Resource Library

People sit around a conference table and engage in a discussion.

‘We Must Resist, Persist, and Never Desist’—Colombian and African Civil Society Exchange Local Strategies for Promoting Reparations

On November 28, 2023, ICTJ organized an international dialogue in Bogotá, Colombia, to share innovative strategies for advancing victims’ rights to redress for human rights abuses and for establishing more victim-centered development policies. The gathering also marked the official launch of ICTJ’s new report—Advancing Victims’ Rights and Rebuilding Just Communities Local Strategies for Achieving Reparation as a Part of Sustainable Development—which presents findings from a two-year comparative study of local efforts in Colombia, The Gambia, Tunisia, and Uganda to advance reparations.

02/15/24

Two women seated indoors look intently ahead of them.

2023 Year in Review

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.

01/05/24

A collage of feature images from the 2023 Expert's Choice commentaries.

Advancing Victims’ Rights and Rebuilding Just Communities: Local Strategies for Achieving Reparation as a Part of Sustainable Development

This comparative study examines strategies used by local actors to help operationalize reparations for victims of widespread human rights violations, while highlighting the synergies between these efforts and sustainable development. It is based on the fieldwork of ICTJ and its partne...

11/28/23

A women in colorful African dress holds a megaphone to her mouth

International Conference in Bogotá and New ICTJ Report Explore Local Strategies for Advancing Reparation as Part of Sustainable Development

On November 28, ICTJ hosted an international conference to explore the synergies between reparations and sustainable development in Bogotá, Colombia. The event, titled “Advancing Victims’ Rights and Rebuilding Just Communities: An International Dialogue on Reparations and Sustainable Development,” brought together ICTJ partners from The Gambia, Tunisia, and Uganda along with civil society and government representatives from Colombia to discuss local strategies for advancing reparations for human rights abuses and how repairing victims and affected communities can contribute to local and national development. On the occasion, ICTJ also launched a new research report on the topic.

11/23/23

Several women in colorful traditional Gambian attire stand outside in the daylight, a couple of them holding megaphones

Breaking the Cycle of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Uganda

Eight years ago, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 19 as the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict in an effort to raise awareness about this endemic tactic of war; honor the innumerable victims and survivors across the world, as well as those working to end these violations; and ultimately eradicate this dehumanizing practice. History has shown that whenever there is a political or security crisis juxtaposed with a militarized response, conflict-related sexual violence is deployed as a tactic to subdue, dehumanize, and terrorize civilians and opponents.

07/05/23

Marianne Akumu

A woman stands up to speak in a room of seated participants at an ICTJ-organized workshop in Uganda.

Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill Threatens Human Rights in the Country

On March 21, the Ugandan Parliament passed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, adopting the harshest anti-LGBTQ+ law in the world. Under it, homosexuality is punishable by life imprisonment, while "aggravated homosexuality" is punishable by death. The bill not only threatens the rights of LGBTQ+ persons, it undermines and erodes Uganda’s commitment to human rights.

05/01/23

Anna Myriam Roccatello

People protest in the street holding signs.

Ensuring Justice for Victims of Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes in The Gambia

“Despite laws already in place, the number of sexual and gender-based violence [SGBV] cases is still rising, including cases of rape, female genital mutilation, sexual assault, and harassment. This means there is the need for enforcement of such laws,” asserted Didier Gbery, ICTJ’s head of program for The Gambia, at the opening of a workshop this past March on increasing SGBV victims’ access to justice. The workshop was one of two that ICTJ organized in early 2023 to strengthen the capacity of stakeholders in The Gambia to defend SGBV victims and provide them with vital gender-sensitive support.

04/18/23

A group of people stand outside behind a banner announcing an ICTJ workshop in the Gambia.

Stubborn for Our Gender: The Gambia Study on Opportunities for Reparations for Victims and Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

This report presents findings from research on the needs and expectations of survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in The Gambia. Based on focus group discussions with survivors and other stakeholders, it analyses obstacles to, as well as opportunities to improve, survivors’ a...

12/05/22

Didier Gbery and Maimuna Manneh

New Study Calls for Reparations for Victims of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Uganda

Kampala, October 17, 2022— Sixteen years after the decades-long conflict between the Ugandan government and the rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) ended, victims continue to grapple with its persistent effects. Victims of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) and children born of war, in...

