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Invoking the principle of universal jurisdiction opens the door to the possibility of some accountability in circumstances where justice is not possible in countries where the crimes took place. This study considers the challenges facing the exercise of universal jurisdiction and assesses to what extent it remains a viable option for victims seeking justice for international crimes. While resort to universal jurisdiction is on the rise, it still faces considerable obstacles, particularly of a political nature.

Lebanon has long been afflicted by a combination of political deadlock and a lack of accountability that has resulted in ongoing human rights violations and overall systemic rot. Comprehensive reforms, along with an inclusive truth-seeking process, broad public dialogue, and other ways of building a more complete understanding of the past—and its relation to current issues—could help the Lebanese people begin to build a common national identity that puts notions of justice, truth, equality, citizenship, and inclusion at its core.

Because transitional justice processes are complex, politically contested, and not necessarily linear, they present unique theoretical and practical challenges for measuring their results. This report seeks to improve monitoring and evaluation practices and support evidence-based processes and interventions in the transitional justice field. It promotes a more nuanced approach to monitoring and evaluation that considers the specific challenges, conditions, and needs of the field and the different contexts where transitional processes are pursued.

Providing justice to victims of human rights abuses in fragile contexts such as the Central African Republic (CAR) is challenging for reasons related not only to the state’s stability, capacity, and political will, but also socioeconomic inequality in the country. This research report describes the contextual obstacles and operational challenges in CAR and examines the notion of justice and its feasibility from the perspective of a victim-centered approach.

This briefing paper examines how transitional justice approaches can guide the discussion around dismantling systemic racism in the United States to focus on root causes of violence and racial injustice. Drawing from relevant experiences internationally and within the United States, it provides ideas for what steps can be taken to advance acknowledgment, redress harms linked to the legacy of slavery, reform institutions, and prevent future recurrences.

This report summarizes the findings of an ICTJ research project on the contribution of transitional justice to prevention. Drawing from five country case studies, it contends that addressing the past can help to prevent the recurrence not only of human rights violations but also violence and injustice more broadly by fostering individual and collective inclusion and catalyzing long-term reform. It also identifies common limitations to the preventive impact of transitional justice.

This study examines the preventive effect of transitional justice in Peru in the aftermath of internal conflict and authoritarianism, focusing on the violence’s root causes and the differentiated impact on victims and affected communities. It contends that while transitional justice has led to policies that contribute to preventing political violence and has enhanced society’s control of institutions, the absence of broader cultural transformation means that the process of change remains unfinished.

This report examines the contribution of transitional justice to prevention in the Philippines, as well as the limits of this contribution due to the failure to comprehensively address and learn from the past and undertake structural changes. While reparations, truth telling, and institutional reform have played a role in preventing the recurrence of the most serious human rights violations, the Philippines remain a deeply divided society with high levels of discontent.

This study analyzes how transitional justice in Sierra Leone has contributed to prevention by responding to the grievances of those harmed by violations, reducing exclusion, addressing through institutional reforms the causes of past violence, and catalyzing long-term change. While transitional justice has helped Sierra Leone avoid the recurrence of the worst of its recent past, a more comprehensive approach to sustainable peace is needed to address the historical legacies of the conflict.

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 have to turn to vigilante policing. Unfortunately, some policing practices have become deadlier than the virus, exposed the profound frailties of democratic governance, and underscored states' obligations to uphold human rights.