DOCSLIB.ORG

Monitoring and Research Report on the Gacaca Trials of Offences

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Monitoring and Research Report on the Gacaca Trials of Offences Monitoring and Research Report on the Gacaca Trials of offences against property committed during the genocide : a conflict between the theory of reparation and the social and economic reality in Rwanda With support from the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Direction of Development, and the Cooperation Suisse (DDC) July 2007 PRI - Gacaca Report – July 2007 PRI addresses PRI London First Floor 60-62 Commercial Street London E1 6LT Tel.: +44 (0) 20 7247 6515 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7377 8711 [email protected] PRI Rwanda BP 370 Kigali, Rwanda Tel.: +250 51 86 64 Fax: +250 51 86 41 [email protected] Web-site address: www.penalreform.org All comments on, and reactions to, this work are welcome. Do not hesitate to contact us at the above addresses. The information presented in this document was collected thanks to the entire PRI team in Rwanda, to whom we extend our gratitude for their work. PRI - Gacaca Report – July 2007 Summary Right from the outset, decisions by the Gacaca Courts at "Cell" and "Sector" levels in matters relating to property offences Gacaca during the genocide (looting, destruction of and damage to real estate and personal property) have proved to be a problem area and continue to give rise to numerous disputes for various reasons. Firstly, the large-scaled looting which took place during the 1994 tragedy and which, to a large extent, was organised from the top down, constitute a complex set of events. Although many people were involved in one way or another, the extent of each individual's responsibility varied widely. On the one hand, some members of the attaques stole and destroyed not only in order to acquire wealth for themselves, but also in the hope that by doing so they would wipe out all trace of the victims of the genocide. This formed part of the extermination plan and from that point of view, looting were an integral part of the genocide. On the other hand, whereas some individuals looted and benefited from the chaos in that they improved their standard of living by appropriating property that appeared to have been abandoned, others did so simply to survive when the general insecurity had made it impossible to farm the land. These two latter groups looted without agreeing to or forming part of the genocide plan. Consequently, it is not easy to determine the degree of each individual’s responsibility. There is a further complication in that there was a second round of looting which took place whilst the owners were in exile and some of them have been unable to recover their property since returning to Rwanda. Today, they feel frustrated because they can't claim their property in Gacaca proceedings and yet they themselves may be ordered to make repayments to the very people who were implicated in that second round of looting. A third problem is that upon their return from exile, some of the survivors received payment in respect of their property either as a result of a procedure known as the entente, (“friendly settlement”) or as a result of pressure by the authorities. Today, they may feel frustrated because they believe that what they received then is insufficient compared to what is currently being repaid at the outcome of a Gacaca hearing. So, some of them seek to reopen their claims. The absence of written evidence of the ententes makes it difficult to prove that they ever took place. Thirteen years after the events, the Gacaca Courts are faced with a very difficult task, further complicated by the fact that the procedure under the law on property offences itself may cause problems. The authorities contend that the Gacaca proceedings should only be used where parties have failed to reach a friendly settlement. Nevertheless, since the introduction of the formalised Gacaca procedure, there have been many instances where the intervention of the Gacaca courts in these ententes has been so far-reaching that the entente procedure is beginning to look like the more formal court proceedings. Two further major elements cause serious problems at the hearings. Firstly, the law provides that where the looter is absent (because he is dead, in exile or in prison - and there are a great number of these cases), he can still be tried and his or her heirs, or those who have taken over his or her business, must make the repayments. Inevitably this leads to disputes if the value of the property left by the looter is less than the sum ordered by way of repayment, or when the property has already been divided between members of the family. PRI - Gacaca Report – July 2007 Secondly, the use of the in absentia procedure means that the defendant’s mens rea (the defendant’s intent to commit the offence(s) (s)he is charged with) is not considered. Even where a defendant is represented at the hearing by members of his/her family, these often do not know what the defendant did or didn’t do and are therefore unable to run any defence. Furthermore, there may have been a series of events. For example, a house may have been looted on a number of successive occasions by a number of different people. This makes it difficult to establish who took what. The courts’ way of dealing with this is often to first find the value of the property at issue and then divide that value in equal parts by the number of co- defendants. The net result is that a person who has participated in the destruction of a house and who took a great number of personal belongings, may end up having to repay the same amount of money as a person who arrived last on the scene and took a bowl or some wood from the debris so as to be able to cook a meal. It is also worth bearing