Accountability for Genocide in Rwanda and the Great Lakes

Justice Africa has initiated a programme of civil society participation in learning the lessons of genocide in Rwanda and preventing future genocides in the Great Lakes. We believe that the participation of Rwandese citizens and civil society in any exercise of accountability is essential, if the region is to emerge from its current cycle of massive intercommunal violence and genocide.

Since the 1994 genocide, there have been attempts at reconciliation and justice within Rwanda, and also attempts at examining the record and learning lessons by international institutions culminating in the UN independent inquiry that reported in December 1999 and the OAU Panel of Eminent Personalities that reported in July 2000.

Until now, however, there has been no systematic attempt to bring the lesson-learning exercises before the scrutiny of the citizens of Rwanda and the surrounding countries. The Citizens’ Forum is an initiative of Justice Africa, together with the Pan African Movement, supported by the OAU, to create a forum in which Rwandese citizens can meet representatives of national and international institutions, and jointly examine the record of the recent past.

The Citizens’ Forum is the first forum in which ordinary citizens are able to present their testimonies, in public and in front of representatives of organisations such as the UN. We hope that it will be a precedent that can serve as a model for ensuring that international organisations are transparent and accountable.

Justice Africa has conducted its own research into legal and institutional responsibilities of certain institutions, and submitted a memorandum to the OAU Panel. The meetings start in early 2001 and will be held in both Rwanda and various international centres