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{{The Human Rights Watch report continues to spark debate. This time, it queries whether the Rwandan government “betrayed” women who were raped during the 1994 genocide by letting the gacaca courts process their cases.
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The Human Rights Watch (HRW) report marks one of the first attempts by an advocacy group to assess how the gacaca handled rape cases, which were transferred from conventional courts in 2008. (Gacaca means “grass” in Kinyarwanda, symbolizing a gathering place and referring to a system of public conflict resolution once reserved for minor civil disputes.)

Because of the community-based nature of gacaca, HRW says the privacy of rape survivors was “seriously compromised” by the transfer. The government, however, argues that appropriate safeguards were put in place to keep testimony confidential, and stresses that gacaca was the only means of administering justice in a timely fashion. Some Rwandan civil society groups share this view.

Philip Clark, political scientist and author of The Gacaca Courts, Post-Genocide Justice and Reconciliation in Rwanda: Justice without Lawyers (2010), said the resource constraints placed on conventional courts, which, before 2008 had failed to take action on genocide-related rape cases, made gacaca “the most obvious process to deal with those particular crimes”. Still, he conceded that some problems had emerged.

More than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus perished in the genocide. The resulting arrests saw dramatic prison overcrowding: by 1998, 130,000 detainees were being held in a system designed for just 12,000.

The government in 2002 formally launched trials by gacaca, which were to be adjudicated by ordinary citizens. The cases of so-called “category 1” suspects, including rapists, as well as organizers and leaders of the genocide, remained in conventional courts until 2008. (Those deemed “most responsible” for the genocide were processed by the UN-backed International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania.)

By 2008, gacaca had tried hundreds of thousands of genocide cases, moving at a much faster pace than conventional courts, which tried just 222 between January 2005 and March 2008. In May that year, parliament transferred most remaining “category 1” genocide cases to gacaca, including at least 8,000 rape or sexual violence cases.

One official told HRW this decision was made in response to pleas from rape victims, who said they were dying of HIV/AIDS and wanted to see their assailants brought to trial.

Denis Bikesha, director of training, mobilization and sensitization in the National Service of Gacaca Jurisdictions, also stressed the relative speed of gacaca. “This was done in a bid to render timely justice to many, as before 2008 the rape cases were mostly pending in the Prosecution Authority,” he told IRIN. Fear of exposure

Rape survivors feared their identities would be revealed to their communities despite the fact that testimony in rape cases was to be heard behind closed doorsBut Leslie Haskell, author of the HRW report, noted that of the more than 20 rape survivors interviewed for the report, only one expressed a preference for gacaca over conventional courts. For others, who said they had been reluctant to come forward and file complaints but had done so because they believed conventional courts would protect their privacy, the transfer to gacaca “took them by surprise and left some feeling betrayed”, the report states.

Rape survivors feared their identities would be revealed to their communities despite the fact that testimony in rape cases was to be heard behind closed doors, Haskell said. Because trials were held near administrative offices or schools in many cases, third parties would still be able to see a complainant enter a room with a judge and her alleged assailant. “You’d still know it was a rape case, but if all went well you wouldn’t know what the details were,” Haskell said.

The report states that “a few” of the women – some of whom had not told their families about the rape and did not want the community to know – decided to drop their cases after they were transferred to gacaca.

However, the report also notes that provisions were put in place to make it easier for rape survivors to testify: they were able to challenge judges they believed were biased or would not respect their privacy; and they could write letters detailing their allegations rather than appearing in person.

Bikesha highlighted these “safeguards” in claiming that the rape cases had been “really successful”, adding that “whoever dares to reveal secrets” could be subject to “punishment”. (He did not specify what that punishment might be.)

Privacy compromised

According to the report, the process of bringing rape cases before gacaca ended up being “less traumatic” than many survivors expected. “For most women, the experience of appearing in gacaca was emotionally difficult, and more difficult than they believed a conventional court trial would have been, but their cases proceeded relatively smoothly,” the report states.

However, the report does cite some cases in which privacy appeared to have been compromised, with reports of intimidation and accusations of false testimony.

