Impunity Watch

🌎📝 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/

📰 New Attorney General appointed in Guatemala, Porras’ disastrous tenure ended 🇬🇹

On 17 May, Gabriel García Luna was appointed as Guatemala’s new Attorney General, sparking hopes for change in the system ⚖️

“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 ‌𝘵𝘰 ⁠𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥.” —𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘉𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘰 𝘈𝘳é𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘰

This comes after the disastrous tenure of the outgoing Attorney General Consuelo Porras – who has been sanctioned by more than 40 countries for undermining and the .

𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 94% 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐬’ 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲. (Source: ‘Efficiency or Impunity’, INECIP 2025)

The new Attorney General will face major challenges in restoring judicial independence and rebuilding public confidence in the justice system. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e6tKBuPR


Watch en Español

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.

A new position paper, led by 18 Syrian organisations and supported by Impunity Watch, further underlines that 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐬’ 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐒𝐎 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, not merely a technical or advisory contribution. It reminds the Commission of the importance and urgency of:

🔵 Adopting and publishing a comprehensive TJ strategy within a clear timeframe
🔵 Establishing regular, transparent mechanisms for evaluation and review of the Commission's work
🔵 Establishing communication, consultation, and coordination between the Commission and civil society and victims’ associations

🔗Download the paper in English and Arabic: https://www.impunitywatch.org/syria-position-paper-nctj/

Victims’ associations working together as the Truth and Justice Charter also published a statement expressing their concerns about the progress on the TJ process. They fear the environment in which the Commission is operating does not meaningfully support the independence or initiative required to pursue strategic, inclusive, and non-discriminatory transitional justice processes.

🔗 Their statement urges the Commission to maximise Syrians’ ownership of the process: https://hevdesti.org/en/statement-on-the-emerging-landscape-of-transitional-justice-in-syria

In March 2026, the Netherlands' Human Rights Ambassador, Wim Geerts visited Guatemala to:

🌟Celebrate 200 years of bilateral relations and support the fight for and the rule of law
✊Visit criminalised human rights defenders, including Indigenous leaders, and express concern for their persecution for resisting corruption

“𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺, 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴’ 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘺. 𝘞𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘷𝘶𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.” –𝘞𝘪𝘮 𝘎𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘈𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘳

Ambassador Geerts' visit comes at a timely moment, in the midst of crucial elections to rescue and restore the country's justice system. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/evdMSRvV


Embajada de los Países Bajos en Costa Rica Impunity Watch en Español

Statement | We are proud to join 94 Syrian and international organisations in welcoming the renewal of the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry on at the .

We underscore the continued importance of the Commission’s investigations, public reporting, and efforts to support , and in ensuring the meaningful, inclusive, and safe participation of victims in the process.

Read the full statement in English or Arabic: https://www.impunitywatch.org/statement-syria-coi/

Amnesty International The Day After TDA اليوم التالي Women Now For Development Taafi Initiative The Syria Campaign تآزر - Synergy دولتي اللوبي النسوي السوري - Syrian feminist Lobby SLDP

Statement: Renewal of the Mandate of the COI on Syria We welcome the renewal of the mandate of the International Commission of Inquiry on Syria at the 61st Session of the Human Rights Council.

✊𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐬, 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 | A roundup of the latest stories at Impunity Watch

🔹𝘎𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘢: 𝘕𝘰 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴

Justice for the internal armed conflict starts with comprehensive reparations for over 200,00 victims and their families, a majority of whom are Indigenous Maya.

On the National Day of Dignity for Victims of the Internal Armed Conflict, President Bernardo Arévalo announced the creation of the ‘Reparation and Dignity Plan’ (2026-2036), emphasising that “it is not enough for the commitments to remain on paper; the plan must be put into action to reach the victims most in need.”

Meanwhile, reparations remain pending for survivors of sexual violence and domestic slavery against Indigenous women involved in both the emblematic Sepur Zarco and Maya Achi cases.

🗞️https://www.impunitywatch.org/news-guatemala-indigenous-groups/

🔹𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦
The African Union Transitional Justice Policy (AUTJP) provides a framework to address past historical injustices and promote sustainable peace across the continent. Yet, its technical language limits the participation, influence, and ownership that young people can have on TJ processes.

We are proud to showcase a youth-friendly, accessible version of the AUTJP. This resource aims to support young Africans as active agents in carrying forward justice, accountability, and reconciliation in Africa.

The resource was launched with AU member states, the diplomatic community, and international organisations, and accompanied by practical training with youth leaders and civil society organisations.

🗞️https://www.impunitywatch.org/what-we-do/themes/youth-participation/youth-friendly-autjp/

🔹𝘛𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘢: 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮-𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦

Across 62,000+ documented cases of widespread human rights violations, women victims in Tunisia remain underrepresented in truth-seeking processes and decision-making spaces.

During a reflective workshop, participants shared that in the absence of effective accountability mechanisms, justice for many women continues primarily through informal, community-based practices.

Establishing women’s networks and preserving memory through oral testimony and artistic expression are means to safeguard dignity, prevent erasure, and establish a permanent feminist narrative.

Women must remain at the centre of these processes as knowledge holders and political actors, not just as victims.

🗞️https://www.impunitywatch.org/news-tunisia-women-victims/

🗣️𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐈 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐲?

At our recent Policy Hub in Berlin, we brought together a multidisciplinary group of practitioners, researchers, and experts in partnership with the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge.

🧠The diversity of expertise spanned the areas of law, AI and human-computer interaction, anthropology, digital heritage, media and memory studies, journalism, and transitional justice.

Perspectives were shared from Syria, Poland, the Balkans and Chile, enabling a rich and cross-contextual exchange. Participants highlighted:

❗The complexity of applying these technologies in sensitive contexts, pointing to the need for careful governance, inclusive processes, and ongoing ethical reflection
❗The need for more specific guidance on the use of AI and emerging technologies in transitional justice contexts, validating our ongoing work and strategic focus in this area

Discussions uncovered a shared understanding around the importance of 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐬.

💡 Find out more: https://lnkd.in/e3zbtHtk

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The hub marked an important step in building a collaborative space for continued exchange and policy development. We thank colleagues from institutions such as the University of Cambridge (Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence), the University of Sussex (Landecker Digital Memory Lab), the The University of Edinburgh, Durham University, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, and the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre, as well as the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews for their participation.

The hub also brought together representatives from the Trust Fund for Victims at the ICC, the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), the Data & Society Research Institute, the Stiftung Erinnerung, Verantwortung und Zukunft (EVZ), the Syria Prisons Museum, and Nuestra MemorIA in Chile.

This week, Dutch Human Rights Ambassador Wim Geerts visited Luis Pacheco & Héctor Chaclán, leaders who have been illegally criminalised for peacefully defending in .

🇳🇱 The Netherlands supports their fight for and re-affirms its commitment against their unjust imprisonment.

Find out how their persecution violates the rights of the Indigenous Peoples of Guatemala 🔗 https://www.impunitywatch.org/news-persecution-indigenous-leaders-guatemala/

Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken Impunity Watch en Español