20-24 July 2009
National University of Rwanda
Background:
The last decade of the twentieth century saw the revival of global efforts aimed at tackling some of the most atrocious crimes of concern to mankind. Legal initiatives at international, regional and national levels took shape aiming at preventing the commission of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity (international crimes) and punishing those most responsible for them. Alternatives to traditional criminal litigation, like commissions of inquiry, exemplified by the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, have been tried and tested. The ongoing work in the field of transitional justice explores the complexities of doing justice in societies ravaged by war and extreme forms of conflict. Social scientists have embarked on studies into the consequences of international crimes for victims, the possibilities and difficulties of meeting their needs in the aftermath of international crimes and the mechanisms that play a role in overcoming the damage to society caused by international crimes.
Correcting the unsettling observation that one stands a better chance of being tried and judged for killing one human being than for killing 100.000 has been a driving force behind the (international) criminal justice initiatives focusing on international crimes. The establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 1993, followed a year later by a sister institution for Rwanda (ICTR), signaled the first steps of the global community in addressing these crimes. The move was later replicated in the form of internationalized tribunals, such as those for Sierra Leone, Cambodia, East Timor and Lebanon. Since all these tribunals are ad hoc in nature, the establishment of a permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) in 1998, is considered to be a milestone in the development of a legal response to the aforementioned atrocities.
The ICC became operational in 2002. In its first years the ICC has focused on Africa trying crimes committed in the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Northern Uganda and Darfur in Sudan. In the first three instances cases were referred by the respective governments and by the UN Security Council in the latter. There are several other countries in Africa and elsewhere which might fall under the ICC’s jurisdiction and might call for the ICC’s involvement in the future. These international efforts have been accompanied by regional (such as the African Union’s report on the Rwandan genocide) and national efforts (e.g. Gacaca courts in Rwanda) aimed at preventing the commission of these crimes and punishing offenders. The growing invocation of the legal principle of universal jurisdiction and the emergence of such concepts as humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect in the global arena, are reflective of this international will to deal with the scourge of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
These commendable legal developments have considerable shortcomings in dealing with victims of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Much focus has been on punishment of offenders and retribution. The sole purpose of the involvement of surviving victims in many criminal justice mechanisms has been to serve these goals. Victims’ suffering and needs have hardly been a priority. Traditional criminal justice mechanisms have therefore generally overlooked the fact that, while the damage caused to society and humanity at large is real, the sufferance incurred by the direct victims is, at least, as great and, deserve much more attention than has been the case so far. The much needed attention to the rights of victims of international crimes is positively acknowledged through their inclusion in the ICC system. It remains to be seen how the ICC will accommodate the needs of victims of crimes under its jurisdiction.
The notion that the needs and views of victims and survivors of international crimes are insufficiently represented in the formal criminal justice response is the main impetus behind the development of commissions of inquiry, the truth commissions. Here the emphasis is not on the punishment of offenders, but on unraveling the narrative of the international crimes committed, simultaneously offering victims an opportunity to voice their experiences and receive acknowledgement of the wrongs committed against them. Truth commissions can prompt monetary and symbolic reparations, educational programs, memorials and projects to strengthen democratic institutions. However where the formal criminal justice response may lay too much emphasis on punishing the offenders of crimes, the experience with truth commissions suggests that here, also from the victims point of view, there is too little emphasis on retribution. This implies that from a legal point of view, one of the most vexing questions confronting the development of transitional justice is how to balance and maybe combine the strengths of truth commissions with an (international) criminal justice response.
The legal response is not the only nor necessarily the most important aspect of meeting victims’ needs in the aftermath of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Many victims of these crimes have to deal with a full-scale disruption of their entire lives. They may have suffered (extreme) physical and psychological damage, for which medical and psychological assistance is often necessary. They regularly have an urgent need for compensation for their financial losses and may have additional material needs, for example relating to housing or unemployment issues.
The problems faced by individual victims are compounded by the fact that most international crimes lead to mass victimization. Moreover the commission of these crimes generally occurs in situations of conflict. The massive number of victims and offenders poses challenges to societal recovery. Individual and collective victimization; the resulting trauma but also the sometimes changing roles between victims and offenders are some of the challenges to post-conflict recovery. Furthermore, the inescapable reality of the victims who have to live together with their offenders after the conflict is an enormous challenge for the efforts to assist victims to come to terms with their experiences.
The peculiar situation of victims of international crimes calls for a holistic approach that links various relevant fields like traumatic stress, the social psychology of group conflict and resolution and the psychology and sociology of legal processes. The latter is important in its own right, but also for the ongoing efforts in transitional and international criminal justice, as it can provide the empirical underpinning of the choices and developments in these fields.
