As the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) prepares to close its doors in Tanzania, courts around the world are taking up the task of trying suspected Rwandan génocidaires. They do so under the principle of Universal Jurisdiction: a doctrine that allows prosecutors to reach beyond national borders in cases of torture, war crimes or genocide committed elsewhere.
By Thijs Bouwknegt
Several countries, including Finland, Belgium and Canada, have already brought cases against Rwandans for their part in the 1994 genocide while others, including the Netherlands, are revising their laws to allow them to do so in the future.
For the next three weeks, a twelve-member jury at the Assise Court in Brussels will hear the case against the former director of the Rwanda Commercial Bank (BCR), Ephrem Nkezabera. The 56-year-old Rwandan is charged with violations of international criminal law and war crimes.
He admits many of the charges alleged against him, including arming and financing the machete-wielding Interahamwe militia which spearheaded the three-month massacre. He also acknowledges providing funding for the extremist Radio Television Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM). Although he denies charges of rape and murder, he does admit that individuals from his immediate circle killed two people in front of him.
Nkezabera was arrested in Belgium in 2004. Because of his earlier assistance to the ICTR prosecutor as an informer, the tribunal allowed him to be tried in Europe. It’s the fourth time that the Assise Court has tried a Rwandan suspect. Earlier trials – in 2001, 2003 and 2007 - resulted in the sentencing of seven people, including two Catholic nuns, a university professor and a businessman for aiding the mass murders.
However, because the crime of genocide was only introduced into Belgian law in 1999, and cannot be applied retroactively, none of those who stood trial before Brussels’ Assise Court faced genocide charges. Even Nkezabera – who admitted that he took part – will not face a genocide charge.
Canada
On the other side of the Atlantic, on October 29th a Canadian judge at the Superior Court of Quebec in Montreal sentenced Désiré Munyaneza to 25 years without parole for his participation in the massacres.
Munyaneza is the first to be tried under Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, enacted in 2000. The 42-year-old former Interahamwe was found guilty in May of seven counts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity because he “chose to kill, rape and torture countless Tutsis.” Munyaneza’s lawyer Richard Perras said he would appeal against the conviction.
Canada’s genocide trial took place over two years, and heard testimony from 66 witnesses about the atrocities, including the late Rwanda expert Alison Des Forges and Canadian head of the UN peacekeepers in Rwanda, Romeo Dallaire.
As well as being the first trial under the principle of universal jurisdiction in Canada, it was the first time that a case involving the Rwandan genocide had been heard before a single judge. Andre Denis heard half of the witnesses in Kigali, Paris and Dar es Salaam.
Many countries are now working to bring génocidaires to justice under the principle of universal jurisdiction. However, there have been setbacks. A British court had to release four Rwandan suspects in April since UK law does not allow British courts to prosecute foreign crimes against humanity. Spain is also reconsidering its laws on universal jurisdiction.
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