Impunity Watch

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Impunity Watch

Impunity Watch is an NGO dedicated to seeking justice for victims of human rights violations.

Impunity Watch is an international non-profit organisation 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, we have been working in countries emerging from violent conflict. We have found that victims know best what is needed to achieve justice for themselves

and their communities and prevent violence from recurring, yet they are routinely excluded from these processes. Our role is to address this omission and ensure their demands are met. Impunity Watch currently works in Central America, North Africa and the Great Lakes region of Africa, the Middle East and the Western Balkans. We have presence in Guatemala and Burundi, and our headquarters are in The Hague, The Netherlands. We conduct comparative research on priority themes relating to overcoming impunity and maintain international partnerships to fight impunity and transform justice. We are committed to prioritising long-term engagements in all our programming, operations and advocacy work, and work at community/local, as well as national, regional and international levels. Working together with victims, survivors and affected communities is at the heart of everything we do.

27/08/2026

🪖 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬.

Militarised masculinities normalise cycles of violence, enable human rights violations and impunity, and prevent justice and accountability.

Yet, despite growing attention to gender in human rights investigations, militarised masculinities have received insufficient and inadequate consideration.

📑 Our new policy report offers practical guidance for Human Rights Inquirers to address militarised masculinities throughout all phases of investigative processes.

Read it now: bit.ly/MM-policyreport
Explore the report to learn:
✅What are militarised masculinities?
✅Why are human rights inquiries the right entry points to address them?
✅What do we recommend that human rights investigations must do?

Learn more about our thematic work on this topic: bit.ly/MM-IW

Lead author: Philipp Schulz, Researcher at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH)
Foreword by: Michelle Jarvis, Executive Director, Gender Justice Practitioner Hub (GJP Hub)
Contributing author: Gelena Vougianovits, Head of Operations at Impunity Watch

Illustrations: Studio notyourchibi
Report layout: Maya Zankoul

This policy report was produced with the financial support of the European Union, through the Global Initiative Against Impunity (GIAI - makingjusticework.org).

20/08/2026

📢 The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, Bernard Duhaime, has released a new report on 𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞.

This is an important contribution to a conversation that we have been engaging with for some time. We are particularly pleased to see our research directly referenced in the report, echoing several of our central priorities:

🔸Keeping victims and affected communities at the centre;
🔸Ensuring meaningful human oversight;
🔸Addressing the risks of technology in conflict and post-conflict settings;
🔸Strengthening interdisciplinary cooperation; and
🔸Strengthening the responsibility of technology companies.

🔗Explore the report:https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n26/168/41/pdf/n2616841.pdf

The report comes at an important moment. As emerging technologies become increasingly present in transitional justice processes, their use must respond to the particular realities, risks and needs of these contexts.

Our ongoing research looks at precisely these questions: Are existing technology governance frameworks equipped for transitional justice? Where do important gaps remain and how can they be addressed?

We particularly welcome the Special Rapporteur’s call to support professional guidance and training for transitional justice practitioners on the human rights-anchored use of emerging technologies, including AI. It is essential for us that any such guidance or principles are developed with the 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 – ensuring that their rights, needs and experiences remain at the centre.

We are encouraged to see this conversation gaining greater attention at the United Nations level and look forward to continuing to contribute to it. 💡Learn more about our work: bit.ly/IW-AI-TJ

17/07/2026

On the Day of International Criminal Justice, the Global Initiative Against Impunity (GIAI) is proud to launch its impact snapshot, capturing achievements from the past 2 years.

📈 Read it here: https://www.impunitywatch.org/statement-giai-global-impact/

𝐀𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 2,000+ 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝…
We strengthened the agency of Guatemala’s Indigenous Maya Achi women survivors and lawyers’ fight for justice for sexual violence crimes – securing convictions against three additional perpetrators and 19 gender-transformative reparations. 🔗 https://www.impunitywatch.org/publications/bulletin-guatemala-maya-achi-second-trial-english/

𝐀𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 900+ 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝…
We connected Congolese communities to Paris’ courtrooms in the landmark Lumbala trial. While its historic verdict challenges decades of impunity in the DRC, we learned how access to justice and accountability can be improved for survivors and affected communities. 🔗 https://www.impunitywatch.org/publications/joint-bulletin-lumbala-trial-giai/

𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 80+ 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲-𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝…

We engaged 88 ex-combatants in positive masculinities sessions and trauma-healing in Burundi, with marked improvements in their mental health, and reduced acts of aggression and gender-based violence – transforming social relations and tackling root causes of violence.
🔗 https://www.impunitywatch.org/publications/visual-booklet-giai-transitional-justice-in-action/

The snapshot highlights what’s possible when civil society bands together to fight a growing global culture of impunity – and that when survivors lead, accountability follows.

