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Restorative Justice Week 2025

16th-22nd November 2025

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From Question to Principle: Embedding Restorative Justice in the Human Rights

International Restorative Justice Week 2025 Embedding Restorative Justice in the Human Rights

In 2025 the international Restorative Justice Week campaign centres around the call for recognising restorative justice as a means to uphold human rights and the recognition of access to restorative justice as an inherent component of existing justice human rights.
 

In recent years, there has been a growing movement within the wider restorative justice field to link the values of restorative justice with international and regional human rights standards. This year's campaign builds on the work of numerous international restorative justice organisations and professionals anchoring restorative justice in the human rights framework. The theme for this year's campaign was identified collaboratively with restorative justice organisations across the globe. 

We invite you to join our call for recognising restorative justice in the international human rights framework. You can take the following steps: 

  • Sign and share Manifesto for Restorative Justice and Human Rights (launched on the 18th of November, during the Restorative Justice Week).  
  • Join international Restorative Justice Week campaign! Communicate about it and organise your own event/campaign actions for the week! 
  • Get in touch with stakeholders, such as human rights organisations in your country and tell them about the campaign or organise a talk with them. They can also share messages about restorative justice during the week, endorse and sign the Manifesto once it is launched!  
  • Tell us the details of your #RJWeek event so we can include it overview of global intiatives happening during that week. 

Sign up for our Newsflashes and follow us on social media (@euforumrj) to get more updates! 

Manifesto launch

Manifesto for Restorative Justice and Human Rights

We imagine societies where restorative values, approaches and practices are integral to the protection of human dignity; where individuals and communities can seek repair over retaliation; and where human rights are lived through processes that restore relationships, strengthen social bonds and cultivate peace.

We therefore call for recognising restorative justice as a means to uphold human rights, and for the recognition of access to restorative justice as an inherent component of existing justice-related human rights.

Embedding restorative justice within the human rights framework yields two key benefits:

  • I. Upholding human rights: It positions restorative justice as a powerful tool for the implementation and realisation of existing human rights, promoting a more inclusive, people-centred, and effective justice system that truly serves the needs of individuals and communities.
  • II. Strengthening global commitment to accessibility to restorative justice: It reinforces international support for universal access to restorative justice values, approaches, and practices, rooted in the right to fair, equal, and non-discriminatory access to justice. This ensures that access to restorative processes becomes a right for all, not a privilege for a few.
Restorative Juice and Human Rights Magazine cover

Restorative Justice and Human Rights Magazine

This publication presents, in a meaningful and accessible way, the significance of restorative justice in the context of human rights. It features stories from people who have participated in restorative justice and what it has meant to them, as well as experts in the field, policy makers, and a human rights expert who explain why restorative justice needs to be universally accessible to everyone. 

(EN) Cartagena Declaration: The Human Right to Restorative Justice (unofficial translation)

Declaracion de Cartagena el derecho humano a la justicia restaurativa

Kathmandu Declaration on the Right to Restorative Justice

2018

Restorative Justice and Human Rights

EFRJ Working Paper, 2024

Restorative Justice and Human Rights Magazine

Digital version, 10th December 2025