Clark, who observed many gacaca trials as part of his research, said “maintaining privacy was a real problem. A lot of this has to do with the closeness of Rwandan communities. It’s almost impossible for any legal process to hide people’s identities. People know each other. They’re very aware when people are summoned to give testimony.”
Despite reports of intimidation, Jane Abatoni Gatete, former executive secretary of the Rwandan Association of Trauma Counsellors, who now works independently with trauma victims, including some who have brought rape cases before gacaca, said she believed the system had generally served survivors well.

“Steps were put in place by the government, and they were acting to make sure those women were protected and maybe counselled and advised to come forward and give the testimony,” she said. “If they didn’t then maybe their cases would not have been heard.”

Fair trial rights

Beyond the privacy rights of rape survivors, the HRW report also raises concerns about the fair trial rights of the accused.

Because gacaca does not involve lawyers, the process has long been open to criticism that suspects are unable to prepare an adequate defence. One of the government’s justifications for not involving lawyers – in addition to the fact that there simply were not enough – is that community participation negated the need for them. If a witness lied, for instance, community members could speak out.

With rape cases being held in camera, however, the community cannot participate at all, Haskell noted.

“It was sort of a Catch-22, right? The gacaca system was built on this idea of public participation to call out prejudicial partiality or lies on account of any of the parties who were testifying,” Haskell said. “The problem with that is because they are behind closed doors, because there’s no public participation, because there’s no monitoring by rights groups, it could’ve been easier to manipulate.”

Clark said Rwandans had been taken aback by this feature of the rape cases. “There was a great deal of frustration at the community level that people had had very public hearings for all of the previous crimes, and then suddenly these very contentious rape cases were being held behind close doors where the community couldn’t hear and couldn’t participate,” he said.

But he added that, in light of HRW’s concerns about privacy, this criticism struck him as “a bit rich. I have to say on that particular point it does look like Human Rights Watch are having their cake and eating it, too,” he said. “They can hardly criticize open rape cases and then turn around and criticize the fact that they’re being held behind closed doors.”

The Rwandan government has said that there are no more than 100 gacaca cases remaining, and Clark said he expected the government, which has missed previous deadlines, to stick to the current plan of shutting down the system by December.

If gacaca does end this year, Clark said its record on sexual violence cases would be decidedly mixed, but that the decision to transfer them from conventional courts would also be remembered as “inevitable. I really don’t think there was any other way the government could have done it,” he said.

{{The International Finance Corporation an arm of the World Bank, is investing US$1.6 million in equity in Business Partners Rwanda SME Fund (BPI Rwanda). The fund aims to provide financing and management support for up to 70 SMEs, increasing employment and local entrepreneurship in Rwanda.
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IFC’s investment comprises about 20% of the fund’s total committed capital of $7.2 million. The target size for the fund is $8.0 million. Other key investors include the Rwanda Enterprise Investment Company (REIC) and DOEN, a Dutch NGO. The Business Partners private equity fund responds to a growing need for risk capital and quality management advice in Rwanda.

Jean Philippe Prosper, IFC Director for East and Southern Africa, said “Business Partners’ Rwanda chapter provides a much-needed option for socially responsible financing. By supporting small and medium enterprises, the fund will help Rwandan entrepreneurs build businesses and create jobs across the country. IFC and Business Partners share a commitment to responsible business models, which should increase focus on social and environmental performance standards in Rwanda.”

Business Partners International is a South Africa based financier of SMEs, established in 2004 as a joint venture between IFC and Business Partners. The BPI Rwanda fund will be managed by a local team, under the oversight of Business Partners International. The fund will tap into the expertise of locally based managers and combine financing with business advisory services.

Nazeem Martin, BPI CEO, said “The partnership with IFC will enable BPI to provide comprehensive technical services to Rwandan SMEs. This includes the installation of management information systems, market research and product development; quality assurance; process efficiency improvements; and staff training and skill development. With this wide range of services, BPI aims to improve corporate governance with an eye towards social and environmental returns.”

BPI Rwanda is IFC’s fourth investment in a local investment fund managed by Business Partners International. To date, IFC has invested $5.0 million in BPI Kenya, $3.7 million in BPI Madagascar and $2 million in BPI Mozambique.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries. IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, DC. It shares the primary objective of all World Bank Group institutions: to improve the quality of the lives of people in its developing member countries.

{{The government through Rwanda Development Board has commissioned a US$2m electrical fence that will cover the territorial boundaries of Akagera national park.
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The 2.5 metre-electric fence that is powered by solar energy will be supported by a metallic mesh intersected by three horizontal electrified wires and galvanised posts secured at short distances to endure high pressure and wind.

