Gacaca courts date back to before rwanda was colonized bornkamm, 2012. What legalism fails to address in the functioning of rwandas. Gacaca courts, reconciliation and the politics of apology. May 31, 2011 human rights watch also documented cases where gacaca courts ordered the detention of accused persons or witnesses without establishing that the person intended to flee or might cause harm to. Each adult rwandan not accused of involvement in crimes during the genocide is tasked with taking part in the gacaca court proceedings as a type of co. Gacaca has tended to reinforce ethnic divisions, while the exclusion from gacaca of crimes committed by the rwandan patriotic front rpf and its supporters has. Courts, the international journal of transitional justice, vol. Jun 15, 2012 the traditional community gacaca courts set up to prosecute the perpetrators of the 1994 rwandan genocide will be closing this month. Rwandans and the gacaca courts article pdf available in african journal of international and comparative law 181 may 2009 with 756 reads.
Gacaca courts in rwanda,1 as well as the prosecutions disclosure practices for these particularly important records in the past few years. Participants have continuously expressed fear based on people who do not want to tell the truth. In an earlier survey,53 percent of respondents said they were highly confident that gacacawould promote a lasting peace ballabola 2001. The legacy of rwandas communitybased gacaca courts hrw. Voters back a draft constitution that bans the incitement of ethnic. This article uses the rwandan inkiko gacaca gacaca and amnesty internationals ai criticism of them as a lens through which to reflect on contemporary human rights praxis. Presidential decree provisionally releasing more than 20,000 prisoners. This comment will show the strength of the gacaca courts by examining economic, psychological, sociological, and cultural considerations. The gacaca courts prevail over the ictr as a mode of transitional justice not. An analysis of the effectiveness of the gacaca court system in postgenocide rwanda lauren haberstock pepperdine university, lauren. The gacaca courts, postgenocide justice and reconciliation in. Postgenocide rwanda provides a remarkable counterexample, where ddr has largely succeeded despite the ongoing threat of. Like last week, this essay which as you see ive intended to be a quick essay limited my discussion to. 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 postgacaca period in.
The question is to what extent rwandas gacaca courts have impacted, or failed. Rwandas gacaca courts are hailed as a postgenocide. The case of rwanda introduction disarmament, demobilization and reintegration ddr programs generally reassure former combatants that they will be reintegrated, not punished. Traditional justice and reconciliation after violent conflict. Following the genocide, in 1994, the minister of justice proposed that gacaca be revived in order to relieve the struggling judicial system of the burden of. Genocide trials and gacaca courts journal of international. 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. Carter introduction the gacaca proceedings in rwanda are an innovative and unique response to a postconflict situation. Documentaries tv broadcasts gacaca process perpetrator confessions kwibuka conferences. This chapter will begin with a brief history of each countrys lead up to.
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. Jan 10, 2010 despite their informality, gacaca courts try all but the organisers who are tried in conventional courts of the campaign of violence, which saw 800,000 people killed in 100 days. In 2001, in an attempt to clear the backlog of some 115,000 genocide cases awaiting trial, the rwandan government. Unity and reconciliation in rwanda the reconciliation process in rwanda focuses on reconstructing the rwandan identity, as well as. The number of suspects to be tried in connection with the genocide was immense, and cases moved slowly through the ictr and national courts. Truth, justice, and reconciliation in postconflict rwanda.
S even years after the first gacaca process opened and more than four years after gacaca was launched nationwide, the gacaca courts were scheduled to conclude their work in june 2009. They brought a restorative justice and reconciliation and ended in 2010. 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. The gacaca courts began their activities on the 18 th of june 2002 and were terminated on the 18 th of june 2012, and had prosecuted and tried around 2 million files of suspects of genocide and crimes against humanity committed between october 1990 and december 1994 in kigali and the cities around.
Tilburg university the legacy of the gacaca courts in. During this investigative phase, the number of suspects increased significantly which placed a strain. Request pdf the gacaca courts, postgenocide justice and reconciliation in rwanda. The first phase, which began in 1997 and is still continuing, targets the most serious offenders. This article arrives at the conclusion that the ictr case law and prosecution practice have advanced, helping to develop international criminal law, and the. 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. Sep 01, 2005 the constitution also enshrines the existence of gacaca courts, referred to as specialized courts, and prohibits the creation of special courts.
