About Us
The Global Initiative for Justice, Truth and Reconciliation brings together advocates, activists and practitioners from nine global organizations with expertise in a range of fields from psycho-social support and documentation to forensics and law. Together they assist communities in or emerging from conflict in creating just and peaceful futures.
In countries coming to terms with violent pasts, true peace cannot take hold unless all facets of society – particularly marginalized groups such as women, minorities and survivors – play a central role in rebuilding their countries. To date, however, many transitional justice models have failed to actively involve these key voices, preferring instead top-down procedures that prioritize the experiences and opinions of those in power.
To correct this wrong, the Global Initiative for Justice, Truth and Reconciliation (GIJTR) was founded in 2014 by the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience (ICSC), a network of over 370 historic sites, museums and memory initiatives in 80 countries dedicated to connecting past struggles to contemporary movements for social justice. ICSC members themselves, particularly in Africa, Asia and the Middle East and North Africa, had increasingly expressed the need for grassroots truth, justice and reconciliation efforts to support national transitional justice processes. With its own expertise in memory and memorialization, ICSC responded by bringing together eight additional global organizations committed to promoting just and sustainable peace in countries in transition by engaging local civil society organizations, survivors and governments in a participatory, inclusive and holistic manner. Selected for their geographic diversity as well as a wide range of expertise, these organizations form the Global Initiative for Justice, Truth and Reconciliation.
Since its founding, GIJTR has engaged with people from 80 countries, worked with over 800 CSOs, and has supported over 500 community-driven projects and the collection of more than 8000 testimonies of human rights violations.
For more information on GIJTR’s partners, see below.
International Coalition of Sites of Conscience (ICSC)
The International Coalition of Sites of Conscience (ICSC) is the only worldwide network dedicated to transforming places that preserve the past into spaces that promote civic action. With more than 370 Sites of Conscience in 80 countries, ICSC engages tens of millions of people every year in using the lessons of history to take action on challenges to democracy and human rights today.
American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI)
The American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) promotes justice, economic opportunity, and human dignity through the rule of law. ABA ROLI partners with justice sector actors in more than 50 countries to strengthen legal institutions and support legal professionals; to foster respect for human rights and access to justice; to support transitional justice and peace-building; and to advance inclusive and sustainable economic development.
Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR)
Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR) works to strengthen accountability and human rights in the Asia-Pacific region. Focusing on countries involved in transition from a context of mass human rights violations to democracy, AJAR strives to build cultures based on accountability, justice and a willingness to learn from the root causes of mass human rights violations.
The Center for Justice and Accountability
The Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) has established itself as a leading legal NGO in the United States, renowned for its expertise in developing innovative legal strategies to tackle violations of international humanitarian and criminal law. Leveraging its legal expertise and community of international legal experts, CJA develops collaborative relationships with and builds the capacity of its partners operating in conflict-affected or transitioning countries, who seek accountability for international crimes and advancing the international legal framework. Through collaborations with prominent international legal experts and a dedicated roster of pro bono lawyers, CJA has provided over $60 million in pro bono legal assistance to advance justice and human rights globally.
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Founded in 1989, the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) aims to understand and prevent root causes of violence in all its forms and address its consequences in order to build sustainable peace and reconciliation in South Africa and across the African continent. CSVR’s work addresses a wide range of forms of violence and conflict - past and present - including criminal, political, collective, and domestic and gender violence, as well as violence against children.
Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala
The Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala (FAFG) applies forensic scientific methodologies to investigations into the circumstances, whereabouts and identity of missing and disappeared persons to provide truth to victims and their families, assist in the search for justice and redress, and strengthen the rule of law. FAFG carries out investigations in a victim-centered, locally based approach in areas such as transitional justice, missing migrants, disaster victim identification, and citizen security.
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect seeks to prevent and halt mass atrocity crimes – genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing – by working with governments, civil society and international and regional organizations to effectively and consistently implement the principle of the Responsibility to Protect. Its research, analysis and advocacy frame particular situations with an atrocity prevention lens and provide concrete and specific recommendations that address existing and emerging atrocity risks.
Impunity Watch
Impunity Watch is an international, non-profit organization working with victims of violence to uproot deeply ingrained structures of impunity, deliver redress for grave human rights violations, and promote justice and peace. For more than 15 years, Impunity Watch has worked in countries emerging from violent conflict, partnering with grassroots organizations to amplify the demands they make to national and international policymakers and by building partnerships and coalitions that can push for deeper systemic change.
Justice Rapid Response
Justice Rapid Response (JRR) Justice Rapid Response is the only global facility that provides rapidly deployable experts to investigate international crimes and serious human rights violations and to enable a holistic, gender-sensitive, and inclusive approach to justice.