During the 14th International Symposium of the World Society of Victimology, the photo exhibition “The Men Who Killed Me” will be on display at the World Forum in The Hague (the Netherlands) from May 20th to May 24th, 2012.  Black and white photos of Rwandan genocide survivors of sexual violence will be exhibited.  They are featured in the book “The Men Who Killed Me: Rwandan Survivors of Sexual Violence” and who were photographed by Canadian lawyer and photographer Samer Muscati.  The photos aim to raise awareness of sexual violence in conflict and its impact on survivors long after the conflict has ended.

The symposium deals with the theme “Justice for Victims: Cross-cultural perspectives on conflict, trauma and reconciliation” and is organised by the World Society of Victimology, together with the International Victimology Institute (INTERVICT) Tilburg, Victim Support Europe and the Leuven Institute of Criminology (LINC).  For more information about the symposium visit:
http://www.14thsymposiumwsv.nl/

The “Draft Organic Law Terminating Gacaca Courts Charged with Prosecuting and Trying the Perpetrators of the Crime of Genocide and Other Crimes against Humanity, Committed Between October 1, 1990 and December 31, 1994? will significantly impact on the right of survivors to adequate reparation.  Their submission comments that:

“…a law terminating Gacaca must also address the issue that Gacaca was unable to deliver, and that survivors continue to grapple with, in particular the lack of adequate reparation, including access to rehabilitative services to help survivors deal with severe re-traumatisation as a result of their participation in Gacaca, as well as the enforcement of compensation awards issued by Gacaca jurisdictions for (property related) crimes committed during the genocide.”

The submission highlights that survivors’ organisations were not consulted by the Ministry of Justice or any other Ministry in the drafting of this law, and calls on the the Draft Law to be further strengthened to ensure that the rights, needs and perspectives of survivors are adequately reflected in the adopted law terminating Gacaca.

There is further work that is required to ensure that the right of survivors for awards of compensation made at Gacaca are enforced, and that the process of doing so is fair and transparent.  The submission is currently under consideration as the final wording of the Draft Organic Law is finalised.

SURF has made available for download the Draft Organic Law and their Full Submission.

Many women’s rights to inherit property, especially in villages, are violated, a survey conducted by Pro-Femmes Twese Hamwe, an umbrella organisation of women NGOs in the country has shown.

The survey, whose findings were released this week, was conducted between January and March this year.  The findings indicated that women’s rights on property like land are abused in spite of laws to protect them being in place already.

Speaking to The New Times, the Executive Secretary of Pro-Femmes Twese Hamwe, Emma Bugingo, said despite the government’s commitment to protect women’s rights, there is still need to educate women about them.  “The laws are in place but most importantly is how they protect women or how informed women are about their rights,” Bugingo said.

The Chairperson of Pro-Femmes Twese Hamwe, Jane Kanakuze, called on NGOs working towards protection of women’s rights to coordinate with each other to avoid duplication of services.  “When we coordinate, we shall be able to identify who is taking up which responsibility, something that will also help us assess our achievements as a team,” Kanakuze said.

The survey aimed at assessing ways in which women’s rights are violated.  The exercise was conducted in partnership with various developing partners, including the Ministry of Gender.  It is part of a regional survey spearheaded by Consultative Umbrella of Women Associations in the Great Lakes Region (COCAFEM/GL).

The three month exercise has also been conducted in D.R. Congo and Burundi and according to Bugingo, findings from each country will be shared to collectively seek solutions.

All Africa reports:

The conviction of former Liberian president, Charles Taylor, by the Special Court for Sierra Leone has once again put the spotlight on the efficacy and objectives of international criminal tribunals.  On the other side of the continent, in Rwanda, a radically different – and equally controversial – judicial process will conclude in June 2012.  In How Rwanda judged its genocide, the latest publication in Africa Research Institute’s Counterpoints series, Dr Phil Clark scrutinises the gacaca community courts set up to prosecute crimes committed during the 1994 genocide.

The gacaca community courts have been the centrepiece of Rwanda’s justice and reconciliation process.  In 2001, approximately 120,000 genocide suspects were detained in jails across Rwanda at a cost of US$20m a year.  More than 10,000 people had died in detention since 1994.

There were hardly any judges or lawyers left in the country after the genocide, and the judicial infrastructure was in ruins.  Few countries have had to tackle the aftermath of a conflict in which hundreds of thousands were killed or injured by hundreds of thousands of their fellow citizens with such limited legal and financial resources.

