In total, 1,958,634 genocide related cases were tried through gacaca. At the same time it is important that the programme of reconciliation and trauma treatment reaches the people, when wounds again are exposed in this extensive legal process. Tilburg university the legacy of the gacaca courts in. This article is part of an eir series marking the twentieth commemoration of the rwandan genocide since their inception, images of and commentaries on the gacaca courts dealing with crimes related to the 1994 genocide in rwanda travelled across the globe. Like last week, this essay which as you see ive intended to be a quick essay limited my discussion to. Rwandas gacaca courts are hailed as a postgenocide. The rwandan government began to gradually set up gacaca courts from 2002, so they could ensure their roll out was most effective penal reform international, 2010, p. Rwanda implemented gacaca, the reasons for gacacas failure and possible solutions.
Journal of contemporary criminal justice genocide, justice. While the organizers and leaders of the genocide were mostly sent for trial at the international criminal tribunal for rwanda in arusha, tanzania, gacaca courts tried more than 1 million ordinary people who served as the foot soldiers of the genocide. The gacaca courts, postgenocide justice and reconciliation in rwanda since 2001, the gacaca community courts have been the centrepiece of rwandas justice and reconciliation programme. You can view a gallery of photos from the event here. Rwanda s gacaca courts have become a model for a peaceful society. Truth, justice, and reconciliation in postconflict. A modified version of the traditional gacaca courts were introduced to hear cases from the backlog of over 100,000 genocide suspects. Gacaca is an effort to adjudicate the cases of those who. Notwithstanding the criticism of gacaca trials, considering the situation rwanda found itself in during the years after the genocide, no valuable alternative to gacaca courts existed. Prosecutions and the military courts for the prosecution of offences coming into their. Acknowledgements we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the various stakeholders whose combined efforts. Since 1994 the government has struggled to administer justice to hundreds of thousands of genocide suspects.
Who would say that such a culture exists today in rwanda. Rwanda s gacaca courts provide an innovative response to the genocide of 1994. Only 118 such courts had previously conducted trials, a kind of pilot program for the gacaca system. Request pdf genocide, justice, and rwandas gacaca courts more than one million people participated in the 1994 genocide against the rwandan tutsi. The gacaca courts were resurrected in rwanda as an indigenous form of restorative justice. This report assesses the courts achievements and outlines a number of serious shortcomings in their work, including. Justice without lawyers, cambridge university press. Gacaca, the local courts in rwanda, o cially closed on 18 june 2012. Placed under its presidents authority, the essential mission of the supreme court is to ensure equitable law enforcement according to the logic of complementarity of powers in a democratic society. Under the 2004 gacaca law, categories 2 and 3 merged to become. Organic law n 0 402000 of 26012001 setting up and organizing prosecutions for offences constituting the crime of genocide or crimes against humanity committed between october 1, 1990 and december 31, 1994. The principles and process of these courts hope to mitigate the failures of arusha justice at the tribunal and seeks to punish or reintegrate over one hundred thousand genocide suspects. This article investigates the attitudes of the people most affected by the rwandan genocide towards the various justice initiatives.
May 31, 2011 justice compromised the legacy of rwandas communitybased gacaca courts i. After the genocide of 1994, rwanda implemented several mechanisms of transitional justice in order to achieve reconciliation within its society. Gacaca courts originate from the traditional system of conflict resolution called gacaca. Rwanda, one gacaca jurisdiction in charge of knowing, within the limits. Gacaca courts date back to before rwanda was colonized bornkamm, 2012. The current tutsiled government hails these courts as a success claiming they have provided postconflict justice like never before. In it, i discuss the successes of the postgenocide rwandan gacaca courts and, briefly, the south african trc. Rwandan president paul kagame described the initiative as an african solution to african problems. Unity and reconciliation in rwanda the reconciliation process in rwanda focuses on reconstructing the rwandan identity, as well as. An analysis of the effectiveness of the gacaca court system. Rather, in combining punishment and reconciliation, the gacaca blend elements of retributive and restorative justice.
The ictr was never designed to try each perpetrator and the domestic courts were not able to address such a high number of court cases. The gacaca courts are a method of transitional justice and are designed to promote communal healing and rebuilding in the wake of the rwandan genocide. Restorative justice as an african view of justice is aimed at healing the breaches, redressing of imbalance and the restoration of broken relationships. Although some survey data from this study show strong popular support for gacaca and the project of reconciliation, and although there appear to be some positive social trends in the community. Rwandas gacaca courts paul christoph bornkamm oxford. The first phase, which began in 1997 and is still continuing, targets the most serious offenders.