in mind that a number of these judgments are given at Cell level, the lowest level in the Gacaca proceedings and that the Panel, which is made up of lay judges, may find it difficult to cope with a procedure that changes continually. Once an order has been made, its enforcement may also run into problems. Decisions relating to property offences are usually expressed in monetary terms. Given that the people of Rwanda live in extreme poverty and that the sums ordered by way of compensation for loss of valuable property (houses, livestock, mattresses, etc.) are often quite considerable, the majority of those ordered to make repayments are unable to comply with such orders. Where that is the case, the law offers two "solutions". Firstly, a court can order confiscation or forfeiture of property. Since in Rwanda the property in question is usually land or livestock, such an order may then plunge people into even greater poverty as they lose not only tangible property but above all their main means of survival. Secondly, the court may order that the repayment be made in the form of work carried out for the benefit of the victim. This is contrary to international law and, in our view, could pose a serious social threat. Although the factual circumstances are difficult and complex, we believe that there may be a way of easing the tension which would also, to some extent, satisfy both the victims and those looters who did not commit any killings. That solution is compensation in respect of the loss of loved ones and of the loss of property, and this solution has been available since 1996. However, recent political developments show that the authorities are now considering setting up a social help funds on the same model as the earlier FARG (Fonds d’Assistance aux Rescapés du Génocide, the Help Funds for the Survivors of the Genocide) and have abandoned the whole concept of compensation. Yet, compensation might have been one way of helping Rwanda to move towards a more peaceful cohabitation by taking the edge off the disputes caused by, amongst others, Category 3 (property) offences. PRI - Gacaca Report – July 2007 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Summary ...................................................................................................................................2 METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................5 PREFACE.................................................................................................................................7 The Loi organique N° 10/2007 of 01/03/2007 .......................................................................7 Speed at the expense of quality and fairness..........................................................................7 Life sentences: Gacaca Courts are now competent to impose the maximum sentence.....8 Introduction............................................................................................................................15 PART ONE.............................................................................................................................18 Genocide and exile as aggravating factors in property disputes ........................................18 Identifying the looters: a common problem.........................................................................31 Redistributing the victims’ land............................................................................................33 PART II –................................................................................................................................51 PROPERTY OFFENCES BEFORE THE GACACA COURTS ......................................51 More lenient sentences and reparation: in search of restorative justice?...........................52 A preference for "friendly settlements"................................................................................53
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Open Sainclairthesisfinal.Pdf
    THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHREYER HONORS COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF AFRICAN STUDIES PROGRAM ETHNIC CONFLICTS AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION MECHANISMS: A CASE STUDY OF RWANDA TALIA SAINCLAIR SPRING 2016 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a baccalaureate degree in African Studies with honors in African Studies Reviewed and approved* by the following: Clemente Abrokwaa Professor of African Studies Thesis Supervisor Kevin Thomas Professor of Sociology Honors Adviser * Signatures are on file in the Schreyer Honors College. i ABSTRACT Conflict forms as an inevitable and fundamental aspect of human nature and coexistence, occurring due to natural differences in human interests, perceptions, desires, ambitions, and general dispositions. Conflict can occur, therefore, based on any range of issues including social, economic, political, cultural and religious beliefs. The purpose of this study is to examine the nature and causes of ethnic conflicts in Africa and the methods employed in resolving such conflicts. Specifically, it focuses on the Rwandan genocide of 1994 and the conflict resolution strategies employed by the government in its attempts at mitigating ethnic tensions in the post-genocide period of the country. The objective is to seek effective methods to help prevent and resolve conflicts on the African continent. Several studies have been conducted on the Rwandan genocide that focus on the conflict itself and its causes, as well as the progress Rwanda has made in the twenty-two years since the end of the genocide. However, few studies have focused on the conflict resolution methods employed in the post- genocide period that enabled the country to recover from the effects of the conflict in 1994 to its current state of peace.