📚 Explore our library of resources: MakingJusticeWork.org

Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice Coalition for the International Criminal Court TRIAL International ECCHR - European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights Redress CIVIL RIGHTS DEFENDERS FIDH - International Federation for Human Rights Parliamentarians for Global Action

15/07/2026

⚖️𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 TRIAL International | 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥

On 15 December 2025, the Paris Assize Court found former politician and military leader Roger Lumbala guilty of complicity in crimes against humanity committed in 2002. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐑𝐂 🇨🇩

❗Lumbala is the first person to be tried for crimes committed during the Second Congo War
❗This is the first universal jurisdiction case in France related to events in the DRC

Through sustained community reporting and dialogue, we facilitated Congolese communities’ access to court proceedings in Europe. What does it truly mean to ‘make justice work’ for survivors of conflict? Our joint bulletin explains:

●The significance of the trial, and the role played by civil society
●Reflections from survivors and affected Congolese communities
●Lessons learned while bridging formal and informal justice processes

💡Read it here: https://www.impunitywatch.org/publications/joint-bulletin-lumbala-trial-giai/

14/07/2026

📢 We are hiring!

We are launching a pilot project in Chad 🇹🇩 as part of efforts to expand our programming across Africa.

Are you interested in building a victim-centred transitional justice strategy together for the country? We are looking for two full-time roles, based in N’Djaména:

⭐Project Coordinator
⭐Finance and Project Officer

Download the full terms of reference for each position: https://www.impunitywatch.org/join-us/join-our-team/

Send us your CV and motivation letter in English: [email protected]

🗓️Deadline: 4 August 2026 at 09:00 (N’Djaména time)

Requirements: Fluency in French and strong proficiency in English is needed. The positions are for Chadian nationals. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

We look forward to your application!

01/07/2026

📢New report | From solidarity to participation: Elevating victim agency in political negotiation processes

“𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬.”

Our new report highlights the influence that victim participation can have on transitional justice mechanisms, authored by Carla Ferstman and co-produced with the Berghof Foundation's Global Learning Hub for Transitional Justice and Reconciliation.

Read it now: https://www.impunitywatch.org/publications/report-victim-agency-political-processes/

We look deeper into cases from Colombia, The Gambia, Germany, Nepal and Syria. Lessons from diverse strategies utilised across these different contexts include:

💠Mobilisation by victims’ groups are important success indicators
💠There is no blueprint – what works largely depends on context
💠Creativity and dynamism are key to successful victim engagement
💠Civil society plays a crucial role in supporting victim participation
💠TJ processes are more effective and legitimate when victims are able to engage from start to finish

It is crucial that states, TJ mechanisms, civil society and relevant stakeholders collectively work to create an ecosystem that enables victim participation, to safeguard victim agency and ensure that TJ processes remain responsive to their vision and needs.

30/06/2026

Last week in Venice, Impunity Watch, in partnership with the Global Campus of Human Rights, hosted a dynamic Policy Hub on AI, emerging technologies, and the documentation of human rights violations.

By bringing together an interdisciplinary group of activists, victim representatives, civil society members, academics, tech experts, and legal and transitional justice (TJ) specialists, the Hub moved past theoretical debates to focus on the operational realities of archiving, evidence-gathering, and truth-seeking in the digital age.

💭Here is what one of our participants had to say about their experience:

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘺 𝘏𝘶𝘣 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭: 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘈𝘐 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘣 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘈𝘐 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺.” –𝘒𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘏𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘵, 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴

The discussions underscored a vital truth: while AI offers unprecedented capabilities to process data and uncover patterns, its deployment must be fiercely guarded by principles of accountability, victim-centeredness, data integrity and governance, and harm mitigation.

We are excited by the outcomes of these sessions, which challenge us all to innovate safely without compromising on our responsibility to do no harm.

*

This policy hub forms part of our broader work exploring AI and emerging technology’s influence on transitional justice, and the governance challenges these developments create.