The achievements of gacaca courts are exceptionally greater than to those of any other justice system that investigated and tried genocide cases either in rwanda or elsewhere such as at the international criminal tribunal for rwanda website. Traditional justice and reconciliation after violent conflict. It was also realised that the testimonies of perpetrators needed to be recorded so that the world could learn about what happened in rwanda and how. The legacy of rwandas communitybased gacaca courts hrw. The word gacaca refers to the small clearing where a community would traditionally meet to discuss questions or issues of concern. The gacaca courts and restorative justice for survivors of sexual violence. Pdf the paper analyses the outcome of transitional justice mechanism in place in rwanda, and explores how the division might be transcended for the. Gacaca court trial of prisoners genocide archive rwanda rugema fred. The contribution of the gacaca jurisdictions to resolving. In an earlier survey,53 percent of respondents said they were highly confident that gacacawould promote a lasting peace ballabola 2001. Alie assumpta naniwekaburahe traditional justice and reconciliation after violent conflict.
The gacaca proceedings in rwanda are an innovative and unique response to a postconflict situation. Traditional justice and reconciliation mechanisms after violent conflict. The number of suspects to be tried in connection with the genocide was immense, and cases moved slowly through the ictr and national courts. Justice compromised the legacy of rwanda s communitybased gacaca courts i. In this contribution, the legacy of the gacaca courts is studied by looking at what the gacaca courts have achieved or may not have achieved against the objectives it was set up for in the rst place from the per spective of genocide survivors.
In the aftermath of the rwandan genocide the crippled formal judicial system failed to administer justice in a timely manner. One of rwanda s final gacaca courts the community trials set up to try those accused of. Documentaries tv broadcasts gacaca process perpetrator confessions kwibuka conferences. Nearly every adult rwandan has participated in the trials, but lawyers are banned from any official involvement. Gacaca courts in rwanda yale journal of international affairs.
In 2001, rwanda incorporated a traditional, communitybased method of conflict resolution known as gacaca into their transitional justice program, and in 2008, the rwandan government decided to use this system to try perpetrators of sexual violence from the genocide. Since 2001, the gacaca community courts have been the centrepiece of rwandas justice and reconciliation process. June 2011 human rights watch 1 justice compromised the legacy of rwanda s communitybased gacaca courts case studies s june 2011 the four case studies in this document are taken from human. The norwegian helsinki committee has since early 1990s promoted accountability for crimes against humanity and war. This report assesses the courts achievements and outlines a. The recent commemoration activities brought new attention to the rwandan way of dealing with its violent past. Gacaca courts, reconciliation and the politics of apology in postgenocide rwanda callixte kavuro abstract in postconflict societies, the politics of apology is increasingly and heavily relied on for justice, accountability and reconciliation to be realised.
Testimony at rwandas gacaca courts laura eramian york university, toronto abstract in this paper, i examine dominant understandings of subjects of suffering, the witness, and testimony in rwandas local level courts for genocide crimes, called gacaca. Phil clark, the gacaca courts, postgenocide justice and reconciliation in rwanda. Questions about the gacaca courts in rwanda opinio juris. Rwandas gacaca courts have long been held up by their proponents as a model for successful. Some perpetrators who had confessed saw the benefits of gacaca and toured the country to encourage others who committed crimes to come forward and speak up. Because gacaca is a communitybased institution, participation is mandatory for everyone, 10 and legal professionals are generally not involved in the proceedings.
Genocide, justice, and rwandas gacaca courts request pdf. The decision for subdividing or merging cells is taken by the department for. Unity and reconciliation in rwanda the reconciliation process in rwanda focuses on reconstructing the rwandan identity, as well as balancing justice, truth, peace and security. Jun 15, 2012 the establishment of gacaca courts in 2001 is one of the key landmarks of postgenocide rwanda. Politics, human rights, due process and the role of the gacaca courts in dealing with the. After two years of pretrial activity, nearly all of the 1,545 gacaca courts in rwanda formally began trials on saturday. The commencement of proceedings at the gacaca courts in rwanda on 18 june 2002 attracted enormous interest. A gacaca court in session in ruhango, rwanda credit. Pri has acquired unique knowledge about the gacaca jurisdictions and this is largely due to the tenacity, patience, and analytical ability of the gacaca team in rwanda. The international criminal tribunal for rwanda ictr had produced.
Request pdf genocide, justice, and rwanda s gacaca courts more than one million people participated in the 1994 genocide against the rwandan tutsi. Jul 02, 2010 rwanda s gacaca courts have become a model for a peaceful society. Amnesty international has argued, any criminal justice system, no ma 4 er what its form, would lose credibility without an adherence to international. The road to reconciliation in rwanda the role of gacaca. This paper analyzes the efforts of gacaca to achieve justice and reconciliation, in part by comparing the process to a typical trial in the united states. The reason for this approach is to demand a public apology from perpetrators. Rwanda s community courts, known as gacaca, have finished their work, after 10 years of trying those accused of involvement in the 1994 genocide.
Rwandas national court system, and the gacaca courts. However, gacaca courts are not expected to handle new cases. This is the fifth and final quick essay of this year, at least. An analysis of the effectiveness of the gacaca court. In 2001, in an attempt to clear the backlog of some 115,000 genocide cases awaiting trial. Rwanda to promote reconciliation after the 1994 genocide. Gacaca how rwanda judged its genocide by phil clark. After the gacaca courts finished their work in june 2012, the reintegration of perpetrators required that they be given a space to interact with other members of the society and express themselves. The gacaca is an answer first and foremost to a capacity problem in the rwandan legal system. The system dealt mainly with civil and social conflicts between members of the community. Gacaca court trial of prisoners genocide archive rwanda.