10/17/22

We Cannot Survive on Promises Alone: Uganda Study on Opportunities for Reparations for Survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

This report presents findings from a study conducted by ICTJ, the Women’s Advocacy Network, and the Global Survivors Fund to assess the reparative justice needs of victims of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in Uganda. The study is based on interviews and focus group discussion...

10/17/22

Marianne Akumu, Sarah Kihika Kasande, Grace Acan, and Evelyn Amony

Victims, Survivors, and Agents of Change: Reparations for Sexual and Gender-Based Violations

Reparations for victims of sexual and gender-based violations (SGBV) raise a series of complicated questions and implementation challenges around how to acknowledge this category of victims and deliver reparations without exposing victims to stigma and rejection. Victims must weigh the risk of...

08/01/22

Virginie Ladisch

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...

03/23/22

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

The Case for Justice

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.

04/24/24

Videos

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.

04/23/24

Videos

I Am Not Who They Think I Am

Two women abducted by the Lord´s Resistance Army (LRA) return home with their children born of war and fight to be included in a society that deems them criminals.

04/25/24

Videos

Ahead of a UN Periodic Review, Uganda Must Do More to Combat Impunity and Deliver Justice to Victims

On January 27, 2022, the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group will examine Uganda’s human rights record. The UPR process presents an important opportunity to spotlight the human rights situation in the country, and recommend actions that the government of Uganda should take to fulfill its human rights obligations.

01/25/22

2021 Year in Review

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.

01/25/22

Measured Optimism in The Gambia as Stakeholders Consider the TRRC’s Final Report

On November 25, 2021, The Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) presented its 17-volume final report and recommendations to President Adama Barrow, after multiple delays. The final report includes a record of serious human rights violations committed under Jammeh’s repressive regime and recommendations for pursuing justice. Despite the challenges, steps have already been taken that offer hope that the TRRC’s recommendations will take effect.

12/22/21

Accountability in Policing COVID-19: Lessons from the Field

The global COVID-19 pandemic forced many countries to impose emergency measures, such as curfews and community lockdowns, to stem the spread of the virus. To enforce these measures, some societies have given regular police forces increased power to enforce the measures, while others h...

09/28/21

Anna Myriam Roccatello and Mohamed Suma

Briefing Paper

ICTJ Receives Award for Contributions to the Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission

On July 13, 2021, the Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) presented an award to ICTJ for its sustained support of the commission and its commitment to the country’s transitional justice process. The award comes as the TRRC concludes its work and prepares to submit its final report to the country’s president by September 30, 2021.

08/10/21

The Ongwen Verdict: A Step Closer to Acknowledgment and Justice for Victims in Northern Uganda

On February 4, 2021, the International Criminal Court issued its judgment in the case of the Prosecutor v Dominic Ongwen . The ICC found Ongwen guilty of 61 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Northern Uganda between July 1, 2002, and December 31, 2005. The verdict recognizes the enduring impact of the crimes on the victims, their families, and Ugandan society more generally.

02/08/21

A Recipe for Violence: Uganda’s Flawed Elections Subvert Democracy

On January 14, 2021, Uganda held presidential and parliamentary elections. Incumbent President Museveni, who has been in power for 34 years, faced off against 10 opposition candidates, including pop star-turned-politician and main contender Robert Kyagulanyi, also known by his stage name Bobi Wine, of the National Unity Platform (NUP). The 2021 elections saw unprecedented state-sponsored violence, harassment of opposition candidates, and repression of civil society.

01/29/21

Fernando Travesí

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

Strengthening Synergies Between Reparations and Development Programs in Uganda

Over the last 15 years, the Ugandan government has implemented a series of recovery and reconstruction programs in Northern Uganda to address the social and economic devastation caused by the two-decade armed conflict in the region and set it on the path to sustainable peace. While these development programs alone cannot fulfill the state’s obligation to provide reparations to victims of human rights violations, if designed well, they can form a foundation upon which future reparations initiatives can be built.

11/19/20

Building Blocks for Reparations: Providing Interim Relief to Victims Through Targeted Development Assistance

The armed conflict in Northern Uganda, stretching across more than two decades, greatly affected the local populations, which suffered multiple forms of war crimes and gross abuses of human rights. This study assesses the opportunities for providing interim relief to victims of confli...

09/14/20

Sarah Kasande Kihika and Eva Kallweit

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, ...

08/27/20

Ruben Carranza

In an Era of Social Distancing, Ugandan Activists Use Twitter to Assemble and Exchange Ideas

During this global pandemic, how do organizations such as ICTJ continue with their victim-centered and context-specific work, when their staff members cannot meet face to face with partners bilaterally, much less at organized convenings? The answer to these questions involves both rethinking how to use tools currently available and developing or finding new ones.

