Newsflash November 2025 / |

November 2025 - Get ready for the Restorative Justice Week 2025!

Check Out What's On for #RJWeek 2025!

Restorative Justice Week showcases the growing global reach of restorative justice initiatives, highlighting the dedication of local and international organisations in promoting restorative justice practices.We are excited to share updates for this year’s International Restorative Justice Week (16th-22nd of November). Our interactive map and calendar is live: you can now explore events happening globally, their descriptions, dates and locations! We are still accepting submissions, so if you have an event to contribute, please submit it through this form and check the calendar page for full details. Help us to make the overview of events complete!

Explore the Map Here

Manifesto for Restorative Justice and Human Rights

The theme for #RJWeek25 is “From Question to Principle: Embedding Restorative Justice in the Human Rights Framework.” As part of this year’s campaign, we are launching the Manifesto for Restorative Justice and Human Rights, developed in consultation with international restorative justice organisations. The Manifesto advocates for the recognition of restorative justice as an essential component of human rights, and we invite organisations to review, comment on, and endorse it. Feedback can be added to the draft until the 9th of November, and logos of endorsing organisations will be included in the final launch. The manifesto will be officially released during Restorative Justice Week, encouraging collective action and signalling a commitment to embedding restorative justice within international human rights frameworks.

View the Manifesto

Registrations Are Open for 4th Winter Academy!

Sign up now for one of the two courses of our upcoming Winter Academy! The "Advanced Restorative Justice Skills" course (with Bie Vanseveren as the lead trainer) invites participants to (re)engage with the essential principles and methods of restorative justice through a practice-oriented lens and a range of interactive exercises. This course will have a particular emphasis on the victim–offender mediation framework, one of the prevalent forms of restorative justice in Europe.
The course "Just how do you create a relational and restorative school?" guided by Chris Straker, explores practical approaches to building a thriving, restorative school culture. It offers concrete tools for every stakeholder in the education system to foster stronger relationships and community wellbeing.
Sign up now to benefit from the early bird price (until the 15th of December).

📍Leuven (Belgium), 2nd-6th February 2026.

More about the Winter Academy!

#RJWeek Teaser

Get insipired by events marking the Restorative Justice Week, including a film screening of “I Did Not See You” (18th of November, Köln), exploring accountability through restorative justice in Switzerland; Victimological Encounter (18th of November, San Sebastián), hosted by the Restorative Justice Theory & Practice Lab at the University of the Basque Country, marking the 40th anniversary of the 1985 UN Declaration on Justice for Victims and addressing gender violence, abuse of power, and restorative responses within victims’ rights frameworks; and the AFRJ International Webinar on Restorative Policing (17th of November, online) featuring leading voices such as Professor John Braithwaite and Professor Ian Marder. These are just a few of the many activities and events in store, as many more screenings, dialogues, and community actions will be announced as we approach #RJWeek 2025. Send us the details of of your event, so we can promote it as well!

Discover More Events!

Cartagena Declaration: The Human Right to Restorative Justice (Oct. 2022)

A crucial basis for this year’s campaign is The Cartagena Declaration: The Human Right to Restorative Justice, adopted within the framework of the IV Latin American Congress on Restorative Justice, held on the 20th-21st of October, 2022. The Declaration remains a landmark reference in our advocacy for the recognition of restorative justice as a concrete instrument to uphold human rights. It affirms core principles such as human dignity, freedom to decide, the right to be heard, and the right to live free from violence. Restorative justice is presented as a transformative practice to strengthen democratic participation, empower communities, and rebuild social bonds. The Declaration thus provides the philosophical and ethical foundation for our manifesto and the wider #RJWeek25 campaign, reinforcing the connection between restorative justice and human rights.

Look Out for the Magazine on Human Rights and Restorative Justice!

Similarly to last year we busy preparing a Magazin exploring Human Rights and Restorative Justice, this year's #RJWeek the will also feature a special Magazine focused on restorative justice testimonies and advocacy. This edition will spotlight individuals with lived experience, professionals, and advocates explaining why access to restorative justice must be recognised as central to upholding human rights frameworks. Excerpts from the magazine will be shared throughout #RJWeek, with the full publication released on the 10th of December 2025 (International Human Rights Day). In the meantime, you can browse through last year’s magazine edition to revisit the stories and insights that continue to inspire our collective call for change.

Supporting Resources for #RJWeek25

Among the resources on our site, you will find that this year’s academic discourse also highlights the legal and conceptual integration of restorative justice into human rights frameworks. The article “Conceptualising and Assessing a Human Right to Access Restorative Justice in European Criminal Law” (M. Susi & I. Marder, 2025 ) explores how restorative justice processes could be recognised as a self-standing human right within European law, underpinned by principles of privacy, reputation, and access to an effective remedy. Such work strengthens the argument for policy integration, including revisions to the EU Victims’ Rights Directive and potential soft law adoption by the Council of Europe, and underscores the global relevance of #RJWeek initiatives.

Join us in Leuven for the REstART Festival!

As tickets are selling out quickly, if you’re planning to come to Leuven, now is the moment to sign up for REstART – the Festival on the Art of Justice, Dialogue & Repair, taking place from the 6th to the 9th of December (preceded by an opening event in Brussels on the 5th of December).
This five-day international festival features performing arts, short films, immersive exhibitions and interactive workshops that explore how creativity can renew narratives of justice and repair. You will discover powerful stories of transformation, dialogue and human connection in restorative justice — there’s something for everyone!
Important: If you buy a festival pass, you’ll get access to all events only until they are fully booked. Don’t forget to register for each event that interests you, even if you hold a pass!

REstART

In our newsflashes we share the most interesting and relevant updated about our work and collect information from our members and other individuals and/or organisations working in related fields. Information includes news, local activities, international events, publications, inspiring talks or projects, and much more, taking place in Europe and beyond. Please contact us if you have any comments or any news you would like us to share in our future editions. You can enjoy the previous editions of the EFRJ Newsflashes here. Feel free to forward them to friends or colleagues and invite them to sign up on the EFRJ website!

European Forum for Restorative Justice vzw
Herbert Hooverplein 10, Leuven 3000, BE
RPR Leuven
Company number: 0474 656 137
euforumrj.org