Reluctance of some countries to extradite to Rwanda or try Genocide fugitives breeds impunity and fuels genocide ideology.

Experts, who were speaking during the 9th International Conference for the Great Lakes Region on Thursday, also highlighted the fact that some countries do not have laws criminalising genocide or still consider genocide denial and ideology as free speech.

The conference was organised by the University of Rwanda’s Centre for Conflict Management (CCM) under the theme: "25 years after the Genocide Against the Tutsi, Current Status, Challenges and Perspectives for the Future”.

The two-day conference brings together over 150 participants from different parts of the world to discuss how to fight genocide and its ideology with an emphasis on the Great Lakes region.

Speaking during the opening of the conference, Prosecutor General Jean Bosco Mutangana said it would require greater political will at domestic and international level to collaborate in extraditions of Genocide suspects.

He said that while Rwanda has a law criminalising genocide denial, many countries don’t have such laws thereby giving deniers the green light to do so in their host countries.

"There is lack of demarcation between free speech and hate speech or genocide ideology,” he noted.

"For the past 25 years, the major challenge is that we still have many Genocide suspects, whether those indicted by the ICTR or by Rwanda, who are able to live freely in many countries,” he said.

Mutangana noted that among the 1,012 indictments issued by the National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA) to 34 countries, only 17 suspects have been extradited or deported to Rwanda to face justice while three have been transferred by the ICTR under Rule 11 bis.

Rule 11 bis was part of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (RPE) for both the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda’s (ICTR).

Both UN tribunals have since been replaced by the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.

The third state prosecutions have conducted only 22 Genocide investigations, according to Mutangana.

"This remains a challenge and some of them have continued to advance the genocide agenda. It is important to note that this challenge is not exclusive to Rwanda but it’s a common challenge to post-Genocide societies,” he said, citing the Jewish and Armenian genocides.

"Facts of the offence of ideology and denial are communicated through mass media, books or publications. Other methods of communicating denial include but not limited to the internet, data postings, holding international conferences or speeches in international forums,” he added.

He hailed countries that have already enacted laws criminalising genocide denial.

According to Agee Shyaka Mugabe, the CCM’s acting Director, low collaboration among countries to bring to book Genocide suspects is a serious challenge that needs urgent response.

"Even in the East African Community, (EAC), little has been done to arrest and try suspects in their respective countries,” he said.

"The fact that the fugitives are not punished hinders sustainable peace building because they keep doing their best to promote denial. In the absence of collective  efforts by nations to fight genocide ideology and impunity, peace building will be impossible,” he added.

Prof Tony Karbo, of N’Zarama Centre for Peace Building in Abidjan, in Côte d’Ivoire, said countries in the Great Lakes region and elsewhere need to work together to tackle genocide ideology and denial.

"There are still some challenges that needs to be addressed. Unity and reconciliation cannot be complete if we only look inward, reconciliation cannot be complete if countries are still in conflict. It can only be possible if countries also support neighbours in their own reconciliation process,” he said.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com