Resource Library

As the world marks the third anniversary of the brutal war in Sudan, it is a moment to reflect on a conflict that rarely receives the media attention it deserves and to consider the millions of Sudanese caught in cycles of violence.

Recent Israeli strikes in Beirut and other populated areas in Lebanon, among the conflict's most intense so far, have destroyed critical infrastructure and devastated civilian communities. ICTJ stands unequivocally with the Lebanese people and all victims across the region and calls for an immediate end to all attacks on and threats to civilian communities and infrastructure.

ICTJ is watching with grave concern the unfolding war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran and its devastating ripple effects across the wider region. Over a month into the conflict, the human cost is staggering. We at ICTJ reaffirm the international principles that govern our shared world and stand unequivocally with all victims across the region.

On February 27, 2026, the International Criminal Court concluded its confirmation of charges hearing in the case against former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who stands accused of committing crimes against humanity. ICTJ Senior Expert Ruben Carranza, who is Filipino-American, reflects on this case in connection with his recent lecture on transitional justice and Duterte's war on drugs at Georgetown University.

On February 19, 2026, Venezuela’s National Assembly passed the Amnesty Law for Democratic Coexistence, which seeks to extinguish criminal liability for certain acts committed in the country over the past 26 years. While the law has sparked debate, it undeniably represents a significant development in the country's political landscape.

In 2026, ICTJ will mark its 25th anniversary. As an organization, we approach this milestone with genuine pride and determination, but also with grave concerns about the world in which we find ourselves in this moment.

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.

On November 20 — on the 80th anniversary of the opening of the main Nuremberg trial, which prosecuted Nazi leadership for aggression and mass atrocities of World War II — details of the allegedly proposed new “peace” plan for Ukraine emerged. The initiative has surfaced one of the Kremlin’s recurrent demands: full amnesty for wartime atrocities — the very acts Nuremberg sought to punish and prevent.

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.

On October 6, the International Criminal Court (ICC) found former Janjaweed militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (also known as Ali Kushayb) guilty of 27 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur between August 2003 and March 2004. This landmark verdict counters cycles of impunity in Sudan and sends a powerful message that these crimes are not tolerated.

On August 8, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed the Joint Declaration on Future Relations. Hailed by some as a “historic peace deal,” it neither is a treaty nor ends the 37-year Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Rather, it is a political framework that requires international support and attention.

The numerous atrocities committed by Russia in Ukraine have been part of the former's aggression since its initial invasion of the Crimea and Donbas regions in 2014, though they have skyrocketed in number and severity since the full-scale invasion in 2022. Among these crimes are enforced disappearances, which serve as the means by which the Kremlin more broadly intends to subjugate Ukrainians and eliminate any traces of the Ukrainian national identity.

The police response to the peaceful anti-government protests in Kenya over the past year has been deadly and brutal. Their actions have rocked the country and reaffirmed the 2013 findings of the Kenyan Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (KTJRC) that state security agencies, particularly the police, have historically used excessive and disproportionate force and “been the main perpetrators of bodily integrity violations of human rights in Kenya including massacres, enforced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment, and sexual violence.”

Across Syria today, we continue to witness human rights violations and abuses that run counter to the very principles upon which the revolution was built. In particular, recent violence in the coast and Sweida has deepened the sense of fear and mistrust already felt by many communities. Meanwhile, Syria's new transitional justice commissions have been working hard to lay the foundations of their mandates. Now, at this critical juncture, they must show that they are ready to lead and first and foremost to serve victims.

On June 8, Colombia woke up to the grim news that Miguel Uribe Turbay, a 39-year-old senator and presidential hopeful for the right-wing Centro Democrático party, had been gravely wounded after being shot. More than three weeks have passed since the attack and Uribe remains in critical condition, while Colombians, concerned about renewed democratic instability, have found themselves haunted by ghosts from the past.

On April 14, 2025, the Johannesburg High Court handed down a landmark judgment. From his bench in courtroom 4D, Judge Dario Dosio dismissed the defense team’s objections to the inclusion of murder and apartheid as crimes against humanity charges in the indictment against two individuals accused of a deadly 1982 attack on anti-apartheid student activists. In so doing, the court cleared the way for crimes against humanity charges to be pursued in a South African domestic court for the first time. It also opened the door to the first ever prosecution of apartheid as a crime against humanity anywhere in the world.