The aims of gacaca were to prosecute every individual genocide suspect, regardless of seniority or social standing, and to begin the reconstruction and reconciliation of Rwandan society.  Crucially, the process was designed to involve the people who experienced the genocide first-hand at every stage.  Formally trained judges and lawyers were excluded from any official involvement.  In 2002, gacaca was launched by the Rwandan government as “justice without lawyers”.  More than 250,000 lay judges were elected by their communities in about 11,000 jurisdictions.  As gacaca identified new suspects still at large, the number of people prosecuted swelled to 400,000.

Most international observers have fiercely opposed the use of gacaca courts for trying genocide crimes in Rwanda, claiming that they were ill-equipped to handle such complex cases fairly.  This Counterpoint argues that such criticism reflects legal rigidity in the face of the unprecedented challenges confronting post-genocide Rwanda – and a limited understanding of the multiple aims of gacaca.  The perspective stems from a narrow conception of justice based on the experiences of the Nuremberg and Toyko trials after World War II and subsequent tribunals – including the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

As many as one million cases have been heard by gacaca courts in a decade, at a cost of US$40m, compared with the US$1 billion spent on 69 trials at the ICTR.  Gacaca has inevitably been imperfect.  Its shortcomings have included cases of corruption, bribery of judges and intimidation of witnesses.  Some survivors have also been retraumatised.

But the process was also highly innovative and delivered significant benefits.  A vast genocide caseload was cleared.  Popular participation during gacaca hearings was conducive to truth-telling and truth-hearing.

As court proceedings were shaped by local communities, vigorous political exchange often ensued.  Phil Clark asserts that other societies confronting the aftermath can learn much from the achievements of gacaca – as well as its flaws and pitfalls.  “There are serious questions we must ask about the appropriate responses to mass conflict”, said Phil Clark at the launch of How Rwanda judged its genocide at Africa Research Institute in London.  “Critiques of gacaca have been vociferous since day one.  But critics have ignored one of its greatest assets, namely that Rwandans have been able to talk about the genocide, and its impact, on their own terms, in a language that is familiar to them”.

These three pillars of the Campaign—PREVENT, PROTECT, PROSECUTE—signal a comprehensive effort to stop rape in conflict.  The Campaign’s first four focus countries—Burma, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya—represent places where immediate, coordinated action is needed.

For a link to the website, click here.

Before a crowded public gallery, Appeals Court presiding judge Fausto Pocar rejected one by one the seven grounds of appeal presented by Hategekimana.  In 1994, Hategekimana was in charge of the small military camp of Ngoma, in southern Rwanda.

The Appeals Chamber confirmed the conviction handed down by the lower court.  According to the judgment, Hategekimana ordered the selection, kidnap and murder of Tutsis from a religious convent near his military camp on April 30, 1994.  The judges also found that he had encouraged acts of rape.

Hategekimana was arrested in Congo Brazzaville on February 13, 2003 and transferred to the ICTR detention centre in Arusha three days later.

He was initially charged with two other officers based in Butare during the genocide, including Captain Ildephonse Nizeyimana who is currently awaiting judgment.  Their cases were separated in the course of proceedings.

For original article, click here.

Speaking at a news briefing organised by the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS, Vivian Furaha, a pharmacist, said most of the infected women suffer stigma and discrimination at home, school and at the workplace.  “Once people find out you are infected with HIV, they start treating you like you are abnormal.  Some of our colleagues have confessed that people refuse to share rooms with them once they find out they are infected with HIV,” said Furaha.  “Some can’t even access jobs yet they are willing to work”.

She said work policies exist but some aren’t implemented, stressing that HIV infected people are often times denied access to loans and credit facilities from some financial institutions.

Claire Gasamagera, another HIV positive woman, called upon the concerned authorities to protect those infected.  “We have specific times for taking medication and visiting the health provider for tests…we need our employers to understand our situation during such moments.  We shouldn’t be chased from work or discriminated against because of our status,” she said.

Gasamagera added that people should stop making fun of them and calling them names because having HIV is a sensitive issue.  She instead called for support.

Isabelle Nizeyimana, an accountant and business woman, said they face difficulties while trying to access loans and are also denied life insurance.  According to Nizeyimana, this makes it hard for the women to expand their entrepreneurial portfolio and build their own businesses since they can’t access loans like other people.