    [Show full text]
  • The Contribution of the Gacaca Jurisdictions to Resolving Cases Arising from the Genocide Contributions, Limitations and Expecta
    The contribution of the Gacaca jurisdictions to resolving cases arising from the genocide Contributions, limitations and expectations of the post-Gacaca phase PRI addresses PRI London First Floor, 60-62 Commercial Street London, E1 6LT. United Kingdom Tel: +44 20 7247 6515, Fax: +44 20 7377 8711 E-mail: [email protected] PRI Rwanda BP 370 Kigali, Rwanda Tel.: +250 51 86 64 Fax: +250 51 86 41 [email protected] Web-site address: www.penalreform.org All comments on, and reactions to, this work are welcome. Do not hesitate to contact us at the above addresses. 2 PRI – Final monitoring and research report on the Gacaca process ACKNOWLEDGMENT The year 2009 marked the end of an era for PRI. After years of devoting itself to understanding and analysing the Gacaca jurisdictions, its monitoring and research programme came to a close. Over eight years, PRI travelled across the country in search of facts, people and testimonies; this information formed a series of Gacaca reports which have been published by PRI since 2002. PRI has acquired unique knowledge about the Gacaca jurisdictions and this is largely due to the tenacity, patience, and analytical ability of the Gacaca team in Rwanda. PRI is grateful to all of the men and women who have participated, in whatever way, to the monitoring and research programme on the Gacaca process. PRI takes this opportunity to thank the National Service of Gacaca Jurisdictions which participated in and helped the smooth implementation of the programme. Likewise, PRI thanks national and international nongovernmental organizations, which inspired PRI in its work.
    [Show full text]
  • Evidentiary Challenges in Universal Jurisdiction Cases
    Evidentiary challenges in universal jurisdiction cases Universal Jurisdiction Annual Review 2019 #UJAR 1 Photo credit: UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata This publication benefted from the generous support of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, the Oak Foundation and the City of Geneva. TABLE OF CONTENTS 6 METHODOLOGY AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 7 FOREWORD 8 BUILDING ON SHIFTING SANDS: EVIDENTIARY CHALLENGES IN UNIVERSAL JURISDICTION CASES 11 KEY FINDINGS 12 CASES OF 2018 Argentina 13 VICTIMS DEMAND THE TRUTH ABOUT THE FRANCO DICTATORSHIP 15 ARGENTINIAN PROSECUTORS CONSIDER CHARGES AGAINST CROWN PRINCE Austria 16 SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS JUDGMENT FOR WAR CRIMES IN SYRIA 17 INVESTIGATION OPENS AGAINST OFFICIALS FROM THE AL-ASSAD REGIME Belgium 18 FIVE RWANDANS TO STAND TRIAL FOR GENOCIDE 19 AUTHORITIES ISSUE THEIR FIRST INDICTMENT ON THE 1989 LIBERIAN WAR Finland 20 WAR CRIMES TRIAL RAISES TECHNICAL CHALLENGES 22 FORMER IRAQI SOLDIER SENTENCED FOR WAR CRIMES France ONGOING INVESTIGATIONS ON SYRIA 23 THREE INTERNATIONAL ARREST WARRANTS TARGET HIGH-RANKING AL-ASSAD REGIME OFFICIALS 24 SYRIAN ARMY BOMBARDMENT TARGETING JOURNALISTS IN HOMS 25 STRUCTURAL INVESTIGATION BASED ON INSIDER PHOTOS 26 FIRST IN FRANCE: COMPANY INDICTED FOR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY 28 FRANCE REVOKES REFUGEE STATUS OF MASS MASSACRE SUSPECT 29 SAUDI CROWN PRINCE UNDER INVESTIGATION 30 INVESTIGATION OPENS ON BENGAZHY SIEGE 3 31 A EUROPEAN COLLABORATION: SWISS NGO SEEKS A WARLORD’S PROSECUTION IN FRANCE 32 IS SELLING SPYING DEVICE TO AL-ASSAD’S REGIME COMPLICITY IN TORTURE? RWANDAN TRIALS IN
    [Show full text]
  • The Adjudication of Genocide: Gacaca and the Road to Reconciliation in Rwanda
    SOSNOV_36.2_FINAL 6/5/2008 12:18:12 PM THE ADJUDICATION OF GENOCIDE: GACACA AND THE ROAD TO RECONCILIATION IN RWANDA 1 MAYA SOSNOV INTRODUCTION In 1994, Rwanda suffered one of the worst genocides in history. During 100 days of killing, 800,000 people died.2 More people died in three months than in over four years of conflict in Yugoslavia; moreover, the speed of killing was five times faster than the Nazi execution of the Final Solution.3 Unlike the killings that occurred during the Holocaust, Rwandans engaged in “a populist genocide,” in which many members of society, including children, participated in killing their neighbors with common farm tools (the most popular was the machete).4 While not all Hutus engaged in killing and not all victims were Tutsi, Hutus executed the vast majority of the killings and Tutsis were largely the target of their aggression.5 Fourteen years after the genocide, Rwanda is still struggling with how to rebuild the country and handle the mass atrocities that occurred. During the first four years following the genocide, four types of courts developed to prosecute genocidaires:6 the International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda, foreign courts exercising universal jurisdiction, domestic criminal courts, and a domestic military tribunal. Regrettably, none of these courts has been able to resolve the enormous problems related to adjudicating genocide suspects. In 2001, the government created gacaca, a fifth system for prosecuting genocidaires, to solve the problems it saw in the other courts. Gacaca is highly lauded by the government and many outside observers as the solution to Rwanda’s genocide.
