International Judicial Monitor
Published by the International Judicial Academy, Washington, D.C., with assistance from the
American Society of International Law

Summer 2009 Issue
 

International Tribunal Spotlight

 

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

nternational Criminal Tribunal for RwandaBy: Christine E. White, Copy Editor and Reporter, International Judicial Monitor

The 100-day genocide against the Tutsi population and politically moderate members of the Hutu population that occurred in Rwanda from April through mid-July of 1994 was one of the worst human rights atrocities the world has ever seen. As a result, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which states that

“The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression and shall make recommendations… to maintain or restore international peace and security,”i

adopted UNSC Resolution 955 on November 8, 1994 and established the International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of Rwanda, commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

The ICTR has jurisdiction to prosecute individuals “who planned, instigated, ordered, committed or otherwise aided and abetted in the planning, preparation or execution of”ii genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of Article 3 and Additional Protocol II of the Geneva Conventions (war crimes) in Rwanda and its neighboring territories between January 1 and December 31, 1994. The individuals who fall under ICTR jurisdiction are Rwandan citizens who committed crimes in the territory of Rwanda and in the territory of neighboring states as well as non-Rwandan citizens who committed crimes in Rwandan territory.

In 1995, the UNSC decided to make the Headquarters of the ICTR in Arusha, Tanzania. However, the Tribunal does have offices in other locations around the world. The UNSC chose Arusha, as opposed to a location in Rwanda, because of potential security concerns that could develop from trying Rwandan leaders in their home country. The Trial Chambers, Office of the Prosecutor (OTP), and detention unit are all based in Arusha. The OTP also has an office in Kigali, Rwanda. The Appeals Chamber is located in The Hague because the ICTR shares its Appeals Chamber with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). In addition, there is an ICTR sub-office in New York City, the headquarters of the United Nations. The ICTR detention unit in Arusha is used for those accused who are awaiting trial, on trial, or have cases pending appeal. Convicted defendants serve their sentences in Mali or Benin. There are currently fifteen convicted ICTR defendants serving sentences in Mali and nine in Benin.iii

The ICTR is made up of three primary organs: the Chambers; the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP); and the Registry. The Chambers is composed of three Trial Chambers and one Appeals Chamber, with a total of twenty-five judges, sixteen fulltime and nine ad litem. Hon. Charles Michael Dennis Byron of Saint Kitts and Nevis is the President of the ICTR. All three Trial Chambers are based in Arusha; and although the Appeals Chamber is based in The Hague, it will periodically hear cases in Arusha.

Hon. Hassan Bubacar Jallow is the Chief Prosecutor of the ICTR. A former judge of the ICTR Appeals Chamber, he was appointed Prosecutor in September 2003 after the UNSC passed a resolution splitting the prosecutorial offices of the ICTR and ICTY which until that point shared a Chief Prosecutor. The OTP has two main divisions, the Prosecution Division and the Appeals and Legal Advisory Division (ALAD). The Prosecution Division includes the Investigation Section and Trial Teams. The ALAD is responsible for handling all appeals by the Prosecutor, responding to defense appeals, providing legal advice to trial teams and the OTP, and ensuring continuing legal education in the OTP. Two other noteworthy sections of the ICTR are the Defence Counsel & Detention Management Section and the Witness and Victim Support Section.

Since the first trial began in 1997, the ICTR has completed thirty-one cases, resulting in thirty-nine individual convictions. Of the thirty-nine convictions, seven cases are pending appeal. Six defendants have been acquitted by the ICTR, two were released to national jurisdiction, and two were released after their indictments were withdrawn.iv As of July, 2009, thirty-seven individuals were being held at the ICTR detention unit in Arusha. The detainess include five individuals awaiting trial, twenty-three defendants whose cases are in progress, and the seven pending appeals.v Thirteen accused, for whom indictments have been issued, remain at large.vi

The work of the ICTR has resulted in groundbreaking legal precedents. The case against Jean-Paul Akayesu marked the first application and interpretation of the 1948 Genocide Convention. On September 2, 1998, Akayesu, the former mayor of the Taba commune in central Rwanda, was convicted of nine of the fifteen counts against him, including genocide and crimes against humanity. In addition, the Trial Chamber decided, “rape … and sexual assault constitute acts of genocide insofar as they were committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a targeted group, as such.”vii By ruling that rape and sexual assault constitute genocide, the ICTR set a legal precedent that has been followed by the ICTY and by the ICC in its investigation into the situation in Darfur. Shortly after the verdict in the Akayesu case, the ICTR convicted the first head of government, Jean Kambanda, the former Prime Minister of Rwanda, of genocide. In the trial dubbed the “Media Case,” the ICTR examined the role of the media in the events that occurred in Rwanda and sought to determine if individuals who waged media campaigns, via radio and print, could be held accountable for international crimes. The trial, which began in 2000, came to a close with an appeals judgment in late 2007 at which the Appeals Chamber found the defendants guilty of, among other charges, incitement to commit genocide.

According to the Completion Strategy outline in UNSC Resolution 1503 from 2003, the ICTR was to complete all of its investigations by 2004, all trials by 2008, with exception of appeals, and complete all of its work by 2010. In December 2008, amid concern that the ICTR would not be able to reach its initial completion date, the UNSC extended the Tribunal’s mandate for one year. It issued a second one-year extension in July 2009, extending the contracts of all judges through December, 2010. By the end of September, 2009, there should only be 693 staff members remaining at the ICTR offices, down from 1,032 through the end of 2008.viii

The ICTR may be facing the end of its mandate, but one can be certain that those who committed the terrible atrocities of the spring of 1994 in Rwanda will be brought to justice. In July, 2009, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States contributed 35 million Euros / 44 million USD to the Rwandan government to help ready the judicial system for the day when it needs to take over prosecuting and trying the genocide cases and jailing the accused and convicted individuals.ix The ICTR has also begun to transfer jurisdiction over certain cases to individual countries, such as France which received the indictments of indictment were referred to France. As ICTR spokesman Roland Amoussouga told TIME magazine in 2007, "there will always be a framework in place to ensure these people can be tried. We are confident that nobody will escape justice.”x


[i] Charter of the United Nations. Chapter VII: Action With Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression - Article 39. June 26, 1945. http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/.

[ii] Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Article 6: Individual Criminal Responsibility – (1). November 8, 1994. http://www.un.org/ictr/statute.html.

[iii] International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda – Cases – Status of Detainees. http://www.ictr.org/default.htm.

[iv] International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda – Cases – Status of Cases. http://www.ictr.org/default.htm.

[v] International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda – Cases – Status of Detainees. http://www.ictr.org/default.htm.

[vi] International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda – Cases – Status of Cases. http://www.ictr.org/default.htm

[vii] Fourth Annual Report of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of Rwanda and Rwandan Citizens Responsible for Genocide and Other Such Violations Committed in the Territory of Neighbouring States Between 1 January and 31 December 1994. Main Developments – A. The Chambers – 3. Judicial Activities – (16). September 7, 1999. http://www.ictr.org/ENGLISH/annualreports/a54/9925571e.htm.

[viii] Ringu, Catherine. “Rwanda: ICTR Given One Year to Wind Up, As Govt Receives U.S. $44 Million Boost,” The East African. July 13, 2009. http://allafrica.com/stories/200907131596.html.

[ix] Ibid.

[x] Blue, Laura. “Rwanda’s Most Wanted,” TIME. September 26, 2007. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1665648,00.html.

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ASIl & International Judicial AcademyInternational Judicial Monitor
© 2009 – The International Judicial Academy with assistance from the American Society of International Law.

Editor: James G. Apple.
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