She said they are also denied inheritance rights as they are wrongly perceived as people who would die soon, which isn’t the case.

Nizeyimana explained that being infected with HIV isn’t the same as having AIDS adding that most of them are people living with HIV and not AIDS, which is a disease.

The women called upon the media to play a role in changing people’s mindset towards those infected, to stop being stigmatised and ridiculed.

All these sentiments were expressed during a three day workshop aimed at building capacity for HIV-positive women in health and rights using research to articulate an advocacy agenda based on sexual and reproductive health.

For the original article, click here.

In “Historic Rwandan genocide trial starts Monday in Ottawa,” The Ottawa Citizen reports that Jacques Mungwarere, from Kibuye, Rwanda, will face trial in Ottawa for war crimes.  Jury selection for the bilingual trial is soon to begin from a pool of about 1,000 potential jurors.

Mungwarere fled his native country and settled in Windsor, Ont. as a refugee after the brutal 100-day Rwandan genocide.  He was arrested in November 2009 after a six-year RCMP investigation that included interviews with witnesses in Canada, the United States and Rwanda.  He has been detained at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre since.

When he was apprehended, Mungwarere was working in a factory warehouse in Windsor, where he lived with his wife and three children, according to TRIAL, a Geneva-based organization that tracks alleged war criminals.

Now 40, he faces four counts under Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, including murder, sexual violence and physical and psychological aggression in an intentional campaign of genocide.

The charges do not outline any other details, although Kibuye is the site where 2,000 Tutsi women and children were locked in a church that was then bulldozed.  In all, more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered in the small East African country in 1994.

For Odette Uwambaye, a genocide survivor who works as a counsellor for the Rwandan diaspora in Ottawa, the beginning of the trial comes as a relief.

“It’s still fresh.  It will always be fresh.  Whatever happened 18 years ago is still in my mind, it’s still in my body,” she says.  “The memories come back, the post-trauma comes back.  Those days and those nights come back.”

Uwambaye does not know Mungwarere.  She was 140 kilometres away from Kibuye, in the city of Butare, during the genocide.  But she will be watching the trial closely.

The only other person to be tried under Canada’s legislation, which was introduced in 2000, was Désiré Munyaneza, and that case was heard by a judge only.

A mountain of evidence was presented during Munyaneza’s trial in Montreal: 66 witnesses testified resulting in 16,000 pages of transcripts, 1,000 pages of written arguments were submitted by each the Crown and the defence, and the judge reviewed 30,000 pages of jurisprudence.

The trial itself spanned two years, between January 2007 and December 2008, with some breaks.  The guilty verdict came down in 2009, a 200-page judgment with a 300-page confidential annex to protect witnesses.  Munyaneza is serving a life sentence.

Mungwarere’s trial-by-jury is a “legal curiosity,” says Bruce Broomhall, an international law professor at l’Université du Québec à Montréal.

“I think we’re all interested in seeing how the jurors will respond to what is likely to be a complicated trial,” Broomhall says.  “The facts can be quite intensive and these kinds of trials can last a long time so that could be exhausting for a jury.”

Broomhall believes the issue of witness protection that arose during Munyaneza’s trial could also come up in Mungwarere’s case, putting added pressure on jurors.

“The jury will have to be made very aware of its duties in terms of respecting confidentiality,” Broomhall says.

Add to that the fact that it will be a bilingual trial and selecting a jury becomes even more challenging, he said.

For the full article, click here.

In a subsequent development, Mungwarere’s lawyers requested a trial by judge alone, which the prosecutor agreed with.  The jurors were dismissed.  For more on this development, click here.

In Rwanda Focus, Marie-Brigitte Kabalira writes:

Given that the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis took place on the basis of deep social divisions, justice and reconciliation were top priorities when the country emerged from the 100-day cataclysm.  “Justice was the first thing that those who lost loved ones claimed,” explains Domitilla Mukantanganzwa, the executive secretary of the national jurisdiction of gacaca courts.

Justice in a post-conflict context can be a very complex process, especially when people’s relationships and reconciliation have to be kept in mind.  “Usually justice determines a winner and a loser which, if applied in the context of our country’s history, would not have been very constructive but would instead have drawn Rwandans further apart,” remarks Alphonse Bakusi, director of the civic education department in the national unity and reconciliation commission NURC.