08/17/20

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

Ruben Carranza

Special Report on COVID-19: Keeping Justice in Sight

Sparing almost no corner of the world from its wrath, the COVID-19 pandemic has now spread to every country. In an effort to slow the contagion, governments in most countries have been taking drastic measures requiring all residents other than essential workers to confine themselves in their homes, and shutting down vast sectors of their economies. The impact has been crushing. COVID-19 has profoundly affected every country where ICTJ currently works: Armenia, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Uganda. We recently caught up with ICTJ’s heads of country programs to learn more about the impact the pandemic is having on transitional justice and society more broadly.

05/19/20

The Trial of Dominic Ongwen: Has the Time for Accountability for Sexual Crimes in Contexts of War Finally Come?

This week, the International Criminal Court heard closing arguments in the trial of Dominic Ongwen, a top commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Northern Uganda. Among the 70 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity he faces are 19 counts of sexual and gender-based crimes, including rape, sexual slavery, and forced marriage—the widest range of such crimes ever to be brought to trial before the court. The case thus marks a milestone in the jurisprudence of these international crimes.

03/13/20

ICTJ Convenes International Conference on Best Practices for Combatting Large-Scale Corruption in Transitional Justice Contexts

Tunis— On March 2-3, 2020, ICTJ is holding a conference in Tunis, Tunisia, on the fight against corruption and the recovery of ill-gotten assets as a critical element of transitional justice processes. The conference will bring together activists, policymakers, and experts from Tunisia and other countries in the global South emerging from conflict or authoritarian rule, including Armenia, The Gambia, Kenya, the Philippines, and South Africa.

02/26/20

Women’s Experiences of Dictatorship in the Gambia

Since the Gambia's Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparation Commission (TRRC) began public hearings in January 2019, an important part of the country’s narrative has not yet come to light or been publicly acknowledged: the experiences of women. This report brings forward the voices of wo...

12/16/19

Gambian Women Submit Report of Their Experiences of Dictatorship to the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission

Banjul, The Gambia, December 11, 2019— Women from three rural areas of the Gambia will submit a report to the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) on December 16 that describes their experiences of sexual and gender-based violence during the dictatorship of former President Jammeh and the impact of the violations on their lives and families. In the report, the women join voices to offer recommendations to the TRRC and the Gambian government.

12/11/19

Our Nation Our Voice and ICTJ Release Documentary Film on Young Artist-Activists in The Gambia

Banjul, The Gambia – On October 26, 2019, t he International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) in partnership with an artist collective in The Gambia will premier e a short documentary film about a group of young musicians and activists taking part in the country’s unfolding transitional justice process.

10/21/19

Violations Against Gambian Women Must Be Acknowledged

On October 14, The Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission will begin public hearings with women victims who have dared break the nation’s silence around sexual violence. The hearings represent an important step toward the inclusion of women and their experiences in the Gambian truth-seeking process. But we cannot stop there.

10/11/19

'You Can Change the Course of a Country:' Report on the International Gender Symposium

In February 2019, ICTJ hosted an international symposium on gender and transitional justice in Tunisia that brought together representatives from eight countries where ICTJ has been actively engaged in implementing a gender-focused approach to its programming. This briefing paper pres...

08/20/19

Sibley Hawkins

Briefing Paper

Beyond Symbolism: Translating Uganda’s Transitional Justice Policy into Real Changes in the Lives of Victims

When the government of Uganda signed the Juba Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation (AAR) with the rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in 2007, it committed to establishing concrete measures that would promote accountability, reconciliation, and justice for victims of serious human rights violations stemming from two decades of armed conflict. More than ten years later, on June 17, 2019, Uganda’s Cabinet finally approved the long-awaited National Transitional Justice (TJ) Policy.

07/12/19

A ‘Victim-Centered’ Approach to Truth Seeking in The Gambia?

The Gambian Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC) started its operations in January 2019 with the public hearings of witnesses, victims, and perpetrators. It has already succeeded in having high-profile perpetrators testify publicly on their role in violations concerning several victims. But the question is, who should be at the center of truth telling?

06/28/19

From Victims to Leaders in Uganda

When Janet Arach was still a schoolgirl, she was abducted by Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda. During her eight years in captivity, she was forced to marry an LRA rebel and gave birth to two children. Read more on Janet's journey to become an agent of change for her community in Uganda.

