Title: Pursuing Justice for Mass Atrocities: A Handbook for Victim Groups
Author: Sarah McIntosh
Publication: March 2021
Available in: English, Arabic, French, Russian, Ukrainian
Pursuing Justice for Mass Atrocities: A Handbook for Victim Groups provides guidance on what victim groups can do to advance justice efforts during and in the aftermath of genocide and related crimes against humanity. This groundbreaking educational resource draws on dozens of real-life examples and expert interviews to offer practical advice and strategic insights in clear and accessible language.
Description
The Handbook is an educational guide for victim groups on pursuing justice for genocide and related crimes against humanity. It presents a fresh perspective on victim-led justice efforts and argues that by coming together as a group or coalition victims’ demands for justice are harder for decision-makers to ignore. To learn more about how to use the Handbook, please visit the Frequently Asked Questions. The FAQ page also includes an instructional video.
The Handbook is designed to be read cover-to-cover but readers may want to focus on specific chapters based on their needs and interests:
The Introduction provides an overview of the topics, identifies the intended audiences, and defines key terms used throughout; it also discusses survivor group efforts to advance transitional justice after the Holocaust
Chapter 1: Pursuing and using transitional justice measures discusses how transitional justice works and the role that victim groups can play in advancing different transitional justice measures
Chapter 2: Using law to access justice and accountability for mass atrocities provides an overview of different legal options and discusses what victim groups can do to initiate and participate in cases
Chapter 3: Building sustainable victim-centered coalitions discusses the benefits and challenges of forming a victim-centered coalition and offers some tips for working as a victim-centered coalition for justice
Chapter 4: Gathering and sharing information offers advice on the kinds information that victim groups can gather to help advance justice efforts for genocide and related crimes against humanity other than evidence about specific crimes
Chapter 5: Advocating for justice with political and diplomatic actors canvases topics from developing clear and strategic policy requests that are tailored to specific decision-makers to maintaining pressure on decision-makers to advance justice over the long-term
Chapter 6: Advocating publicly for justice through strategic communications discusses how victim groups can develop messages about the need for justice for public audience and how they can reach and influence the intended audience
Chapter 7: Anticipating and mitigating the risks and challenges for pursuing justice discusses some of the common risks that victim groups may face and strategies for overcoming them Note: Risks associated with gathering information are discussed separately in Chapter 4
Chapter 8: Securing funding and support for victim groups to lead justice projects aims to help victim groups to identify the kinds of support they need to advance their justice effort, to find donors and organizations that can provide this support, to develop proposals for obtaining funding or support, and to maintain relationships with donors
Appendix I: Organizations and experts provides a list of experts and organizations that work in this area and can provide further information Note: The Museum does not have a professional affiliation with these organizations, and their views do not necessarily reflect those of the Museum
Appendix II: Resources and further reading offers a list of additional resources that victim groups may consult on the topics discussed in the Handbook. New resources will be added to an online version of Appendix II.
Other Languages
The Handbook is also available in Arabic, French, Russian, and Ukrainian.
السعي إلى تحقيق العدالة ضد الفظائع الجماعية: كتيب لمجموعات الضحايا
En quête de justice pour les atrocités de masse: manuel pour les groupes de victimes
Please email questions about the Handbook to genocideprevention@ushmm.org.
This Section
Find information on historical cases of genocide and other atrocities.