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Justice Compromised
The Legacy of Rwanda’s Community-Based Gacaca Courts
I. Summary
II. Recommendations
To the Rwandan
Government
To Rwandan Justice
Officials
To the Rwandan
Legislature
To Donors
To Countries
Considering the Use of Dispute Resolution Mechanisms Similar to Gacaca
to Prosecute Serious Crimes
III. Methodology
IV. The Rwandan
Genocide and the Decision to Use Gacaca
V. The Initial Phase
of Gacaca
Differences between
the Customary and Contemporary Gacaca Systems
The Legal Framework
Governing Genocide Cases and Gacaca Courts
Gacaca’s Pilot Phase
National
Implementation of Gacaca
Repeated Extensions
of Gacaca’s Closing Date
The Final Phase of Gacaca
VI. Balancing
Community-Based Conflict Resolution Practices with Fair Trial Standards
Limited
International Fair Trial Rights in Gacaca
Differences in
Judicial Standards between Conventional Courts and Gacaca
Sentencing and
Reparations
VII. The Community
Dynamic of Gacaca
Community
Participation
Risks for Witnesses
Gacaca as a Means of Resolving Personal Grievances
Silencing Opponents
and Critical Voices
VIII. Independence
and Impartiality of the Gacaca Process
Potential Conflicts
of Interest for Judges
Corruption and
Personal Gain through Gacaca
External
Interference in Decision-Making
IX. Rape Cases: the
Antithesis of Gacaca
The Decision to
Transfer Rape Cases to Gacaca
Rape Cases that Were
Not Brought before Gacaca
Rape Victims’
Perspectives on Gacaca
X. Selective Justice and the Failure to Address Rwandan Patriotic Front
Crimes
XI. Perspectives on Gacaca
Genocide
Survivors’ Perspectives
The Perspectives of
Those Accused of Genocide and their Families
Reconciliation
Achieved?
XII. International
Support for Gacaca
XIII. Conclusion
Annex I. Letter to
the Rwandan Minister of Justice from Human Rights Watch, March 30, 2011
Annex II. Response
to Human Rights Watch from the Rwandan Minister of Justice, May 5 2011
Acknowledgements
Copyright: 2007 National University of Rwanda-Centre for Geographic Information System & Remote Sensing
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