Your excellencies,

Distinguished guests,

It is a great honour for me to participate today in this Forum on Truth, Justice and Reconciliation. I would like to thank you for the invitation you were pleased to extend to us, which we were indeed eager to accept.

We regard this meeting as an event of the greatest importance as, over and above the case of Rwanda, it is essential to labour on behalf of the whole of humanity to prevent tragedies such as the one we have lived through being repeated. Our situations differ, our histories differ. But the dark hours we have known, the war, the massacres, the rapes, the genocide, all have their origin in the same evils: ignorance, contempt, exclusion, poverty – evils that have allowed segregationist ideas to develop. For us, the invitation to take part in this Forum is a strong mark of the interest you take in our country and our people.

For decades, our country has known only regimes that have built their power on the massive violation of human rights, discrimination and division of the people of Rwanda. The policies that were developed were based solely on the deprivation of fundamental rights, extending as far as banishment, and led to the expulsion of nationals. Those who lived in the country suffered harassment and exclusion. Ethic background was stated in identity papers.

This background constituted a barrier to entry into public employment and even to positions of responsibility in the private sector. Quotas were set for access to education, thus depriving a section of children and youth in the population access to knowledge and learning. Today, and indeed since 1994, these statements of ethnic background and these practices in general no longer exist. We attempt to act in conditions of the strictest transparency.

Ultimately, it was the entire people that was the victim of these regimes and this oppression. Rwandan society suffered destruction and dismantling.

These ideas led, in conditions of almost universal indifference, to the massacres and genocide of 1994.

You must remember that in 1994, all that was left of out country was ruins, institutional, social and economic ruin. Thousands of people were sacrificed on the altar of human folly, hatred of the other, ignorance. Thousands of people were displaced, without refuge, left widowed and orphaned, not to mention the mothers, women, girls, marked forever by the rapes and sexual torture they have suffered.

It is so that the world may never again know such atrocities that forums such as this are necessary and important.

In the aftermath of the genocide, our Government of National Unity has spared no pains in its efforts to reconstruct the country.

A common zeal has made it possible for the State apparatus to function anew and society to begin to move forward again.

Eight years after these terrible events, our country is still in the process of reconstruction. The urgent phase has passed and is now up to us to concentrate our efforts on sustainable economic development, the fight against poverty, the education of our children.

We are leading our country towards democracy: though the road is full of pitfalls, we are taking up the challenge and are prepared to persevere towards this end. There is no lack of good will, many people of good will are there to help us attain our goal. I may mention, incidentally, that Rwanda is no longer subject to observation by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and is therefore no longer the object of special human rights reports.

Great advances have been made, thanks to our government and to the support and action of our various partners.

Numerous projects are currently underway to promote still further the rule of law and democracy.

Today, Rwanda feels a keen desire for reconciliation, even if we still have to fight against the ideas inculcated over the years in the mind of the Rwandan population.

We are convinced that the solution to the suffering of Rwanda is to be sought in Rwanda by the Rwandans themselves. This is why, in accordance with the Arusha Peace Accord on the division of power, the Commission for Unity and National Reconciliation was established in March 1999. This Commission is of the utmost importance, as the unity and reconciliation of the Rwandan people are the sole path for restoring lasting peace, security, respect for human rights and economic development.

It is up to us, the people of Rwanda, to scrutinise the true problems underlying the rifts in our society. The people of Rwanda have the right to live in peace in Rwanda. National reconciliation is a great challenge that our Government of National Unity has taken up. What will bring our people together is the triumph of the idea of the nation, not a regime based, as in the past, on notions of ethnic groups, for that type of regime has merely generated the misfortunes we have experienced.

In the same spirit, the Rwandan Government has established the National Commission for Human Rights, which has now been in operation for more than two years and whose mission is to investigate violations of human rights occurring on Rwandan territory, to encourage the promotion of human rights by educating the general public and services charged with maintaining public order, to handle complaints from the general public and, where necessary, to take up these complaints with the competent authorities, and, finally, to undertake thematic inquiries into the human rights situation.