ICTJ welcomes the formation of two new independent institutions in Syria: the National Commission for Transitional Justice and the National Commission for the Missing. Established by presidential decree, these commissions represent a historic step forward in acknowledging the demands of victims and their families and formally responding to the widespread violations committed in Syria over the last decades.

This April, Sudan marked a double anniversary: one of the 2019 revolution that toppled President Omar al Bashir’s decades-long repressive regime, the other of the 2023 outbreak of the ongoing civil war that has devastated the country. These contrasting occasions bring with them great hopes and deep pain. They also raise pressing questions: How long will Sudan have to suffer while the world’s attention seems turned the other way? How long will the voices of Sudanese who yearn for peace and justice continue to be sidelined?

Since long before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moscow has spread disinformation to justify its aggression, disguising their longstanding premises that Ukraine is, allegedly, not a sovereign nation, and its statehood is conditioned upon an alliance with Russia. Countering these narratives is not only valuable for Ukrainians, but also for buoying any democratic transformations in Russia and for establishing a more nuanced understanding of the history of Central and Eastern Europe.

ICTJ is outraged by the recent massacre in Syria, where over 1,000 civilians were brutally killed in yet another wave of violence. This appalling crime underscores the urgent and undeniable need to protect civilians and provide justice and accountability.

The fall of the Assad regime marks the beginning of a long-overdue transformation in Syria. For the first time in decades, space has opened to speak freely about justice, accountability, and reconciliation. It is a moment filled with uncertainty and pain, but also one of immense hope.

South Sudan’s transition to democratic governance through a highly anticipated, first-ever post-independence general election has to wait once again for another two years. Despite this latest extension, the country has achieved notable milestones in its transitional justice process.

Throughout 2024, ICTJ’s experts offered their unique insight on breaking news and critical developments in more than 11 countries as part of the ICTJ’s World Report newsletter. Their incisive analyses shed light on the political and socioeconomic forces at work and what it all means for victims and the pursuit of peace and justice.

The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime after 53 years of authoritarian rule marks a significant moment in the pursuit of justice, peace, and human rights. While this transition opens the door to new possibilities, it also underscores the immense obstacles and responsibilities that lie ahead.

In February 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) delivered its long-awaited reparations order in the case of The Prosecutor vs. Dominic Ongwen. Nearly two decades after the ICC intervened in Northern Uganda, this milestone decision both acknowledges the suffering of survivors and underscores the complexities and limitations of international justice. For victims who have waited for justice for over two decades, the order has been bittersweet.

The ongoing war in the Middle East is not an isolated event; it represents a 75-year cycle of violence marked by historical grievances, geopolitical struggles, and humanitarian crises. In the latest episode of this tragic story, Lebanon has become the newest battlefield. So far, the conflict has caused widespread destruction, killed or injured thousands, and displaced over a million in Lebanon. The country now faces many daunting questions about reconstruction, reparations for victims, and the type of society that will emerge in the war’s aftermath.

Two and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, victims continue to demand justice for the massive violations they have suffered, which have left many of them gravely harmed. The International Criminal Court opened an investigation into alleged crimes in March 2022. It now faces a critical challenge: how to ensure that Ukrainian victims can meaningfully participate in all stages of its procedures, despite the court’s location far from the conflict.

In the wake of the recent contentious presidential elections, Venezuelans from all walks of life took to the streets to express their collective distrust of the official results, outrage over their country's dire economic and political crisis, and demand for transformative change. For a brief moment, their sheer numbers and the of unity of their voices gave hope that a window of opportunity had opened for real change. In countries grappling with massive human rights violations, from time to time, a window of opportunity does in fact open for society to come together and a forge path toward peace and justice. Unfortunately, such windows do not remain open indefinitely.

In July, Colombian President Gustavo Petro traveled to New York to address the UN Security Council on the status of the implementation of the 2016 peace agreement between the Colombian government and the guerrilla group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. During his visit, Petro also inaugurated a monument commemorating the country's enduring pursuit of peace.