06/13/19

Gambian 'Our Nation Our Voice' Collective Brings Transitional Justice Processes to the People Through Hip Hop

Banjul, June 12, 2019—“Never Again!” sings Awa Bling in her recently released song produced with the support of ICTJ. She is part of a movement of youth and prominent artists who are reclaiming this universal slogan by creating their own songs about transitional justice and bringing their voices to some of the most forgotten regions of The Gambia. Local and international fans can now access new music videos released on social media by five talented Gambian hip hop artists.

06/12/19

At ICTJ’s Institutional Retreat, Staff Reflect on Pressing Challenges to Justice

From February 22 to March 1, ICTJ held its annual retreat in Litchfield Hills, Connecticut. Staff members convened at the Wisdom House—an interfaith conference center that seeks to provide an environment conducive to introspection and teambuilding.

04/09/19

Traditional Communicators, Women Lead the Way for Justice in The Gambia

Kaneleng are women who cannot bear children or whose children died at an early age. At a two-day summit held in December 2018, 25 kaneleng received training on transitional justice concepts. They worked to develop songs, comedy, and dramas that they will use to present justice messages through their work as traditional communicators.

01/31/19

The Trial of Dominic Ongwen: A Delicate Balance Between the Rights of the Accused and the Interests of Victims

On September 18, the trial of Dominic Ongwen resumed at the ICC. Ongwen is on trial for 70 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity – including various forms of sexual violence and the recruitment of child soldiers – committed in the former IDP camps of Lukodi, Odek, Abok, and Pajule during the 20-year insurgency in Northern Uganda. Ongwen is the first former child soldier who is facing trial at the ICC for crimes in which he was also a victim.

10/25/18

A Conversation on Truth and Reconciliation in The Gambia

For 21 years, the people of The Gambia lived under the dictatorship of military strongman Yahya Jammeh. Now, The Gambia is working to step up to the challenge of unpacking the past, building a brighter future, and ensuring that it never relapses into repression, violence, and exclusion. The ICTJ spoke with Dr. Baba Galleh Jallow and Musu Bakoto Sawo, the Executive Secretary and Deputy Executive Secretary of the TRRC, respectively, to hear their insights about their work and how the TRRC can build upon other efforts to put victims at the forefront of The Gambia’s transformation .

09/25/18

Victims in the Thomas Kwoyelo Case Forced to Wait Longer for Justice

Kampala—On the 23rd of July, the Ugandan Judiciary announced that the pretrial hearing of the case Uganda v. Thomas Kwoyelo had been adjourned indefinitely, due to a shortage of funds needed to hold the hearing. The Pretrial Judge of the International Crimes Division (ICD) was expected to deliver a...

07/25/18

Megaphone: ICTJ On the Media

For years, ICTJ has championed the media and the role it plays in supporting truth-seeking and advancing accountability and redress for victims of conflict-related atrocities. In the places where we work, from South Africa, to the Gambia, Guatemala, Colombia and the Philippines, media projects and coverage—both mainstream and alternative—have been crucial in ensuring participation, mediating public discourse, contributing to acknowledgment for victims, and revealing long-hidden truths about crimes. This month, we share a dispatch from our work in Uganda.

07/12/18

ICTJ Calls for Urgent Steps to Prevent a Repeat of the Faraba Banta Attacks

Last week, police opened fire on unarmed protesters, killing three and injuring several others in Faraba Banta, a small town in southwestern Gambia. ICTJ condemns these acts and supports civil society and victims in their call for swift actions ensuring justice, reparations, and an independent investigation into the causes of the attacks.

06/27/18

Fernando Travesí

A Catalyst for Change: Engaging Youth in Transitional Justice

Although youth are key political and social stakeholders who have much to contribute to—and gain from—transitional justice processes, they often remain marginalized from such processes or are given only a limited and predetermined space in which to engage. In recent years, the peacebu...

04/23/18

Virginie Ladisch

Briefing Paper

ICTJ Course Examines the Place for Justice in Peace Negotiations

From Syria to Colombia and beyond, how do societies navigate the pursuit of justice in peace processes? That question animated ICTJ’s annual Intensive Course on Transitional Justice and Peace Processes, which this month gathered 31 participants from nearly 20 countries in Barcelona to discuss the place of justice in negotiations to end conflict. Go behind-the-scenes with our instructors and participants.

11/02/17