Other commissions have been founded to promote the improvement of the legal framework in Rwanda: the Legal and Constitutional Commission, whose brief is to draw up the text of a new constitution and to revise other laws; the Commission for Legislative Reform, which is instructed to undertake an examination of the entire body of laws currently in force and to formulate proposals aimed at putting in place legislation fitting the social and economic realities in our country; and finally, the National Electoral Commission, whose mission is to prepare and organise elections at cell, sector and district level, and also elections of members of parliament and the President of the Republic. It is furthermore responsible for organising elections at the level of towns established by law.

The decentralisation reform has begun, representing a total break with the regimes before 1994, which functioned on the basis of a highly centralised organisation. The current reform envisages decentralisation of administrative – but also political – institutions. Studies are being carried out in preparation for the creation of an ombudsman institution similar to those already existing in numerous countries.

As you see, these various initiatives place the judiciary at the heart of this great movement for reconstruction and national reconciliation.

These projects cannot be accomplished without justice. In so far as justice is done on behalf of the people and in the name of the people, it will be justice that allows the eradication of the feeling of impunity and that will enable us to re-establish social ties and unite the Rwandan people.

Our justice cannot and must not have an inadequate sociological basis, it must play a role in shaping and supporting our society. Though it must punish, justice in our country must also reconcile. It must bring fair, clear and calm responses to the problems that we face.

After the 1994 genocide, about 130people out of a population of 7 million were accused of the crime of genocide or of complicity in the crime of genocide. They were placed in detention. Today, there are still some 110people waiting for their case to be heard. It has proved possible to judge only 6genocide suspects between December 1996 and June 2001.

In order to speed up the processing of genocide cases, the Rwandan Government has decided to re-establish in more modern form the traditional “Gacaca” tribunals. The judges, who are members of the population but are not professional magistrates, were elected by their fellow citizens in October 2001. The first trials are expected to take place in 2002, after the training which is currently taking place.

The system of Gacaca courts is based on the national Rwandan tradition of participatory justice and reconciliation. We are thus engaged in a new experience at international level.

Our ground-breaking experience cannot fail to advance international jurisprudence relating to post-genocide justice and crimes against humanity. These courts illustrate the possibilities of alliances between traditional and more modern forms of justice.

The preparatory stage of this reform has already permitted the liberation of hundreds of detainees, imprisoned without documents or on evidence judged to be insufficient, and the freeing of elderly and infirm persons and children who were no more than fourteen years of age at the time when the acts were committed.

A special provision of the Organic Law instituting these courts establishes “the confession and guilty plea procedure”, which permits the accused, after giving a complete and detailed account of his crime and after verification and confirmation by an inquiry, to benefit from a substantially reduced penalty (a reduction by half).

In addition, the Rwandan Government has decided to introduce in its scale of penal measures the sanction of labour in the public interest, which will be applicable, in particular, to persons having recourse to “the confession and guilty plea procedure”. This reform has the twofold advantage for our country of reducing the prison population and promoting the reintegration of those released from custody into society.

The Gacaca courts are an attempt to meet the existing needs. They are intended as a means to achieve national reconciliation and justice in Rwanda, eradicate forever the culture of impunity and adopt measures that make it possible to guarantee that perpetrators and their accomplices will be prosecuted and judged not in a mere display of simple repression, but as a demonstration of the reconstitution of Rwandan society, which has been thrust into dissolution by wicked leaders who have incited the population to exterminate one section of this society.

It was important to plan penalties permitting those found guilty to reform and to encourage their re-entry into Rwandan society without detriment to the normal life of the population.

The Gacaca courts have been established in each cell, sector, district or town, and province.

Hearings will be held in public, except when any interested person requests that they are heard behind closed doors and this request is approved by the court for reasons of public order or propriety. Deliberations will be held in secret and judgements must be reasoned.

