Prosecuting Genocide in Rwanda: A Lawyers Committee report on the ICTR and National Trials

Headings: 
Title: 
Prosecuting Genocide in Rwanda: A Lawyers Committee report on the ICTR and National Trials
Document Type: 
Documents by United Nations Bodies and Agencies
Reference: 
July 1997
Annotation: 
This paper describes and analyzes proceedings at the national and international level to prosecute those responsible for the genocide in Rwanda. It explores the relationship between international and national prosecutions and demonstrates that, without support from the international community, neither national nor international prosecutions will succeed. The paper shows how developments in the international tribunal's work can have a profound impact on prosecutions in Rwanda. An additional goal is to emphasize how the judicial process can affect human rights and the reconciliation process in Rwanda if trials in national courts are fair and there is a serious effort to ascribe guilt to individuals and not to a particular group. The paper also contains a series of recommendations.