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Civil society actors involved in transitional justice processes use narrative communication in strategic and agile ways. This work is vitally important, and yet it does not receive the attention and support it should.

Long before ICTJ existed, societies everywhere wrestled with the justice-related dilemmas caused by violent conflict, and victims, communities, and courageous leaders found answers of their own. What was missing was a place where people who took part in those different experiences could meet, share knowledge and lessons, and build a community to respond together to the evolving challenges to justice and peace. In 2001, ICTJ was created to be that place and to catalyze a collective effort to address massive human rights violations and build a peaceful, inclusive, and just future.

Over 100 representatives of civil society organizations, victims’ associations, government institutions, and diplomatic missions recently gathered in Addis Ababa to discuss what an inclusive transitional justice process in Ethiopia should look like. Participants explored best practices, local approaches, as well as persistent challenges to ensuring that those most affected by injustice play a central role in any process designed to address it.

At an ICTJ-organized symposium in Istanbul, artists, civil society leaders, journalists, academics, and transitional justice practitioners from around the world discussed the ways art can serve as a catalyst for change in societies emerging from conflict or repression as well as explored local non-state-led approaches to truth seeking and truth telling.

As Sudan’s devastating conflict enters its fourth year, the priorities of victims and Sudanese civilians must be central to efforts to end the violence and build sustainable peace. Against this backdrop, ICTJ and the Government of the Netherlands convened a policy roundtable in The Hague on advancing victim-centered justice for durable peace in Sudan.

The establishment of the Reparations Commission in April 2025 and the recent appointment of British barrister Martin Hackett in April 2026 as The Gambia’s first special prosecutor represent crucial and long-awaited steps in the country’s transitional justice process. But to succeed, both require sustained public, political, and financial support.

ICTJ recently convened human rights defenders, journalists, and lawyers from Libya, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen for a workshop on digital, open-source investigations. Held on November 3-8 in Kampala, Uganda, the course trained participants on open-source tools with a view to strengthening their work investigating, documenting, and monitoring human rights violations.

Throughout 2025, ICTJ’s experts offered thoughtful analysis on conflicts and major political developments in more than 10 countries as part of the World Report newsletter. Their insightful commentaries shed light on the obstacles that victims, civil society, and their partners must navigate as they pursue sustainable peace and justice. In this edition, we look back on the past year through the Expert’s Choice column.

The death of eight women in childbirth at a hospital in Agadir this past August sent shockwaves through Morocco. The news crystallized national anger over deteriorating public services as well as persistent high unemployment and corruption. Years of frustration erupted into the streets as thousands of mostly young Moroccans gathered in cities and towns across the nation to protest and to demand accountability and institutional reform.