Gross violation of fundamental human rights: a case study of the Rwandan Genocide
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Date
2014-05
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Kampala International University.College Of Law
Abstract
Rwanda was deeply destroyed in 1994. Among an endless host of problems, highly
complex questions and dilemmas of justice, unity, and reconciliation haunt Rwanda to
this day. The basic question confronting Rwanda is how to deal with the legacy of the
conflict that culminated in the genocide of the Tutsi and in the massacres of Hutu
opponents of the genocide. The UN set up an International Criminal Tribunal in Arusha,
Tanzania, and Rwanda has its own courts. In both cases, the process of trying accused
genocidaires is long, laborious, and frustrating. Only eight convictions have been
handed down in Arusha after five years of work, while in Rwanda only some 3, 000
cases have been disposed of. At least 120,000 detainees are in Prisons around the
country, the vast majority of who are accused of participation in the genocide. At the
present rate it is estimated it will take anywhere between two and four centuries to try
all those in detention. The Rwandese government has developed a new procedure
called "gacaca," lower-level tribunals that attempt to blend traditional and
contemporary mechanisms to expedite the justice process in a way that promotes
reconciliation. The impact of gacaca remains to be seen, and as a process, it certainly
needs an evaluation or, at least, an attempt to evaluate its possible contribution to the
perplexing questions of justice, unity and social reconstruction in the aftermath of
genocide.
This dissertation mainly aims to analyse the draft legislation en the gacaca jurisdictions.
Further, this essay attempts to examine the impact of criminal trials in the after math of
mass violence and genocide. Although conventional wisdom holds that criminal trials
promote severel goals, including uncovering the truth; avoiding collective
accountability by individualizing guilt; breaking the cycle of impunity; deterring
future war crimes; providing closure for the victims and fostering democratic
institutions, little is known about the role that judicial intervention has in rebuilding
societies.
The present essay deals only with criminal trials. By definition, these are focused on the
perpetrators of abuses and their allies. Although not examined in the essay, a
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comprehensive and wholistic approach to dealing with a legacy of past atrocities should
also include a range of victim-focused efforts, such as programs for compensation and
rehabilitation, the establishment of memorials, and the organisation of appropriate
commemorations.
Description
Research dissertation submitted to the school of Law in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the reward of bachelors degree in Law of Kampala International Uni
Keywords
Violation, Fundamental, Human rights, Rwandan Genocide