    [Show full text]
  • The ICTR and Rwanda's Gacaca Courts
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of San Diego San Diego International Law Journal Volume 16 Issue 1 Fall 2014 Article 4 2014 Partners or Rivals in Reconciliation? The ICTR and Rwanda’s Gacaca Courts Leo C. Nwoye Follow this and additional works at: https://digital.sandiego.edu/ilj Part of the International Law Commons Recommended Citation Leo C. Nwoye, Partners or Rivals in Reconciliation? The ICTR and Rwanda’s Gacaca Courts, 16 San Diego Int'l L.J. 119 (2014) Available at: https://digital.sandiego.edu/ilj/vol16/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School Journals at Digital USD. It has been accepted for inclusion in San Diego International Law Journal by an authorized editor of Digital USD. For more information, please contact [email protected]. NWOYE (DO NOT DELETE) 10/12/2016 4:59 PM Partners or Rivals in Reconciliation? The ICTR and Rwanda’s Gacaca Courts LEO C. NWOYE* A major question for post-conflict governments to consider is how best to shape reconciliation efforts. This Article examines two transitional justice mechanisms that were utilized in Rwanda’s post genocide era and assesses their contributions to reconciliation. The two principal approaches which emerged in the Rwandan context were the establishment of International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), via the international political community whilst grassroots efforts within Rwanda were channeled through the gacaca court system. While each of these systems, though unintended and incoherent hybrid justice strategies, possessed strengths and weaknesses, this legal pluralist structure nevertheless yielded positive reconciliation results.
    [Show full text]
  • Rwanda's Gacaca in Practice
    Addressing Crimes Against International Law: Rwanda’s Gacaca in Practice A thesis presented for the degree of LL.M at the University of Aberdeen Jennifer G Riddell LL.B (University of Aberdeen) 2005 10/4017222_2 Declaration This thesis has been composed by the candidate and has not been accepted in any previous application for a degree. The work has been done by the candidate. All quotations have been distinguished by quotation marks and the sources of information specifically acknowledged. Jennifer G Riddell 2 Abstract Rwanda experienced horrific genocide in 1994. In its aftermath, national and international trials were established but these trials failed to deal expeditiously with the large numbers of suspects awaiting trial. To combat this, Rwanda introduced an innovative participative justice mechanism, Gacaca. Modern Gacaca is based on a traditional Rwandan restorative justice mechanism of the same name. Its rooting in Rwanda's history makes Gacaca a much more acceptable form of justice to the Rwandan people than international trials given the international community's abandonment of Rwanda during the genocide. While Gacaca falls short of many international fair trial standards it remains Rwanda’s best hope as a wholly Rwandan process. But, Gacaca is more than just a judicial instrument, it has restorative justice at its origin and seeks, as its ultimate aim, to reconcile Rwanda’s divided communities. To reach this aim, Gacaca has several other objectives including discovering the truth of what happened in 1994, ending impunity which has plagued Rwanda since independence and allowing the Rwandan population to participate in the search for justice at a local level.
