Procedural due process and the prosecution of genocide suspects in Rwanda

Apuuli, Kasaija Phillip

doi:10.1080/14623520802703582

Cited by 26 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Even if the Rwandan government has made reconciliation and the elimination of ethnicity a central policy, its stated aim blatantly contradicts its nepotistic style of politics. The contradiction reinforces mistrust and division along ethnic lines, some observers note, and dampens expectations of reaching justice, whether trials are international or domestic (Apuuli 2009;McLean Hilker 2009). 4 Cambodia represents an extremely elitistic case where only a handful of (possible) Khmer Rouge leaders are prosecuted by the tribunal of the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia (ECCE) tribunal.…”

Section: Localizing Reconciliationmentioning

confidence: 94%

Introduction

Eastmond

2010

Focaal

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This special section of Focaal explores processes of social recovery and peacebuilding in the aftermath of radical violence and political upheaval. The articles draw on detailed ethnographic case studies from Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country that was shattered by war and ethnic cleansing in the 1990s, and raise issues of relevance to other post-conflict situations. Challenging "reconciliation" as a moral discourse with universalist claims, the articles highlight the dynamics of its localization in different contexts of intervention in post-war society. The four contributions explore different facets of this dynamic as it is played out in the key areas of justice, the return of refugees and internally displaced persons, and NGO peace-building activities. They illuminate what happens when the global paradigm of reconciliation encounters and filters through meanings and motivations of actors in local contexts. They also note that everyday interactions between former adversaries take place not as a moral engagement with reconciliation but as part of rebuilding a sense of normality. The findings point to the need to critically investigate the conditions under which such encounters may empower or prohibit the rebuilding of social relations and trust in post-war societies.

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Section: Localizing Reconciliationmentioning

confidence: 94%

Introduction

Eastmond

2010

Focaal

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“…Producing Expertise in a Transitional Justice Setting 85 2005; Waldorf 2006;Apuuli 2009). Others have argued that the gacaca courts were too tightly tied to the state and have thus suggested that they functioned as a form of state power, emphasizing some crimes at the expense of others (Burnet 2008;Rettig 2008;Thomson 2011;Chakravarty 2015).…”

Section: Rwanda's Gacaca Courts and The Inyangamugayomentioning

confidence: 99%

Producing Expertise in a Transitional Justice Setting: Judges at Rwanda’s Gacaca Courts

Brehm¹,

Smith²,

Gertz³

2019

Law Soc. Inq.

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In the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi, the Government of Rwanda created courts to hold hundreds of thousands of suspected g enocidaires accountable. Faced with an unprecedented volume of cases, each community elected lay judges known as inyangamugayo to preside over the court proceedings. With no prior legal training, these individuals held trials for a decade, levying sentences ranging from minor fines to life in prison. This article draws from forty-six interviews with former inyangamugayo to make two primary contributions. First, we examine how professional boundaries shifted during a period of upheaval such that laypeople performed tasks typically undertaken by professionals. Second, we highlight the centrality of social capital-and, more specifically, reputations-in the inyangamugayo's election and tasks. In doing so, we illustrate how the inyangamugayo leveraged their reputations to secure the cooperation of fellow community members in adjudicating crimes of genocide.

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“…Beyond documenting the process and objectives of the gacaca , scholars have assessed Rwandan public opinion of the courts, with many finding generally favorable public sentiment (Gasibirege & Babalola, 2001; Longman, Pham, & Weinstein, 2004; Rettig, 2008). 9 The courts have also sustained harsh criticism, however, as scholars and practitioners have critiqued the implementation of gacaca and the institution more generally (Apuuli, 2009; Fierens, 2005; Ingelaere, 2009; Rettig, 2008; Staub, 2004; Waldorf, 2006). These commentaries address a range of gacaca processes, including but not limited to the traumatic effects of testifying, the retroactive application of laws, the lack of due process rights for the accused, the reduced role of local communities in the creation of the courts, the inclusion of crimes against property, and the lack of trials against members of the RPF, the ruling party who assumed power after the genocide and who were accused of committing crimes in the process of stopping the genocide and in its immediate aftermath.…”

Section: Rwanda’s Response: the Gacaca Courtsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genocide, Justice, and Rwanda’s Gacaca Courts

Brehm

Uggen

Gasanabo

2014

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

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More than one million people participated in the 1994 genocide against the Rwandan Tutsi. How did Rwanda, whose criminal justice infrastructure was decimated by the genocide, attempt to bring the perpetrators to justice? In this article, we provide the first analysis of the outcomes of the gacaca courts, a traditional community-based justice system that was greatly modified to address crimes of genocide. After briefly reviewing the creation of the National Service of Gacaca Jurisdictions, we explain the court process. Then, we present an overview of the outcomes of the courts with a focus on the specific sanctions given to those found guilty. This article provides the first systematic analysis of these sanctions, contributing both an empirical overview and new insights into how Rwanda attempted to bring justice to the many citizens who took part in the genocidal violence. We conclude by briefly highlighting some successes and failures of the gacaca system and its broader lessons for justice in other contexts.

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Procedural due process and the prosecution of genocide suspects in Rwanda

Cited by 26 publications

References 6 publications

Introduction

Introduction

Producing Expertise in a Transitional Justice Setting: Judges at Rwanda’s Gacaca Courts

Genocide, Justice, and Rwanda’s Gacaca Courts

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