After decades of widespread racism under the influence of the Belgian colonization, a huge conflict took place in Rwanda in the form of a genocide against the Tutsis and the Hutus and causing about 80 000 deaths according to the UN report in 1994. Since then, the main objective of the population is to keep the peace between these two ethnical groups in the country and prevent a new genocide from starting. The government tried a traditional process to dispense justice but it appeared to be too slow and it not favor reconciliation and lasting peace. Consequently, it implemented a different kind of justice, a "transitional justice" called the Gacaca justice which was more oriented on reconciliation between the opponents. But efforts to reconcile societies after such a violent conflict are difficult and inevitably face a number of dilemmas about how to dispense justice to the people who have suffered, how to punish the perpetrators, and how to prevent the violence from erupting again. Does Rwanda manage to make up for the weaknesses of this former judicial system with Gacaca justice?
[...] The Gacaca jurisdiction In the beginning, the Gacaca courts resolved village or familial disputes like thefts, marital issues, land rights, and property damage. Gathering all the villagers who were allowed to ask to speak, the trials were meant to promote truth, justice and reconciliation of the defendant in front of families and neighbours. But these traditional Gacaca courts didn't rule on crimes of blood, in fact only revenge was supposed to appease the spirit of the murdered. This traditional Gacaca process has been reinterpreted to fit the special case of the genocide and the crimes of blood. [...]
[...] Giving people the right to judge themselves their assailants and the task to find the truth was a really good idea. But it quickly appeared that they are many failures in this system in terms of fairness, truthfulness and legitimacy. As long as the equity and the fairness of these tribunals don't answer the international norms in terms of equitable trial within the respect of the Human rights, there is no legitimacy possible for this type of jurisdiction. In fact, the truth cannot be reached because for example there is no protection for the witnesses testifying during the trials and many of them and even some judges were found murdered or because the Plea Guilty Procedure is applied. [...]
[...] The main changes relate to the number of judges, the information collection process and the way in which crimes are classified. Moreover, the 2004 Gacaca law provides for three levels of Gacaca courts, each with different competencies: The Gacaca court of the cellule is the lowest level. The duties and abilities of the Gacaca courts of the cellule are to list the victims and the presumed criminals, material and physical damages receive confessions, evidence and information, to conduct investigations and to try those accused of crimes in the third category . The Gacaca court of the sector. [...]
[...] The second and the third categories are made of people suspected of attacks against people or goods. The Gacaca courts are only in charge of the second and the third category in the purpose of ending their task by 2007 whereas the National Courts judge only the first category. The trial is held in public in the exact place where the crime took place, the villagers constitute the assembly and some of them are elected to be the judges and they also help to list the victims and suspects in their region. [...]
[...] This atrocity led to a deep resentment between the two ethnical groups even if most of them are looking toward justice reconciliation and peace. Consequently, the murders of judges, witnesses, and survivors happen sometimes. As we see below, there is a real lack of justice and truth putting the reconciliation process in danger as the legitimacy of the Gacaca. These weaknesses could lead to a new genocide between people for who justice is not or ill dispensed and some for who justice is unfair or biased. [...]
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