| European Forum for Restorative Justice

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Manifesto

For Restorative Justice and Human Rights

Restorative Justice Week 2025 | November 18th, 2025

Manifesto for Restorative Justice and Human Rights

Launched on the 18th of November 2025 on the occasion of the 2025 Restorative Justice Week. This PDF version is updated with the signatures that we received until the day of the launch.

A Magazine that accompanies the Manifesto

The Restorative Justice and Human Rights Magazine (launched on 10th December 2025) gives the background to the Manifesto explaining why restorative justice matters for human rights in a meaningful and accessible way through testimonies, reports, and other easy-to-read articles.  

Preamble

Restorative justice offers a vision of justice rooted in dignity, participation, responsibility and repair. This approach aligns closely with both the fundamental principles of human rights and the growing global movement towards people-centred justice. Restorative justice offers a holistic, people-centred approach to justice that grants agency and dignity to those who have suffered or caused harm, and their wider communities addressing the needs of all stakeholders. Restorative justice recognises that harm is relational. It places those affected by harm at the centre. It supports their right to be heard, the right to meaningful participation, and the right to seek remedy. It promotes responsibility-taking by the individual who caused the harm, repair of harm, reintegration, and social cohesion. It protects the inherent dignity of every human being involved.

Despite this, access to restorative justice is not provided equally, leaving many excluded from this path. We strive for an equal and voluntary access to restorative justice for every person, at any time and in any case.

Call

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.
Manifesto for Restorative Justice and Human Rights

I. Upholding Human Rights

1) Upholding Human Dignity

The principle of dignity is a cornerstone of the human rights’ framework, as emphasised in the preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and in Article 1, which declares that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”. Mainstream justice systems, traditionally focused predominantly on legal guilt and punishment, often fail to uphold and protect the rights and dignity of those who have experienced or caused harm. Restorative justice, by contrast, protects the inherent dignity of every individual. It provides the person harmed with a voice, the person who caused harm a chance to take responsibility, and communities a role in healing.

The United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Restorative Justice Programmes in Criminal Matters[1] affirms this, stating that “restorative justice respects the dignity and equality of each person, builds understanding, and promotes social harmony through the healing of victims, offenders and communities.” By aligning with standards such as the Nelson Mandela Rules[2], and equipping individuals who caused harm with interpersonal and emotional skills, restorative justice operationalises these international standards, offering a justice framework that protects dignity and promotes reintegration into society. As a people-centred practice, it also works to overcome systemic barriers to access to fair and equal justice based on a person’s race, sex, gender, language, religion, political opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or any other status (UDHR, Article 2 and 5).

2) Reinforcing Justice-Related Human Rights

Restorative justice achieves justice in ways that respect and reinforce core rights articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This includes freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment (UDHR, Article 5); the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law (UDHR, Article 6); the right of equality before the law without discrimination (UDHR, Article 7).

Restorative justice also promotes the right to an effective remedy (UDHR, Article 8) and the right to a fair trial (UDHR, Article 10) by offering a more flexible and individualised approach to justice, ensuring proportionate outcomes tailored to the context of each case. By giving voice to each party involved, it upholds the right to freedom of expression (UDHR, Article 19). Additionally, restorative justice provides a pathway to address systemic challenges such as court delays and backlogs, alleviating pressure on formal systems while promoting timely and effective justice, supporting the duties to the community, respect for the rights and freedoms of others, and meeting the just requirements of morality of public order and general welfare in a democratic society (UDHR, Article 29).

3) Supporting Other Human Rights

As an empirically proven tool for both preventing and repairing harm, restorative justice is an indispensable mechanism for protecting and addressing violations of human rights. These include, but are not limited to: the right to life, liberty and security of person (UDHR, Article 3); the right to own property (UDHR, Article 17); the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion (UDHR, Article 18).

4) Specific Applications: The Rights of the Child and Indigenous and Cultural Rights

Restorative justice is widely recognised as a more effective approach for children in contact with the law than retributive systems. The Committee on the Rights of the Child General Comment No. 24 on children’s rights in the child justice system underscores the importance of restorative justice in this context.[3]

Additionally, many restorative justice practices are rooted in Indigenous justice approaches. By aligning with the principles of cultural integrity, self-determination, and respect for traditional practices, restorative justice offers a culturally sensitive approach that respects diversity and avoids imposing dominant legal frameworks on Indigenous communities.