Trying to combine the two concepts, justice and reconciliation, the gacaca courts system was put in place to serve both as a justice and a social platform.  “Survivors and perpetrators of the genocide and their families came face to face,” Bakusi says, adding that this served as a kind of collective therapy where one side confessed their wrongdoings and asked for forgiveness, while the other was able to find the remains of their loved ones, bury them with dignity and experience closure.

As Mukantaganzwa points out, it was important to take into account that many of the perpetrators were just followers, and while they should be sanctioned for their participation in the genocide, the leaders who planned and incited others should receive the harshest punishment.  “Our country wanted a justice that gives people lessons, a justice that brings back values in the lives of its citizens, that brings them all together,” she says.

That was difficult to achieve through the traditional justice system, Mukantaganzwa remarks – there are a lot citizens don’t understand it, lawyers are expensive and at times use technical language unintelligible to the common man.  But with gacaca, it encompassed the people from the grassroots and they were able to own it.

Gacaca courts, which will be closed by the end of June, handled about 1.9 million cases of genocide suspects in the past decade, some of whom were found guilty while others were acquitted.  Such was the case of one Gaspard Munyazikwiye, who spent more than ten years in prison before he was found innocent of all the charges as everyone testified that they didn’t know anything wrong about him.  “I was very glad to rejoin my family after such a long time,” he says. “I had missed a lot in the lives of my children, but I tried to catch up and carry on with life.”

Solid foundation

While gacaca certainly made a great contribution to rendering justice, some feel that when it comes to reconciliation the road is still long.  “There were so many genocide suspects and I think gacaca sped up the process of trying them,” remarks one young man who wishes to remain anonymous.  “But from my perception, I don’t think that we got the whole truth at all times as each one wanted to protect their own.”

He adds that even though people are trying to live in harmony, due the government’s efforts to promote unity, reconciliation is a process that will take a long time.  “Let’s be realistic: can you imagine what it is like to see the people who killed your family walking free?” he asks.  “People are still hurting, they are still trying to come to terms with what happened and are struggling with life to provide for themselves and their families.”

He expresses the hope that it may be easier for the next generation than it is for his, especially when all the issues have been addressed.

NURC’s Bakusi agrees that there are wounds that still need to be healed.  “Unity of any nation in the world is an ongoing exercise and reconciliation does not happen overnight,” he says. “We still have a lot of people in jail and survivors are still struggling; social trust still needs to be built.”

According to a 2010 study by NURC, entitled “Rwanda reconciliation barometer,” 25% of those interviewed were afraid that if there are no mechanisms put in place to prevent it, genocide might occur again mainly due to people wanting revenge.

But as Mukantaganzwa observes, gacaca has laid a solid foundation for the process of reconciliation by bringing all the people together.  “Sure, there are still some hindrances like the persistence of genocide ideology and divisionism, the difficulties with socio-economic welfare, people feeling insecure in their hearts, but there is hope of reconciliation being fully achieved if we continue to work together to that end,” she says

“Some people may only think that they did not get what they wanted in terms of justice, while others think that they were not treated fairly,” Bakusi adds.  “It’s only normal, but we need to remember that relationships between people are not static, but dynamic.  As we sit together with all the concerned parties and resolve the problems they have, things will slowly take shape as long as the people are of a mind to do that and continue to be encouraged.”

Gacaca, as a homegrown solution to bring justice, has taught Rwandans quite a few lessons.  “It brought confidence in everyone as it showed them that they can achieve what they set their minds to,” Mukantaganzwa points out.  “It was a demonstration of what Rwandans are able to do, that they are capable of good deeds which contribute to the development of their country.”

To see the original article, click here.

In The New Times, Edwin Musoni reports:

The genocide had enormous consequences that are both visible and indiscernible to the survivors and Rwandans in general.  It also profoundly affected the lives of everyone in Rwanda socially, economically and psychologically.

In 1998, the government established the Fund for Genocide Survivors (FARG) to channel financial support and otherwise to survivors.  The FARG Executive Secretary, Theophile Ruberangeyo, says since 1998, the fund has spent over Rwf130 billion on survivors’ welfare with 75 per cent spent on education.

“We are currently conducting an impact assessment study to see how effective FARG has been since its establishment.  Findings of the study will be released in less than two weeks,” says Ruberangeyo.