This past month, the United States officially observed Juneteenth for the fourth time since President Joe Biden declared it a federal holiday in 2021. Commemorations are a chance to acknowledge past milestones and reflect on their relevance to the present. In the spirit of Juneteenth, it is important to highlight and celebrate the wins and progress made toward fulfilling the promise of liberty for all.

Yemen's nine-year conflict has devastated the country and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The regional upheaval stemming from the ongoing war on Gaza has created more obstacles on the country's already complex path toward peace and shifted attention away from the set of UN-brokered commitments agreed upon by the parties to the conflict in December 2023, which include a nationwide ceasefire. Amid these challenges, it is more imperative than ever to support civil society and victims and bring attention to victims’ grievances and needs.

Thirty years after the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, painful memories of those gruesome 100 days, during which almost one million Rwandan citizens lost their lives, still haunt the people of Rwanda, the rest of Africa, and the world. It is a solemn occasion to remember and honor the victims and survivors of the genocide and to acknowledge the tremendous strength and resilience they have shown in the wake of unspeakable tragedy. However, it is also a time for candid introspection on the African continent, and around the world, about the policies and mechanisms in place to prevent such atrocities.

On February 29, 2024, The Gambia-Economic Community of West African States Joint Technical Committee held its inaugural meeting on the establishment of a hybrid court to hold to account those responsible for gross human rights violations committed in the country between July 1994 and January 2017 during the dictatorship of former President Yahya Jammeh. Such an internationalized court presents an opportunity to deliver criminal accountability to the victims and Gambian society as whole. It is also just the latest step in The Gambia’s transitional justice journey.

Thousands took to the streets across Kenya on January 27 following the gruesome slaying of more than a dozen women to denounce violence against women and demand action to end it. Protesters later gathered in Nairobi on February 14 for a Valentine’s Day vigil for the more than 30 women murdered in the country so far this year and to pressure the government to declare femicide and violence against women a national emergency and to establish a commission to address these crimes and thereby break the cycle of impunity. These efforts are laudable, if not inspiring. However, physical and sexual violence against women and femicide—at times perpetrated by law enforcement officers who are meant to protect them, as enshrined in Kenya’s 2010 Constitution—has persisted in Kenya for decades.

In 2021, the Central African Republic created the Truth, Justice, Reparation and Reconciliation Commission (CVJRR) to establish the truth, pursue justice, and restore victims’ dignity, with a view to ultimately achieving national reconciliation. In this fragile country, battered by successive episodes of violence, justice, in its broadest sense, has always been and remains a lifelong demand of victims. After a lengthy operationalization phase, the CVJRR is now finally getting ready to start registering and hearing victims’ testimonies. The first step in this process is statement taking, which requires taking several key factors into account to be successful.

Throughout 2023, ICTJ’s experts have offered their unique perspective on breaking news around the globe as part of the World Report. Their insightful commentaries have brought into focus the impact these events have on victims of human right violations as well as larger struggles for peace and justice. In this edition, we look back on the past year through the Expert’s Choice column.

On October 25, the African Union (AU) and European Union officially launched their joint Initiative for Transitional Justice in Africa (ITJA) in Addis Ababa. The project will take place over a three-year period and will promote national transitional justice processes in Africa, in line with the AU Transitional Justice Policy and its roadmap. The ITJA has several unique features that, if embraced and advanced by all actors, have the potential to trailblaze a new and inspiring path to peace, justice, and sustainable development on the African continent.

On October 15, the UN Secretary-General made two strong humanitarian appeals: for Hamas to release the hostages immediately and without conditions, and for Israel to allow humanitarian aid to enter into Gaza unimpeded so it can reach the civilians desperately in need of it. The UN Security Council has heard but not listened to his words, while governments with power to persuade the actors engaged in the hostilities to respect the rule of law have failed to do so. Yet, the moral imperative is clear and simple.

On September 18 and 19, world leaders gathered in New York for the UN Sustainable Development Goals Summit to take stock of the progress that the global community has made toward achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the challenges it still faces. At the summit, the UN General Assembly adopted a political declaration, which asserts that the achievement of the SDGs is “in peril,” describing progress toward them as moving too slowly and even regressing in some countries as a result of multiple, overlapping crises, such as persistent armed conflict. The international community must go further in specifying the obstacles that societies affected by conflict and widespread abuses face and the role that human rights can play in overcoming them.

