Rwanda genocide: why the victims are not paid compensation
Genocide is an irreparable crime, but financial reparations for
survivors would help mend damage done and educate society
Jean Paul Mugiraneza in Nairobi, for content partner Insights on Conflict
Guardian Professional, Tuesday 4 March 2014 02.00 EST
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Gerorina Nyirandutiye, survivor of the Rwandan genocide, sits on a
bench at her house in Nyamigina village, Rwanda. Photograph: Jose
Cendon
The severity and pace at which the Rwandan genocide unfolded begs many
questions. How does a country begin to recover after such an event?
Yet Rwanda serves as a development success story, thanks to the
combined efforts of the Rwandan government and wider society.
Nationally, the government created the national commission for unity
and reconciliation, in addition to special chambers to prosecute the
most notorious war criminals. At the community level, traditional
Gacaca courts were employed to provide reconciliation and justice with
over 100,000 people indicted for crimes of genocide. Internationally,
the
United Nations
established the International Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).
Financial compensation – an essential component of true justice
The government has established a fund, Farg, to provide health care
and tuition for survivors. But does this go far enough? Though Rwanda
and the international community have valiantly pursued justice,
financial compensation for genocide survivors has still not
materialised. Can there be genuine reconciliation without financial
reparation? The answer, in my opinion, is no. Reparation plays an
important role in both mending the damage done and educating society.
This isn't to suggest that the subject of reparations is not
logistically and morally challenging. Damage caused to both people and
property must be fairly assessed, and a monetary value assigned to
losses. Some would argue that genocide is an irreparable crime due to
the sheer scale of psychological and physical suffering.
But irrespective of these challenges, the silence surrounding the
subject of financial reparations is striking. In the immediate
aftermath of the genocide, Rwanda was a country in ruins. Tens of
thousands had been made orphans, widows and
refugees. Already scant infrastructure had vanished, and financial
compensation was understandably not an initial priority, as attention
was fixed upon rebuilding the basics. But 20 years on, dialogue
surrounding the issue of financial reparations remains absent from the
political discourse.
Why is the political elite hesitating to enforce compensation for victims?
In theory, the Rwandan legal framework explicitly provides for
genocide survivors to receive compensation. 50% of judgements made by
the specialised chambers for prosecuting genocide suspects have
awarded financial compensation to victims. However, although enforced
on a criminal level, they have yet to be enforced with regards to
financial compensation.
In some cases the Rwandan government itself has been mandated to pay
indemnities to the victims. But the minister of justice ordered the
suspension of "all cases in which the Rwandan government is called
upon to intervene." In 2001, a bill calling for the creation of a
compensation fund was formulated, but it never materialised.
We could interpret this in two ways: either as a demonstration of the
practical difficulties of reparations, or as a political decision not
to take that route.
It has been speculated that at the forefront of government concerns
are how financially compensating the survivors of the Tutsi community
may affect social cohesion. Some worry that openly providing
government financial support to the Tutsi community could risk
fostering resentment amongst the Hutu majority community.
How the international community is failing the victims
It is generally agreed that the UN, instead of protecting civilians,
failed them by leaving the country at the peak of the killings. Its
reputation among Rwandans has suffered as a result. One would hope
that after its failures the UN would take a leading role in
compensating survivors. Unfortunately, it has so far shown interest
only in criminal proceedings, ignoring financial reparations. Although
it did establish the ICTR, it has avoided dealing with the subject of
reparations. How can the UN not understand its importance in the
rehabilitation of victims and the administration of justice?
It could be concluded that there is a lack of a will to participate in
the reparation process. Initiatives have been taken to encourage the
UN to amend ICTR's statute to include the creation of a compensation
fund, but without success. According to former prosecutor Carla Del
Ponte, "Every judge agrees with the principle that victims should be
compensated."
The UN commission created to compensate Kuwaitis following their 1990
invasion by Iraq – as well as the $1.07bn subsequently made available
to the government of Kuwait – shows a willingness to participate in
the reparation process. So how can we explain the UN's reluctance to
do so in Rwanda?
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