Tilburg university the legacy of the gacaca courts in rwanda. The norwegian helsinki committee has since early 1990s promoted accountability for crimes against humanity and war crimes in the wars of the former yugoslavia and in other conflict areas within the osce region. Karegeya talks about his involvement in the 1994 genocide. Gacaca, the local courts in rwanda, o cially closed on 18 june 2012. Gacaca courts in rwanda yale journal of international affairs. The introduction of the gacaca courts improved the performance of the formal justice system and facilitated postconflict recovery. Brouwer and sandra ka hon chu, gacaca courts in rwanda. Despite their informality, gacaca courts try all but the organisers who are tried in conventional courts of the campaign of violence, which saw 800,000 people killed in 100 days. 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. Jean kayigamba reports on some mixed feelings about how effectively these courts have been able to bring about real justice. Human rights group say the gacaca fell well short of international legal standards. During this investigative phase, the number of suspects increased significantly which placed a strain on the courts ability to deliver timely justice to victims.
Gacaca courts originate from the traditional system of conflict resolution called gacaca. Trauma informed restorative justice through community. This is the fifth and final quick essay of this year, at least. Truth, justice, and reconciliation in postconflict. This split within the human rights community has important implications not only for the e. Watch videos of the gacaca courts which processed 1. Although loosely based on a traditional dispute resolution process, 1 the current gacaca is a statutory creation. The gacaca system and the international criminal tribunal. Gacaca definition of gacaca by the free dictionary. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries.
The courts were set up to speed up the prosecution of hundreds of thousands of genocide suspects awaiting trial. The constitution also enshrines the existence of gacaca courts, referred to as specialized courts, and prohibits the creation of special courts. Gacaca courts, reconciliation and the politics of apology in postgenocide rwanda 39. Trauma informed restorative justice through community based. The gacaca courts generated valuable information about the genocide suspects and increased access to the justice system. Susan thomson and rosemary nagy, law, power and justice. Comment, however, the gacaca courts are more effective in terms of giving the people of rwanda the transitional justice they need. 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. This history is also important to how each country constructed its concept of truth. For this reason, rwanda decided to conceive gacaca courts as an alternative mechanism to provide justice for people within reasonable time. For this reason, rights groups reasoned that its work s. A video of the gacaca court trial of isaie karegeya from huye district. The gacaca tribunals are legally established judicial bodies.
Journal of contemporary criminal justice genocide, justice. In the end, it is expected that gacaca courts will have tried an estimated 1. The university of kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression and genetic information in the universitys programs and activities. Rwanda gacaca genocide courts finish work bbc news. 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 thousands genocide suspects. In it, i discuss the successes of the postgenocide rwandan gacaca courts and, briefly, the south african trc. A traditional rwandan system of justice in which local community members are allowed to testify freely, without the participation of lawyers, and cases. Though what follows relates most closely to debates in transitional justice over the rule of law in postconflict societies, the ramifications of the discussion may apply with equal force to more quotidian. Rwandas gacaca courts are hailed as a postgenocide success. Gacaca courts in the light of public international law. The files of the first and second categories were submitted to the gacaca court of the sector, while those in the third category remained in the gacaca court of the cell. The system dealt mainly with civil and social conflicts between members of the community. The history of conflict in each country is crucial to understanding their later need for reconciliation and the format that the trc and gacaca courts adopted. 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.
Gacacatraditional courts gacaca were traditional councils and tribunals that took place in the communities where crimes were committed and both the accused and the victim got a chance to be heard. Schabas abstract after many decades of impunity, rwanda has embarked upon a course of transitional justice committed to prosecuting all who are suspected of involvement in the 1994 genocide. Against this backdrop, the rwandan government has reinvented traditional gacaca courts to prosecute genocide and other crimes against humanity. They also have suggested innovative ideas for improving the gacaca process, exploring a range of methods to ensure fair dispensation of justice and greater public acceptance. The gacaca courts were resurrected in rwanda as an indigenous form of restorative justice. Pdf after decades of cycling violence between hutu and tutsi groups in rwanda and burundi, violence peaked in 1994 with a genocide of tutsis in. Rwandas troubled gacaca courts africa criminal justice reform. An analysis of the effectiveness of the gacaca court system. Voting to elect members of traditional gacaca courts begins.
The traditional community gacaca courts set up to prosecute the perpetrators of the 1994 rwandan genocide will be closing this month. Human rights watch also documented cases where gacaca courts ordered the detention of accused persons or witnesses without establishing. Gacaca judges can impose sentences as high as life imprisonment. Jun 18, 2012 the courts were set up to speed up the prosecution of hundreds of thousands of genocide suspects awaiting trial.
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