Dear Friends,
PJI is bringing justice home!
As democracy and respect for human rights are facing global threats, PJI is staying the course for justice. In the countries where we work, thanks to all of our many partners, the brave victims willing to speak out, and your support, we’re witnessing moments of accountability for those who once committed atrocities without any fear of consequences. Today, we wish to share a few of these historic victories from around the globe. While there are ever-increasing obstacles, it is important to celebrate these hard-won milestones.
We’re deeply grateful to all of you for helping us stay the course and build this progress. Thank you for being a member of our community; your support of every kind makes this vital work possible.
PJI Annual Report
Updates from Around the World
- • Colombia
- • Eurojust
- • Guatemala
- • Kenya
- • Kosovo
- • North Korea
- • Slavery Crimes Policy
- • Sri Lanka
- • Ukraine
PJI Annual Report
With profound thanks to our dedicated funders and partners, we’re pleased to share our Annual Report for January-December 2024, which includes an overview of the impacts we’ve made together.
Thank you!
Updates from Around the World
In Alphabetical Order
PJI is proud of our contributions, but it is our local colleagues and the victims they represent who are truly responsible for these accomplishments. For in-depth information on the situation in each country and our incredible partners, please click the Learn More links.
A Welcome Victory
On 10 June 2024, in a case led by EarthRights International, a Florida jury found Chiquita Brands International legally responsible for paramilitary killings, awarding the surviving family members over $38 million in damages. PJI intervened multiple times in support of the victims in this extraterritorial litigation.
Far Reaching Impact
In November and December 2024, PJI provided three days of training for the Eurojust analysis team that’s working on core international crimes committed in the Russia-Ukraine war. Using Ukraine as a starting point, all governments in Europe are collaborating on this analysis through Eurojust, which increases the possibility of justice for fugitive war criminals across Europe.
A Glimmer of Hope
Newly elected President Arévalo has an apparent openness toward international crimes accountability. His election has cracked open a window of opportunity for cases to move forward, but it’s still very much an uphill battle against pro-military government factions and others who would undermine accountability.
PJI returned to Guatemala in February 2025 to determine if and how we could be of further assistance. After multi-stakeholder consultations with numerous civil society organisations, government agencies, and UN bodies, we look forward to supporting our colleagues’ ongoing work when we return to Guatemala in October 2025.
Historic Progress
Kenya’s first-ever domestic crimes against humanity case is finally moving forward toward trial. Police officers accused of having committed crimes against humanity in the Baby Pendo case entered their pleas before the Milimani High Court in Nairobi on 5 May 2025. In partnership with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, PJI has been supporting our local colleagues in the Baby Pendo case since 2019. We applaud the tenacity and bravery of the Pendo family, as well as the many survivors of torture and sexual violence in this case, who are finally one step closer to getting their day in court.
From Zero to Sixty
When PJI began our collaborative work in Kosovo with numerous partners, there were no conflict-related sexual violence cases being prosecuted in Kosovo’s national courts. Now, thanks to the work of local professionals and the courage of the survivors, there are more than 60!
In March 2025, PJI returned to Kosovo to provide further training and technical support for local practitioners working to gather evidence and prepare thousands of cases involving conflict-related sexual violence and other international crimes from the 1999 war.
An Untimely Pause
Just as we were on the brink of tangible criminal accountability for North Korea’s decades of human rights abuses, the bulk of PJI’s funding was halted and we had to pause our North Korea work. However, we’re deeply proud of the brilliant advocacy and investigative work of our longtime partners, Citizens Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (Citizens Alliance), which brought the project so close to success.
In November 2024, Citizens Alliance published a report based on our collaboration: Made in China: How Global Supply Chain Fuels Slavery in North Korea’s Prison Camps – The Case of Chongori Kyohwaso No.12. PJI also participated in the making of a documentary film highlighting the ongoing atrocities in North Korea, and the supply chain that provides support for the regime and its crimes.
Raising the Bar
On 2 December 2024, the International Criminal Court Office of the Prosecutor adopted a new Slavery Crimes Policy — the first-ever commitment by an international judicial institution to formally address slavery crimes. On 11 December 2024, in the first public discussion following the policy’s launch, PJI facilitated and co-sponsored a webinar entitled “A New Policy on Slavery Crimes at the ICC: What Difference Will it Make?”
A Big Victory
After years of work by the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP), and following PJI’s work with ITJP on a related submission, on 24 March 2025 the United Kingdom (UK) sanctioned four individuals responsible for serious human rights abuses during the Sri Lankan civil war. The UK is one of the main countries where thousands of victims from this war sought shelter. The sanctions, which include travel bans and asset freezes, are an important step toward long-awaited accountability for extrajudicial killings, torture, and sexual violence, among other serious human rights violations.
Impact from International Aid Freeze
From February 2023 to March 2024, PJI partnered with the Global Initiative for Justice, Truth and Reconciliation, an international consortium providing support for on-the-ground investigators pursuing accountability for war crimes and grave human rights abuses committed during the ongoing war. PJI accompanied documenters investigating international crimes including conflict-related sexual violence crimes and crimes against children. After the project ended, in collaboration with the International Partnership for Human Rights, PJI continued supporting the ongoing documentation into early 2025. However, due to the U.S. freeze on all foreign aid, the project was abruptly halted and ultimately cancelled. Our colleagues recently published a report based on their investigation, which is also hoped to lead to prosecutions in Ukraine.
Thank you for being allies, supporters, and invaluable members of the PJI community. With you by our side, we are rekindling hope for survivors around the world.
Many thanks,
Kathy Roberts and Max Marcus
Co-Founders, Partners in Justice International
