ICTJ Program Report, ICTJ's Children and Youth Program Director Virginie Ladisch talks with us about the importance of integrating child and youth sensitivity into transitional justice mechanisms.

ICTJ is launching a new multimedia page featuring projects that highlight the human perspective of issues in transitional justice and seek to engage a wide variety of audiences in a discussion on accountability for massive human rights abuses. Here's why we think multimedia can play a key role in deepening public understanding of transitional justice, and convey the guiding principles of ICTJ.

The one-day forum “Latin American Experiences with Truth Commissions,” organized by the International Center for Transitional Justice in Bogotá on July 22, brought together leading experts to discuss experiences and lessons learned from truth-seeking processes that shed light on massive human rights violations in four countries: Argentina, Guatemala, Paraguay, and Peru.

As Tunisia concludes its final deliberations on the new constitution, transitional justice issues such as reparations for victims, truth about the past and the rights of women have been central to the legislative debates. Over the past month, ICTJ’s leading experts have been engaged with stakeholders on the ground on a variety of issues under deliberation, including truth-seeking, reparations, gender justice, and the role of children and youth.

Thomas Buergenthal, Holocaust survivor and former judge of the International Court of Justice, is one of the world's most distinguished jurists. In conversation with ICTJ President David Tolbert, Judge Buergenthal shares his own personal story of surviving the Holocaust as a young boy, and reflects on the changing landscape of transitional justice around the world

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.

An ICTJ immersion course brought together women from Egypt, Yemen, Syria, and Libya to closely observe Tunisia’s emerging experience in transitional justice, including the ways in which issues of gender-based violence and the experiences of women are being addressed.

In an unprecedented act of unity, youth activists from across Bosnia and Herzegovina united to visit sites of former detention camps and pay respect to victims from all ethnic groups and sides of the conflict. Some 50 activists of the initiative “Because It Matters” from Prijedor, Banja Luka, Mostar, Tuzla, Sarajevo, Ljubuski, Gradiska, Konjic and other cities visited locations in Hadzici, Celebici, Jablanica, and Dretelj, where crimes were committed against civilians of Bosniak, Serb, and Croat ethnicities.

On April 10, the UN General Assembly is holding a thematic debate on the role of international justice in reconciliation processes. The debate was called by UN GA President Vuk Jeremic, of Serbia, in the wake of the recent acquittal of Croatian General Ante Gotovina by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Unfortunately, it has become clear that the real purpose of this debate is directed at undermining the ICTY, rather than to discuss an important issue, not only in the Balkans, but in a growing number of countries.

This opinion piece by Eduardo González, director of the Truth and Memory program at ICTJ, asks: can you build a solid, legitimate democracy on the sands of silence, or does truth provide a more trustful foundation?

In our work providing assistance to societies around the world, we draw continual inspiration from individuals and communities who refuse to ignore the abuses of the past, and who often face great obstacles to expose it. To honor their courage, we invite you to read a selection of perspectives on truth and dignity from those who have used their words to convey a powerful idea: truth is the foundation of justice.

This year, ICTJ's campaign for the International Day for the Right to the Truth centers around the theme, “Truth is the Foundation of Justice.” This notion, fundamental to the idea of a comprehensive approach to justice, is explored through several new releases from ICTJ.

March 21, 2013, New York, NY- The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) is launching a global awareness campaign for the International Day for the Right to the Truth, March 24, to affirm the right of victims to know the truth about human rights violations. Under the slogan, “Truth is the foundation of justice,” ICTJ’s campaign will highlight the important role that truth commissions can play in societies dealing with a legacy of violence and repression.

ICTJ’s president David Tolbert will be one of the featured speakers at this year’s Al Jazeera Forum in Doha, Qatar, which aims to explore the complex transformation of the socio-political and media landscapes of the Middle East and North Africa.

In this edition of ICTJ's Program report, Kelli Muddell, director of ICTJ's Gender Justice program, reflects on ICTJ’s vision of gender justice, the challenges facing survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in times of transition, and how ICTJ is working to address inequality in countries like Colombia, Nepal, and Tunisia.

The Italy-based research center Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso is hosting an online debate on the ICTY's contribution to reconciliation. The debate, featuring Refik Hodzic of ICTJ and Dr. Janine Clark of the University of Sheffield, who will present arguments for and against the notion that ICTY has contributed to reconciliation. Outside audiences are invited to participate online.

The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) signed a cooperation agreement with the Tunisian government on January 16 to provide further technical assistance in establishing transitional justice mechanisms in the country. The development comes two years after protests forced President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down and flee the country in January 2011.

The United Nations has proclaimed December 10 as International Human Rights Day. The date commemorates the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, which represented the reaction of the international community to the horrors of the Second World War. Today is a day for reflection more than celebration. A cursory scan of events from the last few weeks has thrown up examples that demonstrate that the belief in human rights for all - in treating all states the same - is more of a tissue-thin membrane than a robust bulwark.

On Monday, December 10, the International Center for Transitional Justice will help tell the stories of victims and human rights activists at the forefront of the struggle for human rights across the globe. Send us images and texts that portray efforts seeking accountability, truth, remembrance, and redress in your community: we will share them on ICTJ’s Facebook page, and feature a selection of these stories on our website.

ICTJ partnered with the Center for Global Affairs at New York University to explore how political will of international and national actors impacts national war crimes proceedings. The panel examined four diverse country scenarios - the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Serbia, Iraq, and Guatemala.

On International Children’s Day, ICTJ reaffirms the importance of an active role of children and youth in transitional justice processes, such as truth-seeking, criminal accountability, and reparations programs. In the aftermath of societal upheaval, the voices of children and youth are often absent from peace negotiations and subsequent transitional processes. Though children and youth must be able to receive adequate care and necessary rehabilitation, they must not be regarded only as victims of massive human rights abuses: they are rights-bearing members of a society trying to confront the past, and active participants in the process of social change aiming for a new future. It is in the best interest of children and youth, as well as the societies in which they live, to participate in transitional justice processes, devised to reestablish rule of law and civic trust in the societies to which they belong.

The International Center for Transitional Justice strongly welcomes the decision of the UK High Court ordering the British government to pay damages to a group of Kenyans who were imprisoned and tortured by colonial authorities following the Mau Mau Rebellion of the 1950s.

Transitional justice measures should serve to rectify, not replicate, patterns of discrimination against women. These mechanisms can challenge structural causes of gender inequality, by publicly acknowledging the factors that made such abuse possible. In the Middle East and North Africa, like in many other contexts, it is a challenge to ensure transitional justice measures do not further entrench the invisibility of gender-based abuses. As different countries consider the ways to confront the legacies of past abuses, ICTJ works with women’s groups across the region to build their capacity to engage in discussions around transitional justice and gender.