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Making Connections. An interview with Pablo de Greiff, ICTJ Research Unit Director.

Transitions focuses on new directions and challenges for the organization. Kofi Appenteng, ICTJ Board Chair, discusses his background and his new role as Board Chair.

On March 2 and 3, 2020, transitional justice and anti-corruption policymakers, experts, and activists from the Gambia, Kenya, South Africa, Armenia, and Tunisia met in Tunis for a two-day conference to share solutions to a common problem: How can countries emerging from dictatorship, war, or political transitions hold corrupt ex-rulers accountable, recover their ill-gotten assets, and ensure victims achieve justice and obtain reparations? This report gives an overview of the conference and its panel discussions.

The National Accord, negotiated in February 2008 by the Panel of Eminent African Personalities led by Kofi Annan, ended the months of violence that followed Kenya’s 2007 presidential election. The transitional justice mechanisms established by the accord have created an opportunity to investigate the causes of long-standing grievances, hold government officials accountable, and alter the country’s political culture.

The recent re-election of Colombia’s president, Juan Manuel Santos, brings hope to a country seeking to end a half-century of conflict. But, as with so many peace processes, finding a balance between creating a stable accord and acknowledging the terrible injustices that occurred during the conflict can be difficult to achieve.

On the International Day for the Right to the Truth and 35 years after the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero, ICTJ Vice President Paul Seils explains why the pursuit of the truth is not a second-best option in the absence of other remedies: it is the most basic requirement of taking seriously the dignity of victims.

As the first truth commission in the region, Morocco’s Equity and Reconciliation Commission sought to address the legacy of more than 40 years of repression and human rights violations known as the “Years of Lead.” The commission was part of a gradual process of dealing with the past, an opening that began in the early 1990s. Since completion of the commission’s final report in 2005, Moroccans have taken further steps toward reckoning with the past.

More than 30 countries have created truth commissions to investigate and report on human rights abuses. These commissions of inquiry help seek recognition for victims and promote possibilities for peace, reconciliation and democracy.

This report provides an overview of how truth commissions can address gender issues. It aims to help those involved with the truth commission process make informed decisions regarding different operational directions by highlighting potential advantages and disadvantages of the various approaches. Examples of how to address gender in truth commissions include: ensuring a specific number of female commissioners and staff; providing in-camera hearing options; and convening a gender hearing.