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Whether the government can lawfully rely on Exemption 7(F) of the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(F), to withhold photographs depicting the abuse of prisoners held in U.S. custody without identifying with reasonable specificity any individuals who could reasonably be expected to be endangered by the photographs’ release.

Indonesia has initiated transitional justice mechanisms to address human rights abuses that occurred during and after the New Order regime, but insufficient political will has rendered these efforts inadequate in achieving justice and reconciliation for victims.

During peace negotiations, there is often a belief that providing amnesties for certain crimes will help promote national reconciliation. Nepal's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Bill currently contains provisions on both amnesty and reconciliation. However, the Bill itself is not explicit in linking the ability to recommend amnesty to its reconciliation provisions. This briefing note seeks to explore the concepts of amnesty and reconciliation, and highlight a few implications of the Bill's provisions for victims.

Thirteen years after the fall of Soeharto, victims in Indonesia continue to suffer from the negative effects of gross human rights violations and from ongoing discrimination. Although efforts by the president and the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) to create a reparations policy have lost momentum, victims' demands have not diminished. This report by ICTJ, IKOHI and KKPK makes recommendations to the government to take both immediate and longer-term actions to meet victims' demands for reparation.

The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and the United Nations Development Programme, with the support from the governments of Denmark and South Africa, held a retreat on Supporting Complementarity at the National Level: An Integrated Approach to the Rule of Law, at Greentree in Manhasset, New York, from December 7 through 9 in 2011. The retreat was conducted according to the Chatham House Rule, and this report provides a summary of the principal discussions without attributing views to individual participants.

The People’s Representative Assembly of Indonesia passed on September 7, 2004, a bill creating a “Truth and Reconciliation Commission”, which is charged with clarifying abuses committed before 2000 and determining whether to award individualized amnesties for perpetrators and reparations for victims. ICTJ believes the bill shows serious conceptual and operational weaknesses that would severely compromise the ability of a truth commission to operate in a credible, independent, and effective way.

Based on interviews with 1,200 people, this study assesses conflict victims' experience with the government's Interim Relief Program since its inception in 2008. The findings are intended to inform a future reparations policy that would seek to help those whose human rights were violated during the conflict period of 1996 to 2006.

Property Rights in Kosovo explores cultural, political and social factors dating as far back as the Ottoman period that have contributed to the present state of property rights. It examines the legacy of the armed conflict and NATO intervention of 1999 in the massive population displacement in the region, and suggests ways to improve the effectiveness of efforts by local and international institutions to address property conflicts.

“We women of Papua have been bruised, cornered, besieged from all directions. We are not safe at home, and even less so outside the home. The burden we bear to feed our children is too heavy. The history of the Papuan people is covered in blood, and women are no exception as victims of the violence of blind military actions. We have experienced rape and sexual abuse in detention, in the grasslands, while seeking refuge, no matter where we were when the army and police conducted operations in the name of security.”

The conviction of Thomas Lubanga is a milestone for the international criminal justice system established by the Rome Statute, and may make an important contribution to the development and definition of the right to reparations in international human rights law. ICTJ has produced a briefing note examining the practical and legal issues surrounding the ICC's decision in regards to reparations in the Lubanga case, as well as what lessons the ICC can learn from the broader experiences of the transitional justice field.