💡Find out more: bit.ly/IW-AI-TJ

Mnemonic
United Nations Human Rights
International Committee of the Red Cross - ICRC
Leibniz-Rechenzentrum der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (LRZ) of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Amnesty International
Council of Europe
Register of Damage for Ukraine - RD4U
CMI — Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation
Universidad de la República
Catholic University of Uruguay
Universidad Alberto Hurtado
Delft University of Technology
Global Campus of Human Rights
INOVAS

24/06/2026

This week in Venice, we convened a multidisciplinary policy hub with the Global Campus of Human Rights on AI, emerging technologies, & the documentation of serious human rights violations.

📜 Participants reflected on what technological developments in the field of documentation mean for victims, survivors, & accountability processes. A common theme emerged: 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡, 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.

“Participating in the Policy Hub has been a profoundly moving and eye-opening experience. It has given me the privilege of learning from voices and realities across different countries, each carrying its own history, urgency, and hope.

Engaging in these conversations has not only expanded my understanding of the complex factors that shape institutional decisions, but has also stirred a deep sense of responsibility about what is at stake. It has made me reflect more intensely on both the transformative potential and the very real risks of emerging technologies in the sensitive work of documenting human rights violations, where memory, truth, and dignity are always on the line.”

– Hugo Rojas, Professor of Transitional Justice at the Catholic University of Uruguay and Universidad Alberto Hurtado, and NuestramemorIA researcher

🚨 At the same time, important questions were raised around consent, victim agency, surveillance, data governance, synthetic media, misinformation, and the long-term control and use of testimonies. Context also matters – approaches that may be appropriate in one setting may create significant risks in another.

The strongest takeaway was the need for greater reflection, exchange, & guidance on what responsible + victim-centred use of AI should look like in TJ contexts. 🔎Learn more: bit.ly/IW-AI-TJ
*

We are grateful to all colleagues, civil society organisations, victim networks & advocates, researchers, policymakers, & human rights + TJ practitioners for sharing their expertise & experiences.

Thank you to the Global Campus of Human Rights for partnering with us - we look forward to building on the insights!

Mnemonic
United Nations Human Rights
International Committee of the Red Cross - ICRC
Leibniz-Rechenzentrum der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (LRZ) of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Amnesty International
Council of Europe
Register of Damage for Ukraine - RD4U
CMI — Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation
Universidad de la República
Catholic University of Uruguay
Universidad Alberto Hurtado
Delft University of Technology
Global Campus of Human Rights
INOVAS

19/06/2026

On the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict (June 19), we celebrate the courage, strength, and resilience of survivors who have broken the silence to hold perpetrators to account.

✊Indigenous women survivors in the Sepur Zarco and Maya Achi cases in Guatemala have led decades-long mobilisation for justice for atrocities committed during the internal armed conflict, encountering significant entrenched systemic racism in the process.

⚖️ Their tireless activism successfully secured historic verdicts – such as the recognition of sexual slavery as a war crime – with impacts that ripple beyond Guatemala.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. Survivors continue to wait for redress. In the Sepur Zarco case, this wait has been up to 10 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 after the initial sentence.

We call for the urgent implementation of all transformative reparations for survivors and their families, to and so that sexual violence in conflict is never tolerated.

👉 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦: https://www.impunitywatch.org/news-guatemala-indigenous-groups/

📢 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯: Our in-depth analysis of justice and reparations in the Sepur Zarco and Maya Achi cases in Guatemala. Stay tuned!

United Nations Human Rights Impunity Watch en Español UN Against Sexual Violence in Conflict

28/05/2026

🌎📝 wanted for our Global Comparative Study!

“𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞: 𝐉𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐜𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞”
📍Home-based, with possible field data collection
🗓️ Deadline: 11 June 2026

⚖️How do justice institutions become instruments of repression, impunity, and democratic erosion?
🪧How does this affect accountability, survivors' access to justice, and shrinking civic space?

If these questions make you want to dig deeper, this might be the research opportunity for you!

Read the full terms of reference and apply today: https://www.impunitywatch.org/join-us/join-our-team/

This global study is part of our broader work under the Global Initiative Against Impunity (GIAI), a consortium co-funded by the European Union. Find out more: https://www.impunitywatch.org/what-we-do/partners/giai/

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