Search

Dominic Ongwen's ICC trial will determine whether the former child-soldier-turned-LRA-commander is guilty or innocent. However, for those of us supporting justice globally, discussion must extend beyond simple dichotomies: the reality of Ongwen’s actions and the context in which they occurred is much more complex than whether he is guilty or innocent. Moreover, the calls for justice by victims in Uganda extend far beyond the trial of a single man, and demand a multifaceted response.

This report is the result of research conducted by consultant Olga Lucía Gaitán for the International Center for International Justice (ICTJ) to analyze the rulings handed down by the Justice and Peace Chambers and the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice in Colombia. The report was edited and published by the ICTJ and funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Embassy of Sweden.

This study examines the development of restitution and reparations in international law and practice over the last century. It aims to provide recommendations on how restitution can best contribute to transitional justice by reviewing four case-studies: the Czech Republic, South Africa, Bosnia, and Guatemala. The paper provides general conclusions on how restitution–particularly property restitution as a remedy for forced displacement–can best be implemented in contemporary transitional settings.

On October 6, the International Criminal Court (ICC) found former Janjaweed militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (also known as Ali Kushayb) guilty of 27 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur between August 2003 and March 2004. This landmark verdict counters cycles of impunity in Sudan and sends a powerful message that these crimes are not tolerated.

Justice and peace have been the highest aspirations of modern societies. Legislative bodies have enacted laws such as Law 975 of 2005, which ordered the State to provide instruments to resolve armed conflicts without neglecting fundamental social interests of truth, justice, and reparation for the damage inflicted during decades of unjustified, irrational violence.

This is a compilation of cases from the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Colombia.

The International Center for Transitional Justice publishes a selection of excerpts from the Supreme Court's rulings and judgments regarding the Justice and Peace process.

Fifteen years ago, a young nurse named Cristina Cobo was forcibly disappeared by members of the paramilitary group United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. Paulina Mahecha, her mother, preserves her memory and that of over 20 other disappeared women from the departments of Meta and Guaviare by creating rag dolls. The "Cristinas of the Conflict," as Paulina calls them, are now part of a traveling exhibition that aims to raise awareness in Colombia about what happened in the south of the country.

Years have lapsed since the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in March 2002, but the DRC government has yet to meet its legal obligation to incorporate the statute into national law. Adopting such legislation is essential to ensure complementarity between domestic Congolese courts and the ICC and to strengthen the country’s legal system so it can end the ongoing cycle of impunity for the most egregious international crimes.

This report canvasses 31 countries to see how the crime of enforced disappearance affects women as both the disappeared and the female relatives of the disappeared. It finds that across cultures, women face serious barriers to seeking relief due to discriminatory laws and practices. It reviews common strategies that transitional justice mechanisms use to deal with enforced disappearance and reflects on their ability to meet the specific needs of women. As a set of recommendations, it presents lessons from around the world about the need to consider women’s experiences, including when implementing measures like truth commissions, prosecutions, and reparations.