Dutch gesture laudable but getting EU to act is the dream deal

Dutch Minister for Migration, Security and Justice Fred Teeven, this week, made the most of his three-day official visit to the country with some pronouncements that have given lots of hope to the quest for justice in the country. Despite admitting that his hands are tied by some legal issues concerning Genocide suspects who have already acquired Dutch citizenship, Teeven said within one-and-a-half years, his government would have extradited or deported some of the suspects to face justice. A state-of-the-art courtroom where these suspects and other transferees from other foreign/international jurisdictions will also be constructed in the Southern Province with the support of the Netherlands, while the Dutch legal system would also try some of the suspects. These are all positive trends that give the country hope that the relentless pursuit of justice for the more than a million victims of the 1994 Genocide has the hallmark that justifies the age-old adage that you can run but the hand of law is too long to escape forever. However, of much more importance at this juncture would be for foreign jurisdictions such as The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Canada and others that have been enforcing justice for the victims and survivors to add another resounding chapter to their effort. This chapter should be to join Rwanda in urging jurisdictions such as France and the United Kingdom to embrace the quest for justice with regard to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Perhaps the attitudes of Paris and the reluctance of London could be softened further if the nations that have been enforcing justice for the Genocide victims and survivors beseech more earnestly for, at the minimum, credible trial of these suspects sunbathing in their cities. The EU should not allow its member states to be havens for Genocide fugitives, especially since the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that suspects can be extradited to Rwanda since they can get fair trial. And, like Kigali has repeatedly said, where the extradition is too entangled a shot to call, Rwandans would appreciate trying these suspects in foreign jurisdictions. Twenty years after the Genocide, the world should reflect on how much they have helped atone for looking aside as the massacres were carried out. Nations that believe in justice should lend a voice.

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Dutch gesture laudable but getting EU to act is the dream deal