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Sunday 13 April 2014

[RwandaLibre] HRW - JUSTICE FOR RWANDA LEAVES MIXED LEGACY

 

13.04.14 - RWANDA/GENOCIDE - JUSTICE FOR RWANDA LEAVES MIXED LEGACY,
SAYS HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH RESEARCHER


Lausanne, April 13, 2014 (FH) - Twenty years after the genocide, how
do human rights activists see the process of justice and
reconciliation for Rwanda? Interview with Carina Tertsakian, senior
researcher on Rwanda at Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Hirondelle: Twenty years after the genocide, how do you assess the
work of the ICTR?

Tertsakian: The ICTR was only ever expected to try a small number of
people: primarily those who played a leading role in the genocide. To
some extent, it has succeeded in doing this. It has tried 75 people
and convicted 49, including several prominent individuals, such as
former Prime Minister Jean Kambanda, former army Chief of Staff
General Augustin Bizimungu, and former Ministry of Defence Chief of
Staff Colonel Théoneste Bagosora.
The ICTR has fulfilled its mandate to a certain extent with regard to
key figures behind Rwanda's genocide.
The ICTR also set an important precedent in the first-ever prosecution
of rape as genocide in the case of former bourgmestre (mayor)
Jean-Paul Akayesu.

Hirondelle: Has the ICTR helped reconcile the Rwandan society?

Tertsakian: It has not fulfilled the part of its mandate relating to
war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the RPF. RPF
troops killed tens of thousands of civilians when they took over the
country in 1994. These killings were not equivalent or comparable to
the genocide but many of them constituted war crimes and crimes
against humanity. These crimes clearly fell within the ICTR's
mandate, but the ICTR has not prosecuted a single RPF case.

As a result, this has created a sentiment among some Rwandans and
international legal observers that the ICTR provided only one-sided or
victor's justice. This may have reduced its effectiveness in
contributing to reconciliation.

Hirondelle: What about the trials before Rwandan courts, especially
the gacacas? Have those village courts helped bring reconciliation to
Rwanda?

Tertsakian: On the basis of our field research and trial observation,
Human Rights Watch concludes that gacaca left a mixed legacy. Gacaca's
positive achievements included the courts' swift work in processing a
huge number of cases (almost 2 million, according to Rwandan
government statistics); the participation of local communities; and
the opportunity for some genocide survivors to learn what had happened
to their relatives. Gacaca might also have helped some survivors find
a way of living peacefully alongside perpetrators. However, many
gacaca hearings resulted in unfair trials. Many of the accused were
not able to effectively defend themselves; there were numerous
instances of intimidation and corruption of defence witnesses, judges
and other parties; and flawed decision-making due to inadequate
training for judges.

The expectation that gacaca could deliver national-level
reconciliation in a matter of a few years was unrealistic. But
gacaca's potential for contributing to reconciliation was hindered by
difficulties in revealing the truth, as some participants lied or
remained silent due to intimidation, corruption, personal ties, or
fear of repercussions.

In addition, gacaca did not deliver on its promises of reparations for
genocide survivors: survivors received no compensation from the state,
and little restitution and often overly formulaic apologies from
confessed or convicted perpetrators. While gacaca may have served as a
first step to help some Rwandans on the long path to reconciliation,
it did not manage to dispel distrust between many perpetrators and
survivors of the genocide.

Hirondelle: What do you think of the way procedures are being
conducted in the cases referred to Rwanda by other countries and the
ICTR?

Tertsakian: In 2011, the ICTR decided to transfer its first genocide
case to Rwanda: Jean Uwinkindi. Uwinkindi was sent back to Rwanda in
2012. Court hearings in his case have begun at the High Court in
Kigali, but have not progressed beyond procedural matters so far. The
same applies to the case of Bernard Munyagishari, sent back to Rwanda
by the ICTR in 2013. It is therefore too early to comment on the
standard of their trials in Rwanda.

Hirondelle: Some countries in the West are still refusing to extradite
genocide suspects to Rwanda but are also not bringing them before
their own courts. Isn't this encouraging impunity?

Tertsakian: The trend has shifted. Until around 2011, most countries
were unwilling to extradite genocide suspects to Rwanda, initially
because of the death penalty, then, after Rwanda abolished the death
penalty in 2007, because of the risk of unfair trials. However, in
the last two or three years, an increasing number of countries, such
as Sweden and Norway, have been willing to extradite genocide suspects
to Rwanda. Extradition proceedings are currently underway in several
countries, including the UK.

The turning point came when the ICTR decided to transfer its first
case to Rwanda in 2011 (Uwinkindi). Courts in several countries
subsequently used the ICTR's decision as the basis for their own
agreement to extradite suspects to Rwanda.

In addition, there have been a number of trials of Rwandan genocide
suspects before the domestic courts of Western countries – for example
in Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Finland, Norway, Sweden, the
Netherlands, and France. In some cases, for example in the United
States, Rwandan genocide suspects were charged and tried on
immigration-related offenses for concealing their alleged role during
the genocide.

One of the important recent cases was the first trial of a Rwandan
genocide suspect in France – a country that had backed the former
government of Rwanda and supported and trained some of the forces
which went on to commit genocide. On March 14, 2014, a court in Paris
found Pascal Simbikangwa, an intelligence chief under the Habyarimana
government, guilty of genocide and complicity in crimes against
humanity and sentenced him to 25 years in prison. Just one month
earlier, on February 18, 2014, a court in Germany sentenced former
mayor Onesphore Rwabukombe to 14 years' imprisonment for aiding and
abetting genocide.

These cases of domestic prosecutions under the principle of universal
jurisdiction are important milestones in the demonstration of
international commitment to ensuring that perpetrators of the genocide
are held accountable, wherever they are found.
AH/JC

http://www.hirondellenews.com/fr/ictr-rwanda/409-rwanda-justice/34653-130414-rwandagenocide-justice-for-rwanda-leaves-mixed-legacy-says-human-rights-watch-researcher

--
SIBOMANA Jean Bosco
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