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This paper summarizes the results of a mapping survey on transitional justice initiatives in Indonesia undertaken by ICTJ from August 2002 to May 2003. While the Indonesian government has created several state agencies and laws to address past cases of violence, it is still plagued by problems of legitimacy and ineffectiveness.

This report considers the work of the Special Prosecutor's Office (SPO) in Mexico, established to deal with crimes that public servants commit against social and political groups. It describes the basic requirements of investigation into "system crimes," emphasizing the need for an approach that differs from that used in the investigation of ordinary crimes.

This paper provides an initial summary of the work of the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and points to some of the key difficulties it has encountered. The Commission's first year was challenging: it effectively lost its full preparatory period and the first two or three months of its mandate to administrative difficulties. Despite this, the TRC has undertaken remarkable work in some areas.

This report describes the Special Court for Sierra Leone’s accomplishments in the first 18 months of its mandate. The Court was established to try "those bearing the greatest responsibility" for serious violations of international law and certain provisions of domestic law since November 1996. It has shown a clear understanding of its mandate and its management has been relatively efficient. Yet challenges remain in demonstrating its capacity to hold quality trials, as its focus shifts from investigations to trial work.

This report from the United Nations (UN) Security Council discusses the UN's increased focus on transitional justice and the rule of law in conflict and post-conflict societies. This focus will yield important lessons for future UN activities. Advancing justice, peace, and democracy in fragile post-conflict settings requires strategic planning, careful integration and sensible sequencing of activities. Approaches must incorporate interdependent institutions, civil society and victims in order to be effective.

This paper explores the challenges to uncovering the truth about the atrocities committed under the Khmer Rouge and achieving justice for victims in Cambodia. It discusses which transitional justice mechanisms are applicable and what opportunities to achieve truth and accountability exist. With victims still demanding justice and the Khmer Rouge leaders getting older, the need to establish a minimal level of justice is crucial. Although a tribunal should be supported, a much more holistic approach is necessary to recover and restore society.

This report focuses on 12 trials that took place before the Indonesian Ad Hoc Human Rights Court between March 2002 and August 2003. It analyzes the prosecution efforts and quality of the judgments, and assesses the political and institutional context in which these trials took place. The trials must be regarded as a failure on every level, from technical competence to institutional integrity and political will.

This handbook explains the mandate, origins, purposes, and operating methods of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Special Court in Sierra Leone. It discusses the differences and similarities between them, in clear, non-technical language. The TRC and Special Court can play crucial roles to help Sierra Leone recover from civil war by helping reform political and legal institutions.

This report examines community expectations and experiences of Timor-Leste’s unique transition from occupation to independence. It documents the results of focus group discussions on an array topcis including violence and conflict, truth recovery, justice, accountability, reconciliation, and forgiveness. These issues lie at the heart of the Timorese peoples’ expectations and experiences, and at the center of Timor’s transitional justice concerns.

This study identifies the range of agencies in and outside the former Yugoslavia that collect documentation on war crimes and other human rights violations committed in the 1991-1999 wars. Several factors that point to the need for an overview of data-collecting agencies in the region. The report recommends a meeting of regional NGOs on the consolidation of existing documentation will facilitate efforts towards truth, justice, reconciliation, and public awareness about the past events in the former Yugoslavia.