HRW calls for "justice for victims of both sides"

The UN Security Council must stand behind its intention of delivering justice to victims of both sides in the conflict that devastated Rwanda in 1994, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday.

In a letter to current Security Council President John Negroponte, HRW stressed the importance of bringing to justice not only those behind the genocide but also members of the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) who committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in 1994.

"The Rwandan Patriotic Army murdered thousands in 1994, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of HRW. "The president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, himself has admitted that some of his soldiers committed abuses. But now the Rwandan government opposes bringing the accused before international justice."

In 1994, the Security Council established the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to prosecute perpetrators of genocide and other crimes against humanity committed in Rwanda. Until now, it has tried only those accused of genocide. But the ICTR chief prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, recently announced that she would seek indictments against some members of the RPA for violating international humanitarian law.

"Since then, the Rwandan government has hindered the travel of witnesses, causing the suspension of three genocide trials," HRW reported. "It has also failed to provide documents requested by the prosecutor." The prosecutor reported these alleged obstructions to the Security Council in late July.

In a nine-page response dated 2 August to the prosecutor's charges, the Rwandan government accused the ICTR of undergoing "a crisis of management, incompetence and corruption of its own making", saying it wished "to challenge the attempt by the prosecutor to point to Rwanda as the cause of the crisis and not to the tribunal itself".

"Rwandan authorities deplore the failures of the tribunal, and there have been some," said HRW's Roth. "But in this case the Rwandan government has shown itself to be more worried about the tribunal's potential for success in prosecuting the RPA."

"The Rwandan government says the tribunal should try only genocide cases and leave any possible prosecution of RPA members to Rwandan courts," said HRW. "But victims of RPA crimes in 1994 have little chance for justice within the country. Rwandan military courts have tried very few RPA soldiers for 1994 crimes, and those convicted have received light sentences. Rwandan authorities also have banned the newly created gacaca, or people's, courts from trying crimes by RPA soldiers."

In a related development, the US government announced on 6 August that it would fund "a significant expansion" of the ICTR. Addressing journalists in Washington, US Ambassador-At-Large for War-Crimes Pierre-Richard Prosper said the US was prepared to agree to a complement of a pool of 18 new judges for the court, which would effectively triple the roster of nine judges who currently made up the tribunal.

The ICTR, established to try the chief instigators of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, has come under heavy criticism for being too slow, despite its large budget. Since 1996, when the court was established, it has handed down only nine judgements - eight convictions and one acquittal. Its budget in 2001 was almost US $94 million, of which the US - the largest single donor to the tribunal - donated $20.2 million. In late February this year, the US government called on the ICTR to finish its work by 2007-2008.

On 1 August an advocacy body, the International Crisis Group, issued a report on the ICTR stating there was "no chance" that it would complete its mission before 2008, at its current rate of work. This, it said, was because of the tribunal's "overly ambitious" prosecution schedule and "the lack of effective efforts" to expedite processes and hearings.