John Gara, the Chief Executive Officer, RDB said that the construction is important because it will provide solution to the problem of wildlife animals that have been interfering with the activities of the population living near the park.

“We are very pleased to be here today to start the fencing of the Akagera National Park. This is the beginning of the end of the human-wildlife conflicts at the boundaries of the park,” he said in a ceremony held at the park’s southern entrance of Nyankona in Kayonza district on Tuesday.

“This will not only solve the problem of human-wildlife conflicts but it will also provide employment opportunities to the neighbouring population during the construction process and also thereafter in terms of maintaining the fence,” he added.

The fencing also aims at addressing different problems linked to the close proximity of the park with the human population. These include direct damages, loss of property, poaching and other illegal activities in the park.

In a bid to support the Akagera community conservation programme that links the park to the community, RDB donated a cheque worth Rwf 6M to 132 families of Kageyo cell, Mwili sector, Kayonza district. The money will also compensate property destroyed by the wildlife.

“We recognised that the benefits from the park that we generally receive are to be shared between not only the general public but also the community projects of the population surrounding the park,” Gara pointed out.

Executive Secretary of Mwili Sector, J.M.V Habyarimana noted that the community is optimistic that the money donated shall be used to buy seeds to cultivate crops in the destroyed farms.

Rwanda’s construction company, Entreprise de Construction (EME) in partnership with a South African construction company were contracted to put up the fence.

{{Rwanda has said it prefers East Africans to use national identification cards when travelling in the region.
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The country’s minister for East African Community Affairs Ms Monique Mukaruliza said countries that had opted to use national IDs as travel documents should go ahead and formalise the procedure.

“The EAC secretariat has to put in place a forum for those partner states which have agreed to use national IDs for the movement of their citizens across the region,” she said.

Ms Mukaruliza made the plea in Kigali on Tuesday at a meeting with new EAC secretary general, Dr Richard Sezibera.

The minister said free movement of people and labour would facilitate implementation of the EAC Common Market Protocol which came into force in July last year.

Tanzania has objected to the use of national IDs as travel documents, insisting only passports and other internationally recognised travel documents should continue to be used.

Rwanda is the only EAC state that has machine readable national identity cards while Uganda is reported to have started issuing its own.

{{Women hawkers in the streets of Kigali will soon boost their income levels after authorities advised them to join cooperatives to access financial services.
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The president of the national women council, Tengera Francesca, is buoyant that the effort to organise women street vendors into cooperatives and empower them is one way to enhance the business
sector.

“I know you are not poor as you always run up down and think that your hopes ends from there and that is why today we are here to implement knowledge which is missing.”
Tengera also noted that the cooperatives will help women to shun illicit business and target bigger businesses.

“We want to organise women who are in petty business to come together into cooperatives,” she said,
She also noted that hundreds of street vendors, mainly women usually flock in Kigali streets during evening hours.

This workshop organised by the national women council in partnership with Rwanda Cooperative Alliance is sensitising almost 321 women from Kigali on how they come together in cooperatives to expand their
business.

Audace Bimenyimana, the officer in charge curriculum development in the capacity building unit at RCA said that women are able to earn a lot from their meagre capital if they come together in cooperatives.

“By working together, these women have the advantage of earning a lot from their savings and build bigger businesses and they will be able to employ other people,” he said.

Genevieve Mukeshimana a mother of 4 who is a street vendor dealing in vegetables says she is optimistic that this effort will improve their business perceptions thus better incomes.

“I am always up and down fighting with the local security, but when the officials from our nyarugenge district called us to come for training I did not refuse because I believed after this workshop I am
going to through away (agataro).”

The mayor Nyarugenge Solange Mukasonga said that the government has already prepared minimarkets where female hawkers will be allocated to carry out their businesses on an expansive basis.

“We have started construction of two more selling points in Mageragere and Kanyinya. This will help many of these women to get a place,” she said, noting that the markets will help women to expand businesses after acquiring credit.

{{The ministry of health and the private sector are working on a framework to enhance collaboration from both parties with the aim of facilitating better healthcare.
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Though the private sector has contributed to improvement in health activities, the Health Minister Agnes Binagwaho argues more needs to be done to provide health services especially in rural areas.

