How successful has the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) been in prosecuting perpetrators of sexual violence crimes in Rwanda? This paper by the Boston Consortium on Gender, Security and Human Rights offers an examination of international justice from the perspective of rape survivors of the Rwandan genocide. The ICTR has a poor record of sexual violence prosecutions over the past decade. The study concludes that the court not only denies Rwandan women justice, it exacerbates the suffering they continue to experience.
Throughout the Rwandan genocide, widespread sexual violence, directed predominantly against Tutsi women, occurred in every prefecture. Given the evidence and the crimes that the ICTR is prosecuting, virtually every defendant court should be charged and convicted, where appropriate, for perpetrating these acts or for responsibility in not preventing the acts of subordinates. Yet on the tenth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, the ICTR had handed down 21 sentences: 18 convictions and 3 acquittals. 90 per cent of those judgments contained no rape convictions. No rape charges were brought by the Prosecutor’s Office in 70 per cent of those adjudicated cases. If the trend continues, full and fair justice for women victims of the Rwandan genocide appears increasingly unlikely before the ICTR.
The past decade reveals a lack of political will at the senior management level to integrate sexual violence crimes into a consistently followed prosecution strategy.
- Prosecutions have been hampered by inadequate investigations, the use of inappropriate investigating methods and a lack of training for staff.
- Some cases have moved forward without rape charges, even when the prosecutor is in possession of strong evidence. Rape charges are often added as amendments, rather than as an integral part of the prosecution.
- Trial team leaders have differing interpretations of legal responsibility for the violence against women and opinions on what legal approaches to adopt in the courtroom.
- Rape victims often find the courtroom hostile as they are subjected to repeated cross-examinations. This is due reluctance on the part of some judges to limit excessive cross-examination.
- Because of a lack of adequate preparation, some rape victims have felt humiliated and embarrassed because they were not warned that they would have to speak explicitly about sexual parts or acts.
- Following trial, rape victims often find that, despite promised anonymity, their identity has been revealed and they are subject to threats and reprisals.
After a decade of existence, it is discouraging to see how little justice the ICTR has delivered to the victims of sexual violence. Concerted efforts must be made to learn from the experiences of the Rwandan rape victims to ensure that the United Nations does not continue to fail to support rape victims.
- There is an urgent need to ensure that international criminal courts do not overlook sexual violence crimes.
- It is critical that the judicial process of pursuing sexual violent crimes does not marginalise, dehumanise or demean rape victims.
