Resource Library

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.

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.

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.

Victims, civil society advocates, policymakers, and development partners recently met for a high-level policy roundtable on integrating mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in Ethiopia’s transitional justice process. Organized by ICTJ and the Advocacy Center for Democracy and Development, the convening offered a space for participants to discuss the need for MHPSS and how to improve access to it across the country.

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 July 28, 2025, the Somali Regional State Council passed a resolution designating April 6 as Victims’ Memorial Day, formally recognizing those who experienced violence and human rights violations across Ethiopia’s Somali Region. For years, victims and civil society actors, with support from ICTJ and other international partners, have persistently advocated for this acknowledgment, which marks a milestone in Ethiopia’s journey toward accountability and repair.

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.

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.”

From May 25 to June 1, 2025, ICTJ held a series of community dialogues in three rural regions of the Gambia on sexual and gender-based violence, including crimes committed during the Yahya Jammeh dictatorship. The dialogues brought together 122 individuals, including community leaders, victims, and young people, to share their experiences and discuss pathways for justice.