Transcending the disciplinary divisions in the study of victims of international crimes is the main focus of this volume of victimological essays. Focusing on Africa, the stage for most of the international crimes committed in recent years, scholars from different disciplines will review the similarities and differences between victims of ordinary crimes and those of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. As victimological research has mainly focused on the former crimes, the volume provides a much-needed and comprehensive overview of the intricacies of victimisation by international crimes. This endeavour transcends academic interest, as an approach of this kind is essential to mend societies ravaged by genocide, war crimes and/or crimes against humanity.
ROVISIONAL PROGRAMME OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
VICTIMOLOGICAL APPROACHES OF INTERNATIONAL CRIMES
NYANZA, RWANDA, 20-24 JULY 2009
Saturday 18, Sunday 19 July
Arrival participants in Kigali
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The most convenient flights into Kigali are:
- SN Brussels, arriving Saturdays early evening (departing from Brussels)
- KLM/Rwandair, arriving Fridays and Sundays in the evening (departing from Amsterdam, stop-over in Entebbe/Kampala
There are several flights a day into Kigali from Nairobi with Kenya Air and Rwandair Express and from Entebbe by Rwandair Express. Rwandair Express also flies several times per week from Johannesburg to Kigali.
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Kigali has a wide range of hotels, from basic to 5 stars. The top is Serena Kigali, followed by Hotel Mille Collines (the hotel of the movie Hotel Rwanda) and Hotel Laico-Umubano.
Mid range good quality hotels are Hotel Gorilla’s and Iris Guesthouse (both near the town centre), and Chez Lando and Beau Sejour (a little bit out of town).
See for instance: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g293828-Rwanda-Hotels.html and
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Visits possible to the genocide memorials in Ntarama and Nyamata, south of Kigali
Sunday afternoon: official visit with the participants to the National Genocide Memorial, Gisozi, Kigali
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The Kigali Memorial Centre at Gisozi is a site of burial for around 250,000 victims of the genocide, which comprises of a main historical exhibition, a Children’s Memorial exhibition and an exhibition on comparative genocide, called Wasted Lives. It also has over four acres of memorial gardens containing ten mass graves, as well as the National Genocide Documentation Centre.
About 40 minutes south of Kigali, in Nyamata and Ntarama, are two small churches where thousands of people were killed during the genocide. They have been turned into memorials
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Monday 20 July
Morning: transport from Kigali to Nyanza, ILPD (those who prefer lodging in Butare have to leave early in order to be back in Nyanza in time for lunch)
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Nyanza is a small town in the southern province, a 1 ½ hour drive from Kigali. Although booming, and home to the royal palaces, Nyanza has only few facilities for tourists. Do not expect 5 (or any) star accommodation.
The ILPD has 38 rooms for students/participants to courses and conferences. The rooms are basic; for each two rooms there is a shared bathroom with toilet and cold shower. Hot water can be delivered in the morning on request. Remember this is common to Rwandans. Do in Rwanda as the Rwandans do.
There are two small hotels in Nyanza, with all in all the same facilities as the ILPD. A somewhat better equipped hotel is expected to open within a few months.
For those who prefer some more quality, the university town of Butare, a 30 minutes drive south of Nyanza, offers some better hotels, such as Hotel Ibis, Le Petit Prince, and Credo.
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12.30 – 13.30 Lunch
13.30 – 14.00 Opening by the Minister of Justice/Attorney General, Tharcisse Karugarama (tbc)
14.00 – 14.30 Introduction participants
14.30 – 15.00 Coffee Break
15.00 – 17.00 Presentation papers and discussion
18.00 dinner
20.00 – 21.30 discussion with representatives of IBUKA, organisation of genocide survivors (tbc)
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Ibuka is an umbrella organisation for the survivor organisations in Rwanda, representing them at national and international levels. Ibuka means ‘remember’. Ibuka was created in 1995 in order to address issues of justice, memory, and social and economic problems faced by survivors. For more information, visit the Ibuka website: http://www.ibuka.net/ or view the website for Never Again Rwanda: http://www.neveragainrwanda.org/
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Tuesday 21 July
07.30 – 09.00 Breakfast
09.00 – 10.30 Presentation papers and discussion
10.30 – 11.00 Coffee Break
11.00 – 12.30 Presentation papers and discussion
12.30 – 14.00 lunch
14.00 – 15.15 presentation papers and discussion
15.15 – 15.45 coffee break
15.45 – 17.00 presentation by a representative of the SNJG/Service National des Juridictions Gacaca (tbc)
18.00 dinner
20.00 – 21.30 presentation papers and discussion
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The SNJG is the national service that runs the gacaca, a participatory lay conflict management system, traditional to Rwanda. The gacaca were ‘re-invented’ at the end of the nineties to deal with the then 120.000 suspects of genocide, who had been arrested since 1994. Mid 2009, when the gacaca will finish their work, a little more than 1 million people have been tried by the gacaca for their alleged contribution to the genocide.