The Act concerning Gacaca courts divides the persons prosecuted into four categories:

The first category brings together persons whose criminal acts or acts of criminal participation place them among the planners, organisers, instigators, supervisors and leaders of crimes of genocide or crimes against humanity.
Persons who, acting in a position of authority at national or provincial level, in a political party, in the army, in religious organisations or the militia, have committed such offences or encouraged others to commit them.
Notorious murderers who have stood out in their areas of residence or any other place where these acts occurred, by virtue of the zeal that distinguished them in their killings or the excessive malice with which these acts were carried out.
Persons who have committed the offence of rape or acts of sexual torture.

The second category concerns persons whose criminal acts or acts of criminal participation place them among the perpetrators, conspirators or accomplices of intentional homicide or grave assault against the person leading to death.
Persons who, intending to kill, have caused injuries or committed other serious acts of violence which have not led to the death of the victims. The Gacaca district court will hear offences in this category, appeals against judgements rendered in courts of the first instance or against Gacaca sector courts in its area of jurisdiction, as well as appeals against judgements given in the absence of the accused.

The third category brings together persons who have committed criminal acts or acts of criminal participation making them guilty of other grave assault against the person without any intention of causing death. The Gacaca sector court is competent to hear these offences and appeals against judgements it has rendered in the absence of the accused.

The fourth category consists of persons who have committed offences against property. However, the perpetrator of such offences who, on the entry into force of the organic law, has come to an amicable agreement either directly with the victim, or before the public authority or by arbitration, cannot be further prosecuted for the same acts. The Gacaca cell court is competent in the first instance to try these offences and the appeals against judgements it has rendered in the absence of the accused.
Equally, it is the Gacaca cell court that is responsible, in particular, for establishing lists of persons inhabiting the cell prior to the genocide and massacres, victims of the crime of genocide, and presumed perpetrators of genocide offences or crimes against humanity.

Only persons qualifying by acts committed or acts of criminal participation for inclusion in categories 2–4 may be tried by Gacaca courts. Persons coming into the first category must be tried by ordinary courts of law.

This, in brief, is the character and functioning of the Gacaca courts. I expect we will not fail to go further in our account and reflections during our discussions.

I should also speak about the Act on compensation of victims, the draft bill for which has already been prepared, as this is important for the process of national reconciliation. This text will regulate, in particular, the amount of compensation payable, which in many cases will appear symbolic bearing in mind the atrocities the beneficiaries have experienced, but which will nevertheless constitute a form of reparation and will therefore help bring about national reconciliation.

I cannot conclude without saying a few words about the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). The trial of the criminals is indispensable, and we therefore salute the work of this institution and encourage it to carry on with and indeed speed up its activities, which very much appreciate. The Government of my country is, as it has always been, ready to do all that it can to help this institution to function better. The ICTR should contribute to reconciliation and maintenance of the peace. This is a mission that is not easy to accomplish, as we are well aware.

The important thing for us is not to forget the lessons of history. We are labouring today for our respective countries, but also and above all for future generations.

Remember that in Rwanda, it was in silence that a people was murdered, that mothers and girls were raped and children sacrificed. Not only a people, not only our peoples, but humanity, civilisation could disappear.

This year the world celebrates the two hundredth birthday of Victor Hugo. In his preface to “Les Misérables”, this author wrote: “As long as there exists, by virtue of laws and customs, a social damnation that creates by artificial means, in the midst of civilisation, hells on earth … as long as in certain regions social paralysis is possible, in other words, and to broaden the perspective still further, as long as there is ignorance and poverty on earth, books of this kind cannot lack utility.”

These words were written in 1862 and today we must echo in response that as long as there exist on earth peoples who, simply on account of their ethnic or religious affiliation, are oppressed or massacred, populations who are forced to flee their countries to escape massacres, rapes, persecutions; as long as in certain regions of the globe genocide is possible; as long as there exist men guilty of crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity who have not been arrested in their destructive enterprises and judged for their deeds – meetings of this kind cannot lack utility.

To make sure that it is never again possible to massacre a people in silence, we must pursue our labour of justice and salute the courage of those who, day by day, strive against guilty silences and denounce these assaults on the rights of populations to exist and to live in peace in their own country.

Our presence her is a very good illustration of these activities.
Thank you.
We will always be happy to welcome you to Rwanda.