ICTJ President Alex Boraine traveled to Belfast in June 2001 to meet with members of government and civil society. He played a central role in establishing a local NGO, Healing Through Remembering, with a mandate to work with government, religious representatives, and civil society to develop strategies to respond constructively to past conflict. During his visits, he met with key members of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Protestant and Catholic prisoners' organizations, and local nongovernmental organizations. Dr. Boraine again visited Belfast in the fall of 2001 to meet with the Board of Directors of Healing Through Remembering as it devised a plan of action for addressing the legacy of past crimes. Other ICTJ staff members also visited Northern Ireland in the fall to give a number of presentations on transitional justice issues.
In May 2002, ICTJ staff attended a seminar organized by the University of Ulser to address the viability of a truth commission in Northern Ireland. The Center also met with senior representatives of both loyalist and republican traditions to discuss their views of the transition in Northern Ireland, and with victims' groups and legal representatives to discuss legal strategies in the context of transitions.
The ICTJ notes with interest the apology the IRA issued to noncombatants in 2002. The Center has continued to consult with relevant parties and monitor developments in Northern Ireland in an effort to identify and support the most appropriate ways to deal with the legacy of past violence.
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