Gacaca Courts

Gacaca Courts Position

Following the 1994 Rwandan genocide, more than 120,000 people were accused of bearing criminal responsibility for their participation in the killings of thousands of moderate Hutus and Tutsi. To help handle and control the mass number of perpetrators, the government chose to allow the operation of Gacaca community courts. This decision was controversial, and in many communities it was debated that the process was circumnavigated in favor of dispensing quick justice. These people who argue this decision, claim Gacaca courts violate the rights of people placed on trial. Although this is perceived by many Rwandan citizens, Gacaca courts were an acceptable mean of bringing justice to the perpetrators of the genocide. Many

According to hrw.org1, “the advantages of using gacaca to individualize guilt, to dispel the notion that all Hutu committed genocide, and to give ordinary Rwandans an active role in delivering justice for the genocide far outweighed any potential limitations”. The individualization of guilt, used in Gacaca courts, helped to reduce the conviction of entire families and to reconnect communities where it was believed all Hutu committed genocide crimes. According to hrw.org1, “Most of the accused (some of whom were later convicted) believed that gacaca trials helped reduce the prison population and ensured that some of the innocent were released”. The reducement of impunity created by the Gacaca trials helped ensure that some of the innocent Hutu were released. Without the use of Gacaca community courts, the innocent Hutu may have remained imprisoned for crimes they did not

Many arguments have been advanced in favor of the operation of these courts. There are three main arguments for the operation of Gacaca courts, which include the following. First, the use of Gacaca courts would accelerate the process of bringing justice for the genocide and would ease overcrowding of prisons. Second, the involvement of the Gacaca process would help reunite communities. Lastly, the use of Gacaca community courts would eradicate impunity by holding individuals responsible for crimes, rather than entire families or larger communities. Although these are the three main reasons for the use of Gacaca courts, there are many more including to prove that Rwanda has the capacity to resolve its own problems. The Gacaca was finally a way to provide justice for the perpetrators and victims of the Rwandan genocide in an acceptable and accelerated