    [Show full text]
  • Country Report on Human Rights and Justice in Rwanda
    Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs Country Report on Human Rights and Justice in Rwanda Date 18 August 2016 Page 1 of 64 Country Report | August 2016 Edited by Sub-Saharan Africa Department, The Hague Disclaimer: The Dutch version of this report is leading. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands cannot be held accountable for misinterpretations based on the English version of the report. Page 2 of 64 Country Report on Rwanda | August 2016 Contents Contents ....................................................................................................... 3 1 Human Rights .............................................................................................. 6 1.1 Human Rights in General ................................................................................ 6 1.2 Torture and Abuse ....................................................................................... 11 1.2.1 Legislation .................................................................................................. 11 1.2.2 Torture by Military Personnel ......................................................................... 11 1.2.3 Police Abuse ................................................................................................ 13 1.2.4 Local Defence Forces .................................................................................... 13 1.2.5 Monitoring and Assistance ............................................................................. 14 1.3 Disappearances ..........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • An Analysis of the Effectiveness of the Gacaca Court System in Post-Genocide Rwanda
    Global Tides Volume 8 Article 4 2014 An Analysis of the Effectiveness of the Gacaca Court System in Post-Genocide Rwanda Lauren Haberstock Pepperdine University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/globaltides Part of the African History Commons, and the African Studies Commons Recommended Citation Haberstock, Lauren (2014) "An Analysis of the Effectiveness of the Gacaca Court System in Post- Genocide Rwanda," Global Tides: Vol. 8 , Article 4. Available at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/globaltides/vol8/iss1/4 This International Studies and Languages is brought to you for free and open access by the Seaver College at Pepperdine Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Global Tides by an authorized editor of Pepperdine Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. Haberstock: The Effectiveness of the Gacaca Courts in Post-Genocide Rwanda Introduction The genocide that occurred in Rwanda in 1994 was but another sad and violent chapter in the nation’s history. In order to understand why the genocide occurred, it is necessary to look at the events in Rwanda’s past. Rwanda’s pre-colonial history is greatly disputed, and different parties tend to hold differing views, but regardless of the view, it is no disputed fact that Rwanda has been plagued with ethnic divisions since its earliest days as a colony and later as an independent nation. The need for transitional justice and reconciliation in Rwanda becomes apparent in light of the genocide. In countries like Rwanda, where catastrophic human rights abuses have occurred, systems must be set up in order to redress the abuses that took place.
    [Show full text]
  • Does the Gacaca System in Rwanda Provide an Effective Remedy in Compliance with International Norms and Standards?
    FACULTY OF LAW University of Lund Andrea Algård Does the Gacaca system in Rwanda provide an effective remedy in compliance with international norms and standards? Master thesis 20 points Professor Gudmundur Alfredsson International Law / Human Rights Law Fall 2005 Contents SUMMARY 1 PREFACE 2 ABBREVIATIONS 3 1 INTRODUCTION 4 1.1 Purpose 6 1.2 Method and material 6 1.3 Delimitations 7 1.4 Disposition 8 2 THE RWANDAN CONTEXT 9 2.1 Identity and independence 9 2.2 War and genocide 10 2.3 Rebuilding Rwanda 12 3 THE GACACA SYSTEM 14 3.1 Why Gacaca was the chosen solution 14 3.2 Structure, competence and function of gacaca 16 3.2.1 Cell 17 3.2.2 Sector and appeal 18 3.3 Victor’s justice? 19 4 VICTIMS’ RIGHTS WITHIN GACACA 22 4.1 Truth 22 4.1.1 Participation 23 4.1.1.1 Psychological and economic effects of participation 24 4.1.1.2 Sensitisation 25 4.1.1.3 Does Gacaca concern all Rwandans? 27 4.1.2 Security 27 4.1.2.1 Threats, fears and violence 28 4.1.2.2 Provisional release of prisoners 29 4.1.2.3 Preventive measures 31 4.1.3 Investigation 32 4.2 Justice 33 4.2.1 Time 33 4.2.2 Access to justice 34 4.2.2.1 Refugees and internally displaced persons 34 4.2.2.2 Problems facing displaced victims 34 4.2.3 Assistance 35 4.2.4 Impartiality 36 4.2.4.1 The inyangamugayo 36 4.2.4.2 Seats with problems 38 4.2.5 The procedure of guilty plea 39 4.2.6 Reparation 40 4.2.6.1 Reparation within Gacaca 43 4.2.6.2 The FARG 44 5 INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS 46 5.1 International and Regional Human Rights Instruments 47 5.1.1 The Genocide Convention 47 5.1.2 The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 49 5.1.2.1 The Human Rights Committee 51 5.1.3 The African System 53 5.1.3.1 The African Charter on Human and People’s Rights 54 5.1.3.2 Victims’ rights before the Commission and the Court 55 5.2 Non-legally binding instruments 56 5.2.1 The Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power 56 5.2.2 Special Rapporteurs and Independent Experts of the UN Commission on Human Rights 58 5.3 International Criminal Tribunals 60 5.3.1.
