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.

The Truth About Corruption: Reviewing the Tunisia Truth and Dignity Commission’s Report on Corruption Under Dictatorship

This briefing paper examines the Tunisian Truth and Dignity Commission’s approach to investigating Ben Ali dictatorship-era corruption crimes and identifying responsible institutions and individuals, and whether it laid the foundation for accountability and reparation. While it fell s...

02/08/24

Ruben Carranza, Mohamed Azer Zouari, and Ichraq Ghdiri

Briefing Paper

ICTJ Announces the Winners of the ‘Overseas’ Writing Contest

ICTJ is pleased to announce the winners of its “Overseas” writing contest. In it, young people originally from or currently residing in Lebanon, Libya, or Tunisia who have left their home countries for political or socioeconomic reasons were asked to share their personal experiences of migration in the form of a short, written testimony.

01/25/24

A drawing featuting a young trekking through a rugged landscape, his back facing toward the viewer. On his back, he carries a small castle.

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

ICTJ Writing Contest Invites Young Migrants to Share Their Stories

ICTJ is pleased to announce the “Overseas: Writing Contest,” an open call for young migrants originally from or currently residing in Lebanon, Libya, or Tunisia to share their personal experiences of migration in the form of a short, written testimony.

09/18/23

More Fish, Not Poison

Ongoing economic and social inequality, a legacy of the dictatorship, affects Tunisians across generations, but has particularly pronounced impacts on young people. ICTJ worked with four young photographers to confront the consequences of marginalization and explore its impacts on Tunis...

04/18/24

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.

Women’s Rights at the Heart of Justice and Democracy

For 112 years, International Women’s Day has marked a time to celebrate the achievement of women and raise awareness about gender inequality. On March 8th, this year’s campaign of #EmbraceEquity will shine a spotlight on women’s contribution to various fields, while highlighting the challenges they face in other industries. Eliminating the barriers to women’s access to economic, political, and social resources is fundamental to creating and maintaining a stable democratic society. Often at the core of repressive regimes is a systematic effort to exercise control over the lives of women. Similarly, an erosion of the rights of women in “stable” democracies is often a harbinger of a broader attack on the rights of citizens.

03/01/23

Kelli Muddell

A crowd stands in protest holding a large banner with "Women, Life, Freedom" in front of themselves.

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

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

Nour El Bejjani Noureddine

Catalyzing Transformative Change: The Power of Art and Culture to Inspire Action

For many years now, the International Center for Transitional Justice and other organizations have supported young activists and artists as they harness the power of art, culture, and new media to advance truth, justice, reform, and redress, not only where they live, but across borders and in collaboration with others. This innovative and inspiring work offers lessons about how to increase civic engagement and help societies know the truth about their country’s past and actively shape the national narrative.

07/05/22

The Wide Awake Art Exhibition

In January 2022, ICTJ launched the Wide Awake Art Contest, an open call event inviting Lebanese and Tunisian artists as well as artists living in Lebanon or Tunisia to explore the theme “the Sound of Dissent.” The contest spotlights the creative works by those who are documenting and me...

04/18/24

Photos

ICTJ Honors the Winners of the Wide Awake Art Contest in Lebanon and Tunisia

Tunis, March 22, 2022— The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) will hold a series of cultural activities from March 21 through March 26, 2022, as part of its Wide Awake Art Contest. The contest, launched in January, invited Lebanese and Tunisian artists, as well as expat artists...

03/24/22

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.

Judicial Independence in Tunisia in Grave Danger

On February 6, 2022, President Kaies Saied announced that he would dissolve Tunisia’s Supreme Judicial Council. While his supporters welcomed the declaration with satisfaction, many more across broad segments of society greeted it with outrage and resentment. That the president made this unilateral announcement on the premises of the Ministry of Interior—responsible for public security—stung all the more, as if to send a message that he would not hesitate to use executive power to counter perceived disobedience, judicial or otherwise.

03/02/22

Salwa El Gantri

A Path to Redress: Transitional Justice in Tunisia

“There is also the question of memory. It is necessary that all that happened becomes part of the national memory. And this will be a guarantee against the return of the dictatorship.” — Ridha Barakati, Tunisian Activist

04/18/24

Videos

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

ICTJ Art Contest Invites Artists to Reflect on Dissent in Lebanon and Tunisia

New York, January 18, 2022— The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) is pleased to announce the “Wide Awake Art Contest,” an open call to Lebanese and Tunisian artists as well as artists living in Lebanon or Tunisia to explore the theme “the Sound of Dissent.” The contest will showcase works by those who are documenting and memorializing their communities’ stories in times of instability, resistance, and change.

01/18/22

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

An Art Contest in Tunisia Sparks Dialogue About Injustice, Memory, and Resilience

Around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed enduring legacies of repression. Some leaders have taken advantage of emergency measures meant to protect the population and curb the spread of the disease to instead crack down on civil society or political opposition and restrict ci...

04/18/24

Photos

Tunisia’s Transition Imperiled

Hailed as one of the only success stories to emerge out of the Arab Spring, Tunisia is now facing a significant challenge to its democratic progress. On July 25, Tunisia’s president, Kais Saied, enacted Article 80 of the Tunisia Constitution giving him emergency powers to protect the country from imminent threats. He then used these powers to suspend parliament, lift parliamentary immunity, and fire the prime minister as well as the ministers of justice and defense.

