{"id":4797,"date":"2021-11-19T07:36:01","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T07:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses"},"modified":"2021-11-19T09:24:18","modified_gmt":"2021-11-19T09:24:18","slug":"experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses","title":{"rendered":"Experts: ICTR could have done more to help Rwandan witnesses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) could have done better to protect and support and offer protection to witnesses in court cases following the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi, experts have said.<\/p>\n

This was said during an international conference held in Kigali to discuss the 25-year journey of Rwanda\u2019s justice sector with specific focus on dispensing justice related to Genocide perpetrated against Tutsi.<\/p>\n

Among the topics discussed included the legacy of the ICTR, the court instituted by UN to try masterminds of the Genocide against the Tutsi in which over a million people died.<\/p>\n

Adama Dieng, former Chief Registrar of the tribunal and disclosed different challenges faced during the court\u2019s tenure spanning over 20 years, saying the international community could have done more to offer long-term support genocide survivors, especially when it comes to offering psychological support.<\/p>\n

Delegates follow a presentation during the International Conference on 25 years of Justice related to the Genocide in Kigali on November 17, 2021.<\/b><\/p>\n

Dieng, who has also previously served as the UN Special Advisor on prevention of Genocide, said there were many lessons that can be drawn from the ICTR in terms of international criminal justice. The tribunal relied mostly on genocide survivors for testimonies that pinned the suspects, leading to convictions.<\/p>\n

Egide Nkuranga, President of IBUKA, the umbrella body of associations that support genocide survivors said that the court could have done better in providing further mental health care to the witnesses.<\/p>\n

L-R: Me Eric Gillet, President of RCN Justice & D\u00e9mocratie; Me Julien Kavaruganda; Chief Justice Faustin Ntezilyayo; Amb. Bert Versmessen, the envoy of the Kingdom of Belgium to Rwanda, on a panel during the International Conference on 25 years of Justice related to the Genocide against the Tutsi, in Kigali on November 17. Photo: Dan Nsengiyumva.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the Arusha court started, witnesses were not given prior preparation, some did not give full testimonies because of being harassed (by defence) and left traumatized,\u201d he said. He suggested that the ICTR framework should have considered a follow-up programme for victims, even after court proceedings.<\/p>\n

Julien Kavaruganda, the outgoing president of the Rwanda Bar Association said that although the witnesses received no reparations, they were able to testify the atrocities made by Genocide perpetrators and their consequences.<\/p>\n

\u201cReminding people of the crimes committed, and where possible criminals asking forgiveness to the victims, is the responsibility of this court which one can commend,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Providence Umurungi, Head of International Justice and Judicial Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Justice, said it\u2019s hard to confirm that the outcomes of ICTR judgments have contributed to reconciliation in Rwanda.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven when you see those who have already completed their sentences\u2026first of all they didn\u2019t recognize that there was a Genocide, never expressed their remorse\u2026they have now considered themselves as political opponents,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

The ICTR was established in 1995 by the UN Security Council to deliver verdicts against persons responsible for committing Genocide. It was also the first institution to recognize rape as a means of perpetrating genocide.<\/p>\n

It was based in Arusha, Tanzania until it was dissolved in December 2015 and its work was taken on by the UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals which is still functional.<\/p>\n

Kavuraganda said that since then, the Rwandan judicial system has put in place mechanisms to extradite fugitives from different countries and bring them to justice.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) could have done better to protect and support and offer protection to witnesses in court cases following the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi, experts have said. This was said during an international conference held in Kigali to discuss the 25-year journey of Rwanda\u2019s justice sector with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":4796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,29,28,14],"tags":[760,763,2853,758,2852],"class_list":["post-4797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-homepage-english","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-rwanda","tag-ictr","tag-rwanda","tag-witnesses"],"yoast_head":"\nExperts: ICTR could have done more to help Rwandan witnesses - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) could have done better to protect and support and offer protection ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Experts: ICTR could have done more to help Rwandan witnesses\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) could have done better to protect and support and offer protection ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-19T07:36:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-19T09:24:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2021\/11\/img-61976d2ac0f7b.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"847\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"491\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Experts: ICTR could have done more to help Rwandan witnesses\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-19T07:36:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-19T09:24:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses\"},\"wordCount\":578,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2021\/11\/img-61976d2ac0f7b.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Rwanda\",\"ICTR\",\"Rwanda\",\"witnesses\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"homepage-english\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses\",\"name\":\"Experts: ICTR could have done more to help Rwandan witnesses - Rwanda\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2021\/11\/img-61976d2ac0f7b.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-19T07:36:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-19T09:24:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) could have done better to protect and support and offer protection ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2021\/11\/img-61976d2ac0f7b.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2021\/11\/img-61976d2ac0f7b.jpg\",\"width\":847,\"height\":491,\"caption\":\"Experts: ICTR could have done more to help Rwandan witnesses\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Experts: ICTR could have done more to help Rwandan witnesses\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/\",\"name\":\"Rwanda\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Experts: ICTR could have done more to help Rwandan witnesses - Rwanda","description":"The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) could have done better to protect and support and offer protection ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Experts: ICTR could have done more to help Rwandan witnesses","og_description":"The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) could have done better to protect and support and offer protection ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses","og_site_name":"Rwanda","article_published_time":"2021-11-19T07:36:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-11-19T09:24:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":847,"height":491,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2021\/11\/img-61976d2ac0f7b.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Experts: ICTR could have done more to help Rwandan witnesses","datePublished":"2021-11-19T07:36:01+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-19T09:24:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses"},"wordCount":578,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2021\/11\/img-61976d2ac0f7b.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-Rwanda","ICTR","Rwanda","witnesses"],"articleSection":["all news","head lines","homepage-english","Policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses","name":"Experts: ICTR could have done more to help Rwandan witnesses - Rwanda","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2021\/11\/img-61976d2ac0f7b.jpg","datePublished":"2021-11-19T07:36:01+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-19T09:24:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) could have done better to protect and support and offer protection ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2021\/11\/img-61976d2ac0f7b.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2021\/11\/img-61976d2ac0f7b.jpg","width":847,"height":491,"caption":"Experts: ICTR could have done more to help Rwandan witnesses"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/experts-ictr-could-have-done-more-to-help-rwandan-witnesses#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Experts: ICTR could have done more to help Rwandan witnesses"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/","name":"Rwanda","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}