Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation
Encyclopedia
The Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation (IHJR) is a nonprofit, educational organization located in The Hague
, The Netherlands. The IHJR was founded in 2004 as a project of the Salzburg Global Seminar by Elazar Barkan (professor and co-director of the Center for Human Rights at Columbia University
) and Timothy W. Ryback (deputy secretary general of the Académie Diplomatique Internationale in Paris). In 2008 the IHJR became an independent organization and settled in The Hague. The IHJR continues to work in partnership with the Salzburg Global Seminar. Under Dutch law, the IHJR is a "stichting" (non-profit foundation) eligible to receive charitable donations. The IHJR is also incorporated in the State of New York as a nonprofit organization.
conflicts today are rooted in unresolved historical disputes and injustices. Such events are often misunderstood and manipulated to serve political ends. Patriotic histories and nationalistic myths often serve public propaganda
to fuel prejudice, ethnic hatred and aggressive nationalist sentiments. The IHJR believes that reconciliation, tolerance and understanding of "the other
" can be promoted by confronting and overcoming distortions of historical reality. To achieve this, the IHJR engages respected scholars and public opinion leaders from opposing sides of a conflict to work in cooperation to create and disseminate shared historical narratives that provide reliable facts and commentary as a basis for public debate and discussion. In doing so, the institute and participants in its projects hope to contribute to laying the groundwork for stable peace. In 2007, the IHJR helped local scholars from the former Yugoslavia
establish the Center for History, Democracy and Reconciliation in Novi Sad
, Serbia
.
International criminal tribunals
for Rwanda
and the former Yugoslavia.
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, The Netherlands. The IHJR was founded in 2004 as a project of the Salzburg Global Seminar by Elazar Barkan (professor and co-director of the Center for Human Rights at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
) and Timothy W. Ryback (deputy secretary general of the Académie Diplomatique Internationale in Paris). In 2008 the IHJR became an independent organization and settled in The Hague. The IHJR continues to work in partnership with the Salzburg Global Seminar. Under Dutch law, the IHJR is a "stichting" (non-profit foundation) eligible to receive charitable donations. The IHJR is also incorporated in the State of New York as a nonprofit organization.
Vision and mission
The IHJR assumes that many ethnic and nationalistNationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
conflicts today are rooted in unresolved historical disputes and injustices. Such events are often misunderstood and manipulated to serve political ends. Patriotic histories and nationalistic myths often serve public propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
to fuel prejudice, ethnic hatred and aggressive nationalist sentiments. The IHJR believes that reconciliation, tolerance and understanding of "the other
Other
The Other or Constitutive Other is a key concept in continental philosophy; it opposes the Same. The Other refers, or attempts to refer, to that which is Other than the initial concept being considered...
" can be promoted by confronting and overcoming distortions of historical reality. To achieve this, the IHJR engages respected scholars and public opinion leaders from opposing sides of a conflict to work in cooperation to create and disseminate shared historical narratives that provide reliable facts and commentary as a basis for public debate and discussion. In doing so, the institute and participants in its projects hope to contribute to laying the groundwork for stable peace. In 2007, the IHJR helped local scholars from the former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
establish the Center for History, Democracy and Reconciliation in Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
.
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee of the IHJR is chaired by Richard J. Goldstone, co-chairman of the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association and former chief prosecutor of the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
International criminal tribunals
International court
International courts are formed by treaties between nations, or under the authority of an international organization such as the United Nations — this includes ad hoc tribunals and permanent institutions, but excludes any courts arising purely under national authority.Early examples of...
for Rwanda
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 955 in order to judge people responsible for the Rwandan Genocide and other serious violations of international law in Rwanda, or by Rwandan...
and the former Yugoslavia.