We are still frustrated, Genocide survivors tell ICTR officials

Twenty-one years since it opened its doors in Arusha, Tanzania, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) is closing what Genocide survivors, under their umbrella organisation Ibuka say is a tenure that was marred by its failure to cooperate with the survivors. According to the president of Ibuka, Prof. Jean Pierre Dusingizemungu, the tribunal adamantly refused to strike a balance in areas that would have majorly contributed to the delivery of justice. “I would be lying if I said that we are happy about the court’s achievements over the past 21 years. There are a number of areas where we couldn’t strike a balance, especially on the role of Genocide survivors, the treatment of witnesses and the tribunal’s rulings,” he said. Prof. Dusingizemungu said that on top of failing to address the language barrier issue, the translations during the trial of witnesses’ testimonies missed some of the core messages. He also pointed out what he called the deliberate reluctance to utilise ‘prima facie’ evidence that the survivors provided. He further expressed dissatisfaction about the tribunal’s rulings stating that some of the verdicts, especially acquittals, and the tribunal’s refusal to grant the survivors complete access to some of the court’s documentations. “Since they refused to give us full access to the archives, we have been strongly pushing for a UN documentation centre because the small centre in Kigali is not fully equipped with relevant information needed by Rwandans,” he said. Prof. Dusingizemungu added that an International Trust Fund which was supposed to collect money for reparation and payment of damages to Genocide survivors was never set up as previously agreed. He, however, commended the tribunal for openly acknowledging the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi and that rape had been used as a weapon. The tribunal is expected to close judicial business today, while a number of 175 staff will be retained for liquidation and administration closure till early next year. The court, that once employed around 6,500 people, will hand over the remnants of the work to the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunal (MICT) which will have a short mandate that can be extended by the UN Security Council. Reacting to the comments by the Rwandan officials, former chief judge of the tribunal Navanethem Pillay stated that indeed it had been difficult for the court to successfully execute its mandate since it was the first time UN had commissioned a project of handling international crimes through a well-organised tribunal. “Apparently many countries had asked for international tribunal but couldn’t get it, the failure of the ICTR is that they were no provisions in the laws for reparation of Genocide survivors, but that has been corrected in the Rome Statute for international crimes against humanity, “ he saidHe pointed out that there was still a long journey to have all these issues catered for because there is still selective justice across the world. “We need to be able to draft legal instruments that are uniform, not for only certain countries,” she said. The tribunal was established mainly to bring justice to those who bear responsibility for Genocide crimes committed in Rwanda at the same time contributing to the national unity and reconciliation process while preventing any other looming genocide. Since the inception of the tribunal at least 93 indictments have been made, of which 61 people were sentenced; 14 acquitted; 10 sent to Rwanda for trial; 3 are deceased; 2 had their cases withdrawn while 3 others were transferred to the Mechanism. Nine of the indicted remain at large; including the renowned Felcien Kabuga, a key suspected financier of the Genocide. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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We are still frustrated, Genocide survivors tell ICTR officials