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The War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which began its work 9 March 2005, has been the most significant national effort in Bosnia and Herzegovina to investigate and prosecute persons allegedly involved in serious violations of international law during the 1992–1995 conflict. It also has given the legal community useful experience with a “hybrid” court in which international and national judges serve together.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is an internationalized court that will sit in the Netherlands and seek accountability for a specific set of crimes in Lebanon. It remains to be seen whether or how the Tribunal might contribute toward accountability in Lebanon, but it is clear from experience of tribunals elsewhere that informed debate, rigorous monitoring, and an engaged public are vital if the Tribunal is to have any legitimacy among those it is intended to serve.We hope this handbook will help support such monitoring, engagement, and debate

Among the key challenges facing the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) today is the question of how the country will address the massive human rights atrocities of its recent past to establish a foundation for peace and security, the rule of law, and respect for human rights to prevail in the future.

Two years after the Democratic Republic of Congo held its first elections since independence, the country is at a crossroads. One of the key challenges facing the DRC today is the question of how the country will address the massive human rights atrocities of its recent past to establish a foundation for peace and security, the rule of law and respect for human rights to prevail in the future.

In Colombia, the shifting boundaries between drug trafficking and political crime and the tension between security and human rights pose particular challenges for those seeking accountability for past abuses and respect for human rights.

The Liberian Truth Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was necessitated by the Accra Comprehensive Peace Accord signed in 2003. The insertion of the TRC in the peace agreement was largely seen by various actors as Liberia’s maiden step towards addressing a history that was fraught with gross human rights abuse, lack of good governance and a wanton disregard for the rule of law.

Indigenous populations throughout the world are widely recognized as groups affected by political and economic marginalization. Countries that have used truth commissions to examine patterns of exclusion—including Chile, Guatemala and Peru—have found clear links between racism, political marginalization, economic exclusion and violence. The Canadian TRC might benefit from exploring these lessons as it carries its work forward.

As the first national truth commission to be created in an established democracy, Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is a bold experiment. It is also the first TRC to focus exclusively on crimes committed against children and indigenous groups.

Treatment of historical legacies of discrimination against Aboriginal groups in Canada (First Nations, Inuit, Métis) currently focuses on settlement for abuses committed against Aboriginal children in educational institutions known as “Indian Residential Schools” (IRSs), which pursued a policy of forced assimilation for more than a century.

The Cambodian diaspora in France and Belgium has been actively following the development of efforts to prosecute Khmer Rouge officials responsible for crimes committed in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. Diasporas have assumed a new and important role in the judicial and political arenas as a result of their increasing influence in international relations.