As we approach the 30th anniversary on Sunday, 7 April of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, where an estimated 800,000 people lost their lives, including Hutu and others who opposed the genocide and the extremist government behind it, Amnesty International urges the international community to recommit to ensuring justice and accountability for the victims and survivors.
While many perpetrators have faced trial in Rwanda’s national and community courts, as well as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and courts in Europe and North America using universal jurisdiction, recent events highlight the urgent need for justice to be served.
“Justice that is delayed is justice that is denied. The confirmed deaths of several key suspects before facing justice, and the indefinite suspension of another suspect’s trial due to age-related illness, underscore the importance of continuing efforts to deliver justice for the survivors and families of the victims in Rwanda,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.
Between May 2020 and November 2023, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals’ (IRMCT) Fugitive Tracking Team confirmed the deaths of four of the most wanted fugitives indicted by the ICTR.
Augustin Bizimana, the Minister of Defence during the genocide, was identified in the Republic of Congo in 2020. Protais Mpiranya, the commander of the Presidential Guard, was confirmed dead in Zimbabwe in 2006. Phénéas Munyarugarama, the Gako military camp commander, passed away in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2002, and Aloys Ndimbati, mayor of Gisovu, died in Rwanda in 1997.
In May 2023, another ICTR indictee, Fulgence Kayishema, was arrested in South Africa after years in hiding. Despite expectations of transfer to the IRMCT in Tanzania or Rwanda for trial, he remains detained in South Africa facing immigration charges.
In August 2023, the trial of 90-year-old suspected chief genocide financier Félicien Kabuga was indefinitely suspended due to age-related illness. The decision, made by appeal judges at the IRMCT, was based on his severe dementia. Kabuga was accused of funding and supporting the Interahamwe militias and promoting genocidal hate speech on RTLM. Survivors expressed frustration and disappointment at the court’s ruling.
“To honor the memory of the genocide victims and provide justice for survivors and families, it is essential that states recommit to the urgent and diligent pursuit of justice, including prosecuting suspected perpetrators under universal jurisdiction where necessary,” said Tigere Chagutah.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Amnesty International.