A preliminary study indicates that 98 per cent of genocide survivors are satisfied with the way they have been facilitated to acquire education.  According to the study, the two per cent who were discontented were those who had dropped out of school for various reasons.

Although education is considered the golden success of FARG, the programme will come to its close in 2019.  “We expect that a child who was born during the genocide and maybe slightly after would have graduated at university by then,” Ruberangeyo observes.  Available statistics indicate that to date, 4,339 genocide survivors under the FARG sponsorship have graduated with Bachelors degrees while 5,812 are still at university.

Evidently, 70 per cent of IBUKA representatives at local levels are youths with a Bachelors degree, while some are Masters degree holders.

IBUKA is the umbrella association of Rwanda genocide survivors’ organisations.

However, according to Jean Pierre Dusingizemungu, the president of IBUKA, over 12,000 students failed to make it to university.  “We request all agencies and anybody who can assist to help these children acquire skills that could help lead a better life,” he appeals.

All these survivors become independent when they leave school but there are others who still need assistance 18 years after the genocide.

The assistance has also incorporated the construction of houses for them.  According Dusingizemungu, 40,187 houses have since been constructed but some of these houses are now dilapidated and need renovation or reconstruction.  Figures from FARG indicate that 80 per cent of the survivors who have benefited from the housing programme expressed satisfaction but some complain that their houses are in a sorry state.

As part of supporting survivors, the government introduced a financial support scheme commonly known as inkunga y’ingoboka for the vulnerable.  Currently, 23,000 survivors have benefited from the programme.

“Genocide survivors’ organisations need a financial boost.  We have youth who are able to work but they need support in terms of training and project management,” Dusingizemungu points out.

Also in line with the welfare boost, government is ensuring that all vulnerable genocide survivors are given a free cow under the one cow per family programme.  A family with a cow has access to milk and fertiliser which helps in improving its welfare.

Although there are no clear figures of how many people survived the genocide, among the criteria for determining the number of vulnerable genocide survivors is through enrolment with the universal health insurance scheme (Mutuelle de Sante).  To date, the scheme has enlisted a total of 165,000 genocide survivors who benefit through FARG.

However, Dusingizemungu points out that the government should ratify a policy to offer effective treatment to patients suffering from chronic diseases arising from the genocide.  Currently, 18,500 genocide survivors require special treatment that requires a lot of money, says Ruberangeyo.

“We have the money we just need re-align the whole systems.  Among those that need special treatment include some with chronic trauma, epilepsy as a result of head-cuts and others,” he states.

Hitches

After spending billions of Rwandan francs on housing for survivors, an assessment carried out by the Auditor General, Obadiah Biraro, last year revealed that the construction was not worth the amount of money spent.  Biraro carried out the assessment study at the request of the Senate following several allegations of embezzlement and mismanagement.

The audit that was carried for the period 2006 – 2007 looked at the funds FARG spent on housing and projects geared towards helping survivors.  Biraro reported that records from FARG and the Ministry of Local Government indicate that Rwf3. 3 billion was transferred to districts for the construction of houses for survivors during that period.  He added that in 2008, a total of Rwf 3.1bn was spent on cement, iron sheets and roofing nails.

“The loss of value for money is due to inadequate documentation to confirm the quantity of materials supplied.  No documentation was provided by the ministry to show the exact quality of iron sheets delivered by the supplier.  Ultimately, it is difficult to confirm whether the iron sheets delivered to the ministry were of the appropriate type and quality,” said the AG.

Prior to that, several government officials were taken to task by Parliament over the mismanagement of FARG funds with the Senate accusing government officials of feeding the legislature with misleading information.

As a result of the AG’s report, the Senate also summoned the then Prime Minister to explain the disparities in the mismanagement of the funds.  The Premier indeed acknowledged there were evident mistakes in the management of FARG funds and construction materials for houses of FARG beneficiaries.  He said that among the errors, some FARG beneficiaries got more houses than they were entitled to.  He, however, explained that only 1,500 out of the 40,000 beneficiaries were yet to get houses in 1995.

Following the development, FARG took a decision to streamline its operations.  Among the sectors that were thoroughly revised include education that had recorded over 19,000 ghost beneficiaries.  According to Ruberangeyo, the revision saved FARG a total of Rwf 8billion.

For a link to the original article, click here.