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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 short in some aspects of its mandate, it succeeded in connecting corruption to political repression and to the dictatorship’s neoliberal economic policies that marginalized the country’s poorest regions, where the revolution and Arab Spring began.

As part of its mandate, Colombia's Commission for the Clarification of Truth carried out 68 processes of acknowledgment led or supported by a specialized team. These processes sought to acknowledge victims and the harms they suffered, as well as individual or collective responsibilities. This report systematically examines 10 of these experiences and offers lessons learned for future processes.   

This research report offers guidance on the application of a restorative justice framework in contexts of massive human rights violations, including its advantages and challenges. Based on the experiences of Colombia, Sierra Leone, Tunisia, and the Philippines, the study examines how different responses to massive violations can integrate or reflect the practices and principles of restorative justice such as stakeholder participation, repair of harm, and engagement between victims and perpetrators.

The field of transitional justice is increasingly recognizing the relevance of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in contexts of massive human rights violations. Despite growing advocacy and awareness at the global policy level, however, the field lacks a systematic approach to the issue. This study contributes to the development of such an  approach, one that applies a psychosocial lens to analyze contexts, assess needs, and design and implement programming that has a positive impact on the well-being of victims and communities and broader social systems.

This report serves as practical guide for those working in truth commissions and fact-finding bodies to convert large amounts of data and information into a final report. The manual draws on real life experiences from multiple truth commissions and includes extracts and examples from operational documents. It aims to be an indispensable guide to investigators, researchers, and report writers working at the coal face of large Inquiries.

Customary justice is the primary way in which most communities in South Sudan resolve disputes. Its ability, however, to deal with massive human rights violations is limited due to the complexity of intercommunal violence and a lack of clarity on its proper role. This report contends that South Sudan’s transitional justice framework provides opportunities to incorporate customary justice in a way that considers this complexity and offers clarity, support, and guidance for both government and customary justice actors.

Drawing from data and testimonies of Syrians both inside the country and in the diaspora collected by civil society organizations, this report looks at the justice needs of Syrian victims of human rights violations in the context of ongoing debates on refugee returns. It critically examines forced returns and the legal frameworks enabling them and recommends a path forward to address the justice needs of Syria’s many victims and advance accountability, truth, and reform.

This report provides an analysis of international economic sanctions from a transitional justice perspective. It considers the role that sanctions may play in advancing or hindering accountability, redress, and prevention in response to massive and serious human rights violations. The report also examines the challenges that sanctions pose to justice, related to both legitimacy and impact, and identifies opportunities for increased engagement between justice practitioners and sanctions authorities. 

This report explores pathways for transitional justice in Yemen, emphasizing victims’ experiences, political dynamics, and existing justice mechanisms. It examines national and local efforts, including mediation and reconciliation initiatives, and highlights the role of Yemeni civil society.

This report summarizes the key issues discussed at the fourth African Union-European Union experts’ seminar on transitional justice. Convened by ICTJ in Brussels in June 2024, the seminar brought together experts from the two regions to share experiences and to explore how transitional justice processes can be designed and implemented to realize personal, societal, and institutional transformation as stated in the 2023 UN Secretary-General’s Guidance Note on Transitional Justice.