II. Access to Restorative Justice as an Inherent Right

While restorative justice is a clear means to uphold human rights, current access is limited by restrictive legal frameworks, selective referral mechanisms, and a lack of well-funded, high-quality services and public education. Therefore, universal access to restorative justice must be recognised as a right in order to ensure individuals are entitled to free and equal access to justice. Without providing this access, the rights to access to justice and a fair process cannot be fully achieved.

This Manifesto builds on the Cartagena Declaration (on restorative justice)[4], which outlines restorative justice access as a human right.

Issued by the IV. Latin American Congress on Restorative Justice in 2022, the Cartagena Declaration outlines this right as being closely aligned with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, encompassing the rights to dignity and equal treatment, the freedom to participate in the resolution of a conflict through a restorative process, and the right to express oneself and be heard. It calls for the acknowledgement of the restorative approach as a new paradigm for societies that enables the strengthening of social bonds and the construction of a society permeated by a culture of peace.

Call for Action

We call on all actors — including States, human rights institutions, restorative justice practitioners, civil society and academia — to:

  • Publicly endorse this Manifesto and the Cartagena Declaration.
  • Build formal dialogue between restorative justice and human rights organisations.
  • Integrate restorative justice within human rights strategies, standards and instruments.
  • Embed restorative justice as a rights-based option at every stage of the justice continuum.
  • Initiate, collect and disseminate more empirical evidence and encourage new research and evaluation.
  • Invest in high-quality, accessible restorative justice services for all.
  • Commission, generate and disseminate robust evidence to inform policy and practice.
  • Engage regional and international human rights mechanisms (including the European Union, United Nations, Council of Europe) to promote recognition and implementation.

Notes

  1. United Nations Economic and Social Council Resolution 2002/12, annex, para 1.
  2. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2015). The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
  3. United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (2019). General comment No. 24 on children’s rights in the child justice system.
  4. IV. Congreso Latinoamericano de Justicia Restaurativa (2022). Declaracion de Cartagena El derecho humano a la Justicia Restaurativa. Retrieved on November 10th, 2025 from: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ClXNLEw8-Y6n84Ekkpn53DjjRuFIQyQC/view.

