NCJ Number
199229
Journal
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice Volume: 26 Issue: 2 Dated: Fall 2002 Pages: 165-201
Date Published
2002
Length
37 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the challenges to the Rwandan justice system of bringing prisoners to justice while seeking reconciliation leading to peace between the Tutsis and Hutu.
Abstract
It is important to understand the underlying historical and ethnic trends that led to the Rwandan genocide of Tutsi people. Tutsis were cattlemen while the term Hutu was ascribed to farmers. Since cattle were a sign of wealth, Tutsis were the elite of Rwandan society even before the colonial period in Rwanda. Many of the causes of the tragedy have their root in the role that colonial powers, such as Germany, Belgium, and France, played prior to independence. The Europeans viewed the African majority as inferior beings and encouraged ethnic divisions. A United Nations peacekeeping presence was established in Rwanda in 1993 after numerous skirmishes between the Tutsis and Hutu due to racial hatred. When the genocide began in 1994, the United Nations withdrew the majority of its forces and stood by while the killing went on for 3 months. Following the genocide, the attention was focused on the fate of Hutu refugees, many of whom had been perpetrators of the genocide. The fact that so many ordinary citizens participated in the killings is not easily understood, as well as the complicity of religious institutions, the media, and the international community and their failure to prevent the genocide. It would appear that reconciliation in Rwanda is unreachable. Reconciliation will not take place until all citizens feel that they are being treated equally, without regard to ethnic identity. At the same time, no justice system has ever had to deal with the trials of 100,000 persons. An extra-judicial process to deal with civil disputes called gacaca has been proposed to meet the inability of the ordinary court system to deal with such a large caseload. The process will seek to establish the truth of what happened; punish those guilty of genocide-related crimes; and promote reconciliation by reintegrating offenders into their local communities. 59 notes, 63 references