She further assured support to the private sector adding that if they for instance put up hospitals, the government would provide them healthcare personnel. “We have to ensure that there is quality healthcare provision within the public as well as the private sector.”

Jean Nyirinkwaya, the president of the private medical association highlighted that they too have the will do more towards extending better health services to Rwandans. “We’re meeting to find ways of enhancing a relationship between the Ministry Of Health and us and we hope to come with a framework that would confront challenges such as
manpower and equipment,” he remarked.

{{This year’s Kigali National Agricultural show is set to highlight among other things the performance strides the agricultural sector has taken.
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The annual show slated to take place from 6-12 June, 2011 at Mulindi Agricultural Show ground in Gasabo, Kigali will bring together farmers and traders countrywide.

Speaking to journalists Tuesday, Agriculture Minister Agnes Kalibata noted that the show would also showcase the current innovations the government has invested in recently.

“We have recently been investing heavily in irrigation and mechanization, said Kalibata, adding; “What we plan to do in this agricultural show is to exhibit some of these innovations.”

“The amount of work that would usually take a whole day could be done in two hours. This is why it is vital for those involved in agricultural practices to be equipped with machinery because it allows them to be more productive while at the same time allowing them to invest their time in other productive activities that go beyond agriculture.”

The permanent secretary in the ministry Ernest Ruzindaza reiterated that government is targeting to promote the use of new machinery by offering subsidies to the agriculturalists and making these easily available.

“Machinery that will be used include various tractors and (combine) harvesters and they will be imported tax free” he said, adding that; “we are trying to make these more affordable and accessible to agricultural practitioners that’s why they will be able to purchase them at a lower cost of 25 percent through corporations such as the rural investment facility”.

The minister observed that the drive towards agricultural modernisation was not only allowing and promoting investment opportunities but “also creating awareness between practitioners of the availability of new and advanced methods of farming and encouraging their use.”

{{The government has dubbed a report released by Human Rights as slur to the genocide courts adding that even the title of the report, Justice Compromised: The Legacy of Rwanda’s Community-Based Gacaca Court, “distorts the image of Gacaca” and misrepresented the contents of the report in an attempt to “grab headlines.”}}

In a report released by the New York-based advocacy group claims that the system denied some defendants a fair trial and the courts were sometimes corrupt or used for political or personal gain.

Yet Gacaca reflects a justice sector that is inherently unique even Human Rights Watch itself acknowledges in the report that 1.2 million people have benefited from the Gacaca process, it also recognizes the enormous challenges the government faced after the Genocide in processing the large number of cases, not forgetting that ‘the challenge would have overwhelmed even the world’s most advanced justice system’.

Without any tangible proof Leslie Haskell a Human Rights Watch’s Africa division researcher and author of the report argued that. “If you have unfair trials whereas a large percentage of the population perceives the trials to have been flawed, or motivated by private interests or even political interests, that doesn’t serve justice in the long term.”

According to an email statement released by the government, “Rwanda welcomes constructive criticism as it builds a modern, developed justice system but reports which mischaracterize Gacaca are not constructive. We call on Human Rights Watch to find a way in future reports to balance informed criticism with a respect for the enormity of the challenges Rwanda faced in the aftermath of the genocide.

However the report praises the Gacaca system, saying it provided swift justice, helped families find victims’ remains and encouraged community participation. “Gacaca may have also helped some of victims find a way to live peacefully with neighbors who may have perpetrated crimes against them or their families,” according to the report.

What is more, Under Gacaca, people have received prison sentences of between five and ten years, life sentences constitute just five to eight percent of verdicts while between 25 and 30 percent of cases have ended in acquittal.

The community work ruling as an alternative to prison has allowed people to live in their homes and carry out their sentences about twice a week, learning to live together and move on.

Reacting on the report through an emailed statement justice minister Tharcisse Karugarama insisted that. “Through Gacaca we have been able to judge and resolve more than 1 million dossiers, a great achievement that would have been impossible.”

“Despite this, Human Rights Watch has chosen to base its verdict of Gacaca by citing a handful of cases which went wrong and then implying that the whole 1.2 million can be assessed in the same light. This is unwarranted and makes a mockery of the efforts of all Rwandans who are working together to promote justice and reconciliation,” the statement said.