    [Show full text]
  • Eight Years on … a Record of Gacaca Monitoring in Rwanda
    EIGHT YEARS ON … A RECORD OF GACACA MONITORING IN RWANDA 1 Penal RefoRm InteRnatIonal ISBn: 978-0-9535220-6-4 © Penal Reform International 2010 for all enquires please write to [email protected] PRI permits and encourages the free reproduction, distribution, and translation of any and all material in this book, providing due credit is given to Penal Reform International and this publication. Penal Reform International: www.penalreform.org Designed by Intertype: www.intertype.co.uk Printed and bound by Bell & Bain limited Contents Preface 4 acknowledgements 6 Glossary 7 Chronology of relevant events 8 Reports on Gacaca: Penal Reform International 11 1. Introduction 13 1.1 Why Gacaca? 14 1.2 PRI’s Gacaca research 17 1.3 Data collection methods 17 1.4 Research limitations 19 2. Establishing the truth: Gacaca in theory and practice 21 2.1 Gacaca structures and jurisdiction 24 2.2 The quality of evidence and State involvement in its gathering 27 2.3 Gacaca judges and their function 29 2.4 Public participation in Gacaca 32 2.5 The importance of confessing and the implications of the guilty plea 34 2.6 The role of ‘the Righteous’ 37 3. Quality of justice for all 41 3.1 Dealing with the innocent 41 3.2 Gacaca and crimes of revenge 43 3.3 Reparations: developing compensation and community service schemes 45 4. Reconciliation and living together again 49 4.1 Returning home: learning to live together again 51 4.2 The solidarity camps 54 4.3 Settling property offences 58 4.4 The impact of community service on survivors and perpetrators 60 5.
    [Show full text]
  • Reconciliation and Transitional Justice: the CASE of Rwanda’S Gacaca Courts
    RECONCILIATION AND TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE: THE CASE OF RWANDA’S GACACA COURTS Fanie du Toit Contents Introduction 1 Reconciliation as Overcoming Violence 1 Rwanda as Transitional Justice Case Study 3 Cultural Violence through History: Rwanda and its Past 6 ‘Forgetting-but-not-Denying’ Genocide 10 Remembering Genocide Non-Violently 12 Gacaca as Challenge to Cultural Violence 15 Conclusion 20 List of Sources 22 Published by the Institute for Justice and Reconcilation Wynberg Mews, Ground Floor, House Vincent, 10 Brodie Road, Wynberg 7800, South Africa www.ijr.org.za © 2011 Institute for Justice and Reconciliation First Published 2011 All rights reserved. ISBN 978-1-920219-29-1 Produced by Compress.dsl www.compressdsl.com iii Introduction This paper has a two-fold objective: firstly to conceptualise reconciliation as an outcome of transitional justice, and secondly to analyse critically the implications and consequences of the Rwandan transitional justice programmes (specifically the gacaca system) in terms of this evaluative framework. Following Galtung’s definition of ‘positive peace’, I develop an understanding of reconciliation as the removal of lingering or new forms of structural and cultural violence in a post-conflict society. Borrowing from Mamdani, a key goal of countering cultural violence is identified as ‘reconciliation with history’ which entails building agreement through enabling engagement between opposing historical perspectives, as well as by acknowledging and including in the ‘offical narrative’ individual ‘little narratives’ in the form of victim and perpetrator testimonies. The gacaca process is consequently evaluated in terms of the objectives developed above. The courts, however, remain in operation at the time of writing, making a conclusive judgement of their performance premature.
    [Show full text]
  • Traditional Justice and Reconciliation After Violent Conflict. Learning From
    Traditional Justice and Reconciliation after Violent Conflict Learning from African Experiences Traditional Justice and Reconciliation after Violent Conflict Learning from African Experiences Editors Luc Huyse Mark Salter Contributors Luc Huyse Bert Ingelaere Victor Igreja Beatrice Dias-Lambranca James Ojera Latigo Joe A.D. Alie Assumpta Naniwe-Kaburahe I International IDEA publications are independent of specific national or political interests. Views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of International IDEA, its Board or its Council members. © International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance 2008 Applications for permission to reproduce or translate all or any part of this publication should be made to: International IDEA SE - 103 34 Stockholm Sweden International IDEA encourages dissemination of its work and will promptly respond to requests for permission to reproduce or translate its publications. Cover photo: B. Dias Lambranca (During a nocturne healing session in central Mozambique, a gamba healer shows a bayonet, i.e. a healing instrument, to a female patient as a way to trigger the emergence of the gamba spirit in the body of the patient). Graphic design: Trydells Form Cover design: Kristina Schollin-Borg Printed by: Trydells Tryckeri AB, Sweden ISBN: 978-91-85724-28-4 II Preface A key question facing democracies emerging from civil conflict is how best to deal with the painful legacy of past—and in many cases all too recent—violence, while at the same time maintaining the fragile
    [Show full text]