Rwandan mechanisms for peace and reconciliation

1Read the flowchart: how the Abunzi work

Rwanda has built several of its own mechanisms, rooted in its culture, to prevent and transform conflict. The one closest to ordinary people is the Abunzi, "those who reconcile". Figure 5 follows a dispute through the system.

2Rwanda's mechanisms for peace

3Case study: the Gacaca courts, 2002 to 2012

The problem. After the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, about 120,000 to 130,000 people were held in prison accused of taking part. The ordinary courts, whose judges and staff had themselves been killed or scattered, would have needed many decades to try them all. Survivors were waiting for the truth and for justice.

The solution. Rwanda adapted gacaca, a traditional way of settling disputes in which elders met on the grass (gacaca means "lawn"). A law of 2001 set up community courts. They were launched in June 2002 with a pilot phase in some areas, and in the following years hearings spread to every cell in the country. Each court had nine elected judges, the inyangamugayo. Hearings were public; survivors, witnesses and accused spoke; those who confessed truthfully and asked for forgiveness could receive lighter sentences.

The results. By the time the courts closed on 18 June 2012, about 12,000 Gacaca courts had heard 1,958,634 cases. Many survivors learned how and where their relatives had died, and many offenders confessed.

Different views. Supporters praise Gacaca for delivering justice quickly and involving whole communities. Some human rights organisations criticised it because the accused had no lawyers and most judges had little legal training. Historians still discuss both sides; both views help explain why Gacaca is studied around the world as an example of transitional justice.

4Discussion

Gacaca aimed at both justice and reconciliation. Can a single institution achieve both? Use the definitions of transitional and restorative justice in your answer.