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This report is based on a population-based survey assessing attitudes about peace and justice in Northern Uganda. For nearly two decades, the Lord's Resistance Army has been in conflict with Ugandan government forces, killing countless civilians and abducting tens of thousands of children and adults to serve as soldiers and sex slaves for its commanders. The Ugandan government's dual approach of military action and mediation to bring peace to the region has had little success. This study represents the spectrum of attitudes and opinions of those most affected by the violence.

This paper addresses the possible impact of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on conflict mediation and on political stability in fragile environments. It looks at issues such as: the role of criminal accountability for massive abuses, the ICC statute, practical issues that conflict mediators may face as a result of ICC investigations, and the possible positive role the ICC may play in the context of conflict mediation.

This paper discusses the significance of the trials of Saddam Hussein and his close associates held by the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal. It examines the challenges faced by the Tribunal - including concerns that the process was dominated by the U.S. government (hence undermining the results), and the deteriorating security environment due to ethnic and religious tensions.

This report traces the human rights abuses under King Hassan II—including arbitrary arrest, torture, and disappearance—that led to the development of the Moroccan Equity and Reconciliation Commission (Instance Équité et Réconciliation (IER)). It provides both a historical reference and lays the foundation for a more thorough analysis once the Commission's work has been completed. It also offers several recommendations to bolster and augment Morocco's truth-seeking experience in the coming months and years.

This paper considers the UN-sponsored regime established to respond to the crimes committed in East Timor during the Indonesian occupation between 1975 and 1999. The story of the quest for justice in East Timor perhaps can be summed up as one involving good intentions that were not backed up by the strategic planning and effective support necessary to counter the damaging effects of Indonesian lack of cooperation. The lack of planning and support seriously undermined the effectiveness of the serious crimes process.

The development of effective transitional justice policies in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been plagued by lack of security, fear of destabilization, limited political will, and scarce resources. This paper focuses on three specific measures of transitional justice: prosecutions, the truth and reconciliation commission, and vetting. The challenge is to set the right conditions in place in order to ensure that these initiatives can begin as soon as possible. It is also to incorporate elements of justice in this highly complex situation.

This paper provides an overview of the major issues and recent developments in transitional justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). It examines the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), local trials, the proposed Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Srebrenica Commission, a draft on Law and Missing Persons, reparations, and the vetting of state instiutions. Due to the lack of a comprehensive transitional justice vision in the Dayton Agreement (which ended the war in 1995) efforts in BiH have been ad hoc and incomplete.

Since the end of open armed conflict in the former Yugoslavia, there has been little progress in transitional justice. This particularly applies to Serbia and Montenegro, which has lurched from one political crisis to another. This paper provides an overview of some of the major issues and recent developments in transitional justice in Serbia and Montenegro. It examines the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), local trials, the national Truth and Reconciliation Commission, reparations, and vetting of public officials.

The establishment of the International Criminal Court's Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) , in combination with its reparations function, is unprecedented in international law. It affirms the importance of victims in international justice efforts. However, the creation of a Trust Fund closely associated with a Court also raises both practical and conceptual challenges. These challenges are easier to meet if the TFV, rather than the Court, plays the leading role in designing an overall approach to reparations programs.

This paper aims to address the question "What advice would you give to colleague NGOs in countries where the momentum for the establishment of a truth commission is already strong?" It is intended to provide basic guidance to NGOs that are likely to engage with formal, official truth commissions established by the state during times of political transition. It is organized chronologically in three sections: before, during, and after the operation of a truth commission.