Five years ago, in August 2018, to mark his 100 days in office, Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan addressed a large rally in Yerevan’s Republic Square to officially announce his government’s intentions to incorporate transitional justice mechanisms into Armenian post-revolution reform agenda. Since then, Armenia has been pursuing a range of transitional justice initiatives alongside other democratic reforms, and it has made some limited headway, despite setbacks and major challenges including renewed conflict with Azerbaijan.

July 17, 2023, marked 25 years since the Rome Statute was adopted at a conference in Rome, Italy. The statute created the world’s first permanent international court, the International Criminal Court, which was probably the most significant milestone in international criminal justice since the Nuremburg and Tokyo trials of the mid-20th century. It signaled the firm intention of many nations to address ongoing impunity of the most serious crimes known to humankind. After 25 years, however, the ICC has not yet reached its full potential.

Eight years ago, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 19 as the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict in an effort to raise awareness about this endemic tactic of war; honor the innumerable victims and survivors across the world, as well as those working to end these violations; and ultimately eradicate this dehumanizing practice. History has shown that whenever there is a political or security crisis juxtaposed with a militarized response, conflict-related sexual violence is deployed as a tactic to subdue, dehumanize, and terrorize civilians and opponents.

On May 12, the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers agreed to create a mechanism to receive claims for damages caused by the Russian crime of aggression in Ukraine. The new registry is intended to receive information on claims of damage, loss, or injury caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since February 24, 2022 and assess their eligibility for future adjudication or compensation. Many of the register’s chief proponents are hailing its creation as a key step toward accountability for the many violations of international law that Russia has committed in or against Ukraine. However, the register alone will not be sufficient to address the multitude of harms caused by the war.

On March 21, the Ugandan Parliament passed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, adopting the harshest anti-LGBTQ+ law in the world. Under it, homosexuality is punishable by life imprisonment, while "aggravated homosexuality" is punishable by death. The bill not only threatens the rights of LGBTQ+ persons, it undermines and erodes Uganda’s commitment to human rights.

Colombia’s new president Gustavo Petro was elected to office on a progressive campaign to strengthen democracy, implement social reforms, and bring “total peace” to the country. His approach to peace encompasses political negotiations with all remaining insurgent groups and simultaneous dialogues with criminal organizations geared toward their voluntary submission to justice in exchange for punitive leniency. But eight months into his administration, Petro’s efforts to deliver on his campaign promise are facing numerous challenges.

For 112 years, International Women’s Day has marked a time to celebrate the achievement of women and raise awareness about gender inequality. On March 8th, this year’s campaign of #EmbraceEquity will shine a spotlight on women’s contribution to various fields, while highlighting the challenges they face in other industries. Eliminating the barriers to women’s access to economic, political, and social resources is fundamental to creating and maintaining a stable democratic society. Often at the core of repressive regimes is a systematic effort to exercise control over the lives of women. Similarly, an erosion of the rights of women in “stable” democracies is often a harbinger of a broader attack on the rights of citizens.

The end of 2022 in Venezuela was marked by signs of willingness from all parties to take concrete steps toward democracy. The government and the opposition resumed negotiations and agreed to allow the United Nations to manage a fund for billions of dollars of frozen assets, which would be gradually released to address the country’s humanitarian crisis. The United States authorized the Chevron Corporation to resume limited operations for importing Venezuelan oil. Finally, the 2015 National Assembly voted to end the opposition-led interim government. While these steps are initial ones to create the conditions for trust among the parties, they offer opportunities to improve the dire circumstances in which many Venezuelans currently live.

Nearly two years after the conflict erupted in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region in the north, the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front signed an African Union-brokered cessation of hostilities agreement on November 2, followed by an implementation deal 10 days later. The breakthrough agreement offers a glimmer of hope after a brutal war. It charts a path toward peace and lays the foundations for addressing the legacy of the serious human rights violations and preventing their recurrence by providing for the implementation of a transitional justice policy centered on accountability, truth seeking, redress for victims, and reconciliation and healing.