Pri is grateful to all of the men and women who have participated, in whatever way, to the monitoring and research programme on the gacaca. The idea of gacaca tribunals was conceived in the aftermath of. The gacaca courts, postgenocide justice and reconciliation in rwanda since 2001, the gacaca community courts have been the centrepiece of rwanda s justice and reconciliation programme. Introduction between april 6 and july 4 of 1994, an estimated 800,000 to 1,000,000 citizens of rwanda were massacred in an ethnically motivated genocide. This traditional, communal justice was adapted in 2001 to fit the needs of rwanda in the wake of the 1994 rwandan genocide where over an estimated 1,000,000 people were killed, tortured and raped. Many critics of gacaca have failed to recognise that a different notion of justice informs rwanda s community courts one necessitated by the particular nature and intensity of the genocide. The reintroduction of the traditional gacaca courts were one of these measures. Nearly every adult rwandan has participated in the trials, principally by providing eyewitness testimony concerning genocide crimes. As for the government of rwanda, the question was to deliver some measure of justice for the victims as well as the perpetrators. Human rights group were generally critical of the gacaca proposal, raising concerns over the ability of the courts to guarantee fair trial standards. In rwanda, the supreme court is the highest ranking court of the country. May 04, 2014 since their inception, images of and commentaries on the gacaca courts dealing with crimes related to the 1994 genocide in rwanda travelled across the globe.
Pdf following the 1994 genocide, several justice initiatives were implemented in. Incorporating elements of both african dispute resolution and of westernstyle criminal courts, gacaca courts are in line with recent trends to revive traditional grassroots mechanisms as a way of addressing a violent past. The gacaca courts, postgenocide justice and reconciliation. Editors luc huyse mark salter contributors luc huyse bert ingelaere victor igreja beatrice diaslambranca james ojera latigo joe a. In 2001, in an attempt to clear the backlog of some 115,000 genocide cases awaiting trial, the rwandan government read more. Rwandas gacaca courts are hailed as a postgenocide success. Alleged perpetrators did the same through different associations formed in prisons. The establishment of gacaca courts in 2001 is one of the key landmarks of postgenocide rwanda. Jun 02, 2017 rwandas gacaca courts are hailed as a postgenocide success. The contribution of the gacaca jurisdictions to resolving cases. Rwanda scores highly in restorative justice the new. Pris research on gacaca penal reform international. The new gacaca courts were charged with administering national law and trying all but the most serious genocide crimes.
This article focuses on justice interests of rwandan women who experienced sexual violence during the genocide in rwanda and who had their cases tried in gacaca community courts between 2008 and 2012. Although loosely based on a traditional dispute resolution process, 1 the current gacaca is a statutory creation. The constitution now states that all rwandans share equal rights. Jun 18, 2012 rwanda s community courts, called gacaca, have officially closed after a decade of overseeing prosecutions of those involved in the 1994 genocide. A rejection of the nuremberg model of international legal conventions is implicit in gacaca. Truth, justice, and reconciliation in postconflict rwanda. One of rwandas final gacaca courts the community trials set up to try those accused of taking part in the countrys 1994 genocide. Global tides volume 8 article 4 112014 an analysis of the effectiveness of the gacaca court system in postgenocide rwanda lauren haberstock pepperdine university, lauren. Justice in postgenocide rwanda colin oreilly, phd university of wisconsin stout yi chloe zhang, phd discover financial services abstract. Rwanda s use of transitional justice after genocide. The supreme court issued a gacaca manual for judges, which.
An analysis of the effectiveness of the gacaca court system in postgenocide rwanda lauren haberstock pepperdine university, lauren. Reactions to the decision to implement the gacaca court system were mixed. In response, rwanda implemented the gacaca court system, which necessarily evolved to fit the scenario from its prior form of traditional cultural communal law enforcement procedures. A missed opportunity for reconciliation in rwanda by albert gasake since the closure of gacaca courts in july 2012, enforcement of gacaca material compensation orders made to survivors remains one of the pressing challenges of the post gacaca period in rwanda. But its detractors, which include major human rights organizations, believe the system has serious shortcomings. Gacaca courts in rwanda charges against the gacaca despite the governments aspirations for the gacaca process, some prominent ngos have contended that the system is fundamentally. This thesis analyzes the effectiveness of the gacaca court system in. The gacaca system and the international criminal tribunal for. Amnesty international has argued, any criminal justice system, no ma 4 er what its form, would lose credibility without an adherence to international minimum. Commentators have discussed and argued at length over whether modern gacaca is a suitable form of justice to respond to the postgenocide rwanda problem. The courts are credited with laying the foundation for peace, reconciliation and unity in rwanda. The gacaca courts officially finished their work in june 2012.
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