09/01/21

Anna Myriam Roccatello

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

An Imperfect Transition: Tunisia’s Revolution 10 Years On

Ten years have passed since Tunisians took the streets to demand “Employment, Freedom, and National Dignity.” The revolution’s loud, courageous voice against corruption, extreme inequality, and repression echoed around the globe and inspired the “Arab Spring.” Today, Tunisians are still proud of their revolution. However, they continue to strive for goals, yet unattained, that the political class does not even seem to understand. It was thus not surprising to see large protests on the 10th anniversary, demanding concrete action and new public policies to advance social justice and better integrate marginalized regions and populations.

03/01/21

Salwa El Gantri

With Violence Against Women on the Rise Around the World, ICTJ’s Gender Modules Offer a Timely Training Tool

In what UN Women describes as the “shadow pandemic,” rates of violence against women have soared since the public health and economic crises brought about by COVID-19. With stay-at-home orders in place in countries around the world, women are more susceptible than ever to domestic violence. In countries affected by conflict or repressive rule, all forms of sexual and gender-based violence are on the rise. The ICTJ Gender Modules offer a timely tool to raise awareness about these issues and help develop gender-sensitive responses to them.

12/21/20

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

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

Women Voices from Prison: A Virtual Tour Brings to Life a Legacy of Brutal Repression in Tunisia

Tunis, August 12, 2020 — As the world today commemorates International Youth Day and Tunisia observes it National Women’s Day on August 13, ICTJ is launching the Voices of Memory virtual tour, in partnership with the Voices of Memory Collective, an intergenerational group of Tunisian women, and the University of Birmingham. The result of a collaboration between the Voices of Memory Collective and Tunisian artists, the virtual tour allows visitors to explore and interact with an online version of the widely successful Voices of Memory exhibition that traveled throughout Tunisia in 2018.

08/12/20

After the Truth Commission, Tunisia Must Pursue Inclusive Transitional Justice

Tunis, July 10, 2020— The Truth and Dignity Commission’s (TDC) final report was at last published on June 24, six year after the TDC began its work. It marks an important milestone in Tunisia’s transition, but the journey ahead to justice and democracy is a long one. Policymakers and practitioners now have the responsibility to take the next step forward.

07/10/20

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

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

Work, Freedom, Dignity: For Young Tunisians, the Revolution Was Not Only About Accountability for Corruption

Building on its work in Tunisia since 2012, ICTJ met with representatives of youth-led civil society organizations and social movements and state institutions involved in pursuing accountability for Ben Ali-era corruption. This paper focuses on the strategies and insights that members...

02/26/20

Ruben Carranza and Mohamed Azer Zouari

Briefing Paper

Rooting Out Corruption in Tunisia: A Youth Leader’s Perspective

Youth activists in Tunisia have played a vital role in keeping corruption at the center of public debate since the country's revolution in 2011. Through decentralized, nationwide protest movements, young Tunisians have been calling for measures that root out systems of endemic corruption. ICTJ sat down with one youth leader to discuss her activism and views on Tunisia's transitional justice process.

02/21/20

Christopher Boland

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

‘The Bird Will Not Return to the Cage:’ An Analysis of Tunisia’s 2019 Elections

Recently, Tunisia held its third parliamentary elections since the revolution and the second presidential elections since late President Béji Caid Essebssi passed away on July 25, 2019. It remains to be seen if the election’s results will usher in a new era of dignity, for which Tunisians took the streets in 2010 and 2011.

10/25/19

Salwa El Gantri

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

Telling Women's Stories of Repression in Tunisia

During the Ben Ali dictatorship in Tunisia, Najet Gabsi, an educator pursuing a diploma in law, was imprisoned for six months for her political activities. Through her participation in the "Voices of Memory" art exhibition, she was able to reignite her passion for activism and articulate the harms she endured at the hand of the regime.

08/13/19

An Unfinished Revolution: Tackling Corruption in Tunisia

Tunis—Youth activists from across Tunisia, representatives of state institutions, and experts from international nongovernmental organizations gathered on July 10, 2019, to discuss challenges to pursuing accountability for corruption crimes committed during the Ben Ali dictatorship and practical steps that civil society and government can take to overcome these challenges.

07/25/19

Christopher Boland

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

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

Molding Justice: Women's Voices from the Tunis Gender Conference

ICTJ’s Gender Symposium, held on February 2 to 4, 2019, in Tunis, Tunisia, brought together fearless women leaders working in 8 countries to advance the needs of victims and to bring gender issues to the center of transitional justice processes. What was achieved? What experiences cut across these diverse contexts? Kelli Muddell and Sibley Hawkins reflect on these questions and more in this short podcast.

05/15/19

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

Voices of Memory: Living Memorial for Women Victims of the Dictatorship

On September 22, 2018, the International Center for Transitional Justice and the University of Birmingham launched Voices of Memory, an interactive exhibition inspired by a group of nine Tunisian women from across the country and from different generations. It is the first collective te...

04/18/24

Photos

Timeline: Tunisia and Transitional Justice

With the conclusion of the mandate of the Truth and Dignity Commission (TDC), ICTJ looks back on the major events in Tunisia stemming from the Arab Spring that led to the TDC's creation, which involved the participation of a broad spectrum of people representing the country's multifaith, politically divided, and economically stratified society.

02/07/19

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