Gacaca Courts, Rwanda genocide, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, ICTY, former Yugoslavia, war crimes, justice, reconciliation, transitional justice, Balkans conflicts
Reader
Abstract
Extract
of 4
Abstract
The Gacaca courts in Rwanda and the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia were established to address war crimes and promote justice and reconciliation.
Extract
[...] was accused of war crimes by the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The wars left a legacy of millions of refugees and a significant number of arms in circulation that fueled the black market in Europe. Established by the United Nations, the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) operated from 1993 to 2017 with the mission of bringing to justice individuals accused of war crimes during the conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s. This tribunal marked a turning point in the history of international humanitarian law, providing a platform for victims to express the suffering they endured. [...]
[...] The absence of defense lawyers and the incompetence of non-professional judges challenge the fairness of the trials. Moreover, the lack of remuneration for community-elected judges fuels suspicions of corruption, thus threatening the integrity of the system. The ability of non-lawyers to serve as judges is also a major concern. Transitional justice aims for an emerging 'social truth' from discussions between the parties involved rather than a factual reconstruction of events. The Gacaca discussions acknowledge the errors and omissions in the narrative, as shown by the posters promoting 'Ukuri Kurakiza,' or the release of truth. [...]
[...] The Gacaca courts are identified as a renewal of a 'traditional' method of conflict resolution. They are, however, distinctly different from their predecessors, whether in the offenses they address or in their incorporation of current judicial practices. The invocation of tradition as a foundation is not entirely fictional. It responds as much to the interest of the financiers in rehabilitating the 'traditional' devices for conflict resolution as it does to a broader effort to reframe the national history of Rwanda. [...]
[...] Since then, Rwanda has undertaken an ambitious process of justice and reconciliation with the ultimate goal of allowing all Rwandans to live together in peace once again. In the years following the genocide, more than 120,000 people were arrested and charged with criminal responsibility for their participation in the massacres. To address such a large number of perpetrators, a judicial response was pursued at three levels: the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the national justice system, and the Gacaca courts. [...]
[...] The reality of the crimes committed in this area can no longer be disputed, with the unambiguous qualification of the Srebrenica massacre as genocide. It has been confirmed by the justice that the Bosnian Serb forces used rape as a method of terror. In the context of the Kvo?ka and others trial, it was established that the Omarska, Keraterm and Trnopolje camps, located in northwestern Bosnia, were the site of extreme atrocities. After the closure of the violent confrontations related to the disintegration of Yugoslavia, it seemed natural that transitional justice would become a fundamental basis for the democratic and institutional refounding of the Balkan states. [...]
