The United Nations Security Council voted to have archives of the ICTR remain in Arusha for the Resdue Mechanism period that is expected to last about 4 years, starting July 2012.The Resdue Mechanism was put in place to deal with pending issues that remain after closure of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTY). During the Resdue mechanism period, the ICTR archives will be hosted in Arusha and those for the ICTY in the Hague. After this period - once all the pending cases are closed - a final decision on where the archives will be hosted, will then be made.The ICTR archives contain some of the best documentary evidence of what happened during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, ranging from witness testimonies to confessions to the judgments and other court files.It is important that evidence, such as the court proceedings, is archived where the crimes were committed. Furthermore, these archives tell the story of Rwanda’s darkest time, and this information is key to not only understanding what happened, but to also help future generations and scholars to have reference on matters related to Genocide.Once the Resdue Mechanism period comes to an end, it is only proper that the archives, which constitute Rwanda’s history, are stored where they originated.The Rwandan people deserve the right to host their history.
