Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

RWANDA: Make justice a reality for genocide survivors, urges rights group
19 Dec 2008 09:42:55 GMT
 Source: IRIN

Background

•  Rwanda legacy

MORE >>
NAIROBI, 19 December 2008 (IRIN) - Justice, more than reconciliation, plays a fundamental role for the survivors of Rwanda's 1994 genocide and much more needs to be done to make justice a reality for them, a report by African Rights, a human rights think-tank, recommends.

"We need to listen to their concerns, help to protect them from reprisals and further trauma and support those in need of psychological and financial assistance," Rakiya Omaar, the African Rights director, said in a statement.

The African Rights report was issued on 10 December, days before the Tanzania-based UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) handed down a life sentence on Theoneste Bagosora, accused of masterminding the killings.

The report, www.redress.org/reports/Rwanda%20Survivors%2031%20Oct%2008.pdf Survivors and Post-Genocide Justice in Rwanda: Their Experiences, Perspectives and Hopes, offers new insights into the meaning of justice after genocide by examining various objectives of the policy-makers from the viewpoint of the survivors.

The report is based on at least 100 interviews with genocide survivors in Rwanda and Europe and took eight months to research and document.

"Justice is a fundamental human value and a central component of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," Carla Ferstman, director of REDRESS - an organisation that seeks reparation for torture survivors - said in the statement jointly issued with African Rights. "Yet, for survivors of genocide in Rwanda, justice remains elusive."

According to the government of Rwanda, an estimated 937,000 people - mostly Tutsis and moderate Hutus - were killed during the genocide.

Handing down the sentence to Bagosora and two others, ICTR judge Erik Mose said the former army colonel was guilty of the 1994 killings and held the highest authority in the Ministry of Defence.

Bagosora was director of the cabinet in the Ministry of Defence and a high-ranking officer of the Rwandan Armed Forces during the genocide.

The judge said Bagosora was responsible for the organised killings by soldiers and militiamen during the genocide.

The court also sentenced Maj Aloys Ntabakuze and Col Anatole Nsengiyumva to life in prison but acquitted Gen Gratian Kabiligi.

Bagosora, 67, has been described as an anti-Tutsi extremist. He spoke openly about "extermination" of Tutsis and distributed weapons to Interahamwe militiamen during the genocide.

He was arrested in Cameroon in March 1996 and his trial at the ICTR began in April 2002. He had been accused of three counts of genocide, six counts of crimes against humanity and three counts of war crimes.

js/mw

© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.IRINnews.org


AlertNet news is provided by
Email this article       Send comments

Topics

•  International Humanitarian Law

MORE >>

Emergencies

•  Rwanda legacy

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  Democratic Republic of the Congo: ICRC pursues its humanitarian work
ICRC - Switzerland

•  Sierra Leone: Seven years after peace agreement, ICRC scales back activities
ICRC - Switzerland

•  New Guidance on Safe Cooking Fuel for Households in Humanitarian Settings Secures International Endorsement
Women's Commission - USA

•  The UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 60 - Dieckmann: "For one in seven people the Right to Food is pure theory"
Deutsche Welthungerhilfe (German Agro Action) - Germany

•  MAG DRC - October update
MAG - UK

MORE >>

Latest news

•  RWANDA: Make justice a reality for genocide survivors, urges rights group

•  Rwanda's Bagosora sentenced to life for genocide

•  Tribunal hopes to try Mladic and Karadzic together

•  FACTBOX-The Rwandan Genocide

•  U.N. court convicts Bagosora for Rwanda genocide

MORE >>

IRIN news

Background information

Briefings
Rwanda legacy - [Who works where]

Topics
International Humanitarian Law
Facts & figures
Tanzania Cameroon Rwanda

Related articles

Breaking stories
 RWANDA: Make justice a reality for genocide survivors, urges rights group (1 minute ago)

Rwanda's Bagosora sentenced to life for genocide (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
 Why is it taking so long to get aid to Congo? (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
 Democratic Republic of the Congo: ICRC pursues its humanitarian work (1 minute ago)

Blogs
 Yes, people over 50 have sex too (1 minute ago)

Maps
 MAP: Uganda, Rwanda & Burundi: Population movement (as of 5 dec 2008) (1 minute ago)


Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-12-18T133531Z_01_LON01_RTRIDSP_2_RWANDA-GENOCIDE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/LON01.htm

REFILE - CORRECTING IDENTITY OF SUBJECT Video frame grab shows former Rwanda Colonel Anatole Nsengiyumva listening to the verdict at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha December 18, ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Fri Dec 19 09:43:41 2008