Signatories

Organisations

Individuals

  • Arianna Fioravanti
  • Annegrete Johanson
  • Antonio Turco
  • Breanna Fernandes
  • Dr Annemieke Wolthuis
  • Dr Bart Claes
  • Dr Belinda Hopkins
  • Dr Camilo Umaña Hernández
  • Dr Clair Aldington
  • Dr Daniel Achutti
  • Dr Dobrinka Chankova
  • Dr Ian Marder
  • Dr Ivo Aertsen
  • Dr Jane Anderson
  • Dr Mart Susi
  • Dr Patrizia Patrizi
  • Erika Magyar
  • Francesca Mambro
  • Gert Jan Slump (criminologist)
  • Giovanni Antonio Addis
  • Laura Mooiman
  • Lucy Jaffé
  • Nkoskhona Ngozo
  • Porzia Addabbo
  • Silvina Andrea Alonso
  • Tim Chapman
  • Tomáš Horeháj
  • Valerio Fioravanti
  • Ms Arti Mohan
  • Mr Christopher Straker (consultant and trainer)
  • Michal Čipka (social worker)
  • Virginia Domingo de la Fuente (restorative justice practitioner)
  • Kerachka Mihael (mediator)
  • Alberto Olalde (lecturer of social work - University of Basque Country)
  • Maria Petkova
  • Tamas Turcsanyi (manager)
  • Zvezditsa Peneva-Kovacheva (social worker; educator)
  • Sophie Stremersch (counselor)
  • Elena Evstatieva
  • Jaume Martin (retired)
  • Monique Van der Zouw (lawyer and substitute judge)
  • Valentina Bonini (associate professor of criminal procedure)
  • Matthew James Ross (abolitionist social worker)
  • Dr Lindsey Pointer
  • Emilie Le Port (coordinator of a regional restorative justice service in France)
  • Liliana Agredo Ramírez (specialised professional)
  • María Claudia Romero Campo (environmental technology professional)
  • Christoph Willms (criminologist, mediator & social worker)
  • Alejandra Díaz Gude (lawyer and mediator)
  • Rita Mako (lawyer)
  • Eleonora Georgieva (social psychologist, trainer, mediator)
  • Andrea Déri-Popper
  • Judit Paulheim (mediator)
  • Anett Juhász-Gelencsér (social pedagogue, criminal pedagogue)
  • Krisztina Tóth (school social helper)
  • Krisztina Bajmóczi
  • Dr Radoslav Ovedenski (jurist)
  • Péter Mikó (social worker, mediator)
  • Dr Carlos Silva (researcher and state judge in Brazil)
  • Maria Karina Echazu (lawyer)
  • Zsofia Toth (psychologist)
  • Karlo Lukanov (lawyer)
  • Femke Wijdekop (lawyer)
  • Jorge Luis Barroso González (professor and lawyer)
  • Jorge Ollero Perán
  • Sylvie Nicole (senior rule of law expert)
  • Anna Gmurowska (mediator, academic teacher, prison service officer from Poland)
  • Carme Guil Roman (magistrate)
  • Brooke Albert
  • Daniela Bolivar
  • Mel Powell (restorative justice facilitator)
  • Pia Francesca Gonzalez (restorative justice convenor & victim liaison officer - Queensland Department of Justice)
  • Margaret Wesley (Anglican priest)
  • Catherine Mérigay
  • Marlon Mendes Capinha
  • Pavol Vančo (social worker)
  • Pauline McMillan
  • Hailin Reyes Gutiérrez (criminal lawyer / auxiliary magistrate of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace - Jep Colombia)
  • Julie Clark (head of service for restorative justice)
  • Dave Walker (mediator)
  • Alison Hewit (coordinator/training mediation)
  • Yuliana Mateeva (vice-president of the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria)
  • Jeniffer Natalia Zemanate González (abogada)
  • Charlie Greene (forest engineer)
  • Catherine Ginisty (mediator)
  • Mel Bruce
  • John Naldrett (CEO)
  • Elizabeth Paterson (neighbour mediation case coordinator)
  • Camille Prive
  • Zoe King (restorative justice practitioner)
  • Kirsty Ainge (horticulturist)
  • Edward Procter (restorative justice consultant)
  • Bruno Bernardo Haacke (writer)
  • Daniel Ruiz (academic)
  • Nikoletta Valentin-Gyurics
  • Stephan Parmentier (professor)
  • Maia Chochua (vice chair - European Forum for Restorative Justice)
  • Barbro Widing (freelance mediator)
  • Tina Jammaers (lecturer university college)
  • Dr. Beate Ehret (senior associate, Motra Consortium, Germany)
  • Angelica Slögs (education specialist, non-military service centre)
  • Anna Dev-Halonen
  • Wagenda Sylvestre
  • Joe Cole
  • Mya Gibbs
  • Elaine Roca Aguiar (mediator and facilitator of restorative justice programmes)
  • Valerie Bloom
  • Paul Leese
  • Nirson Medeiros da Silva Neto (professor)
  • Cietta Penn (restorative justice, West Hawaii)
  • Laurel Berzanskis
  • Simona Vasileva (mediator, youth worker)
  • Laura Schmidt (PhD student)
  • Sorina Serbotei
  • Claudia Christen-Schneider
  • Hon Prof Dr Amb Mbe Cpa Shainul Bhanji Phd, Msc (seasoned consultant)
  • Annette Marinova (psychologist)
  • Cristina Vasilescu (policy analyst and evaluator)
  • Marlee Liss (RSW, author & speaker on restorative justice)
  • Phil Burdick
  • Martin Lýsek (judge)
  • Bertie Ferdman (professor)
  • Chichenkova Magdalena
  • Óscar Borja Santana (lawyer)
  • Prem-Lata Singh (mental health specialist)
  • Jonathan Branch (reentry program director)
  • Olga Ziori (child protection lawyer, mediator)
  • Zara DiZoglio (educator)
  • Carol Bettiz Ortiz (social worker, criminologist, mediator, victimologist)
  • Sonja Kriegner
  • Ernesto Lodi
  • Muhammad Asadullah (associate professor of justice studies, University of Regina, Canada)
  • Alexιa Stouraiti (Mediator Llb, Phd (cand), researcher at the Center for the Study of Social and Humanitarian Crises)
  • Gael Cochrane (restorative practitioner)
  • Robert Cario (emeritus professor and doctor of criminology and restorative justice)
  • Sara Dowling (CEO, Why me? Transforming lives through Restorative Justice)
  • Judith Stummer-Kolonovits (mediator in penal matters)
  • Shelley Deutsch (restorative justice facilitator)
  • Antonio Buonatesta
  • Ivan Friselle (public relations and communication specialist - event management)
  • Lisa Stautmeister (social worker / restorative justice practicioner)
  • Alessandro Ongaro (educator) 
  • Damiano Gallinaro (anthropologist free lance & local police officer) 
  • Silvana Greco

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