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Wednesday 22 July
07.30 – 09.00 Breakfast
09.00 – 10.30 Presentation papers and discussion
10.30 – 11.00 Coffee Break
11.00 – 12.30 Presentation papers and discussion
12.30 – 13.30 lunch
13.30 leaving Nyanza for the National Genocide Memorial Murambi
18.00 dinner
20.00 – 21.30 presentation by a representative of the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (tbc)
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The Murambi Memorial Center is located in an old school near the town of Gikongoro in the South-west section of Rwanda approximately 30 minutes from Butare. It is in the buildings that were intended to host a technical school but later more than 45,000 victims of genocide were killed here. It is situated in the former zone Turquoise area where French soldiers had their headquarters.
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According to the Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda, the mission of the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission include particularly the following:
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Preparing and coordinating the national programs for the promotion of national unity and reconciliation;
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Putting in place and developing ways and means to restore and consolidate unity and reconciliation among Rwandans;
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Educating and mobilizing the population on matters relating to national unity and reconciliation;
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Carrying out research, organizing debates, disseminating ideas and making publications relating to peace, national unity and reconciliation;
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Making proposals on measures that can eradicate divisions among Rwandans and to reinforce national unity and reconciliation;
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Denouncing and fighting against acts, writings and utterances which are intended to promote any kind of discrimination, intolerance or xenophobia;
See the website of the NURC: http://www.nurc.gov.rw/
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Thursday 23 July
07.30 – 09.00 Breakfast
09.00 – 10.30 Presentation papers and discussion
10.30 – 11.00 Coffee Break
11.00 – 12.30 Presentation papers and discussion
12.30 – 13.30 lunch
13.30 – 15.00 presentation papers and discussion
15.00 – 15.30 Coffee Break
15.30 – 17.00 presentation by a representative of the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide
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The National Commission for the Fight against Genocide has been established in 2009, and is chaired by Jean de Dieu Mucyo, former Minister of Justice and chair of the commission that did research into the role of France before, during and after the genocide.
The Commission's mission is:
1. To put in place a permanent framework for the exchange of ideas on genocide, its consequences and the strategies for its prevention and eradication;
2. To initiate the creation of a national research and documentation centre on genocide;
3. To advocate for the cause of genocide survivors both within the country or abroad;
4. To plan and coordinate all activities aimed at commemorating the 1994 genocide;
5. To elaborate and put in place strategies that are meant for fighting genocide and its ideology;
6. To seek for assistance for genocide survivors and pursue advocacy as to the issue of compensation;
7. To elaborate and put in place strategies that are meant to fighting revisionism, negationism and trivialization;
8. To elaborate and put in place strategies meant to solve genocide consequences such as trauma and other diseases which resulted from genocide;
9. To cooperate with other national or international organs with similar mission
See the website of the commission: http://www.cnlg.gov.rw/
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18.00 dinner
20.00 – 21.30 presentation papers and discussion
Friday 24 July
07.30 – 09.00 Breakfast
09.00 – 10.30 Presentation papers and discussion
10.30 – 11.00 Coffee Break
11.00 – 12.30 Presentation papers and discussion
12.30 – 13.00 Wrap up
13.00 – 14.00 lunch
14.00 Those leaving Rwanda Friday evening: leaving Nyanza for Kigali
Those leaving Rwanda Saturday: possibility to visit the royal palaces in Nyanza, the national museum in Butare
16.00 Cocktail in the Royal Palace, Nyanza
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There are three royal palaces in Nyanza, formerly the seat of the royal family, and of the first judicial court for that reason. The oldest one is the royal huts, rebuilt over the past few years. The ‘new’ palace, which has never been used as such, hosts the museum of modern art. The National Museum of Rwanda is located in Butare.
See for more information about the museums of Rwanda: http://www.museum.gov.rw/
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For those who want to stay some days longer in Rwanda, the country offers some very interesting tourist sights. In the east is the National Park Akagera; small but beautiful. The Game Lodge hotel overlooking the park is beautifully located but a little bit overprized, unfortunately.
In the north west are the volcanoes, as such a beautiful scenery, but also home to the mountain gorilla’s, for some of you famous from the movie ‘Gorilla’s in the Mist’. A visit to the gorilla’s has to be booked well in advance, and costs 500 US$ per person.
Lake Kivu in the western part of the country is beautiful also, as is the drive to Gysenyi – along the volcanoes – or Kibuye.
In the south is the national park Nyungwe Forest, one of the few tropical rain forests in the world, bordering beautiful tea plantations. There is a small and cosy lodge in the forest.
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