Rwanda: Whether children of witnesses who appear before the gacaca courts are subject to threats or mistreatment from defendants who come into contact with witnesses in order to pressure these witnesses
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa |
| Publication Date | 21 November 2006 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | RWA101908.FE |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Rwanda: Whether children of witnesses who appear before the gacaca courts are subject to threats or mistreatment from defendants who come into contact with witnesses in order to pressure these witnesses, 21 November 2006, RWA101908.FE, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/46fb72ff2d.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Information on whether children of witnesses who appear before the gacaca courts are subject to threats or mistreatment from defendants was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
However, in 31 October 2006 correspondence, a representative of the League of Human Rights in the Great Lakes Region (Ligue des droits de la personne dans la région des Grands Lacs, LDGL) provided the following information. It is possible that defendants may threaten the children of witnesses who appear before the gacaca courts. The representative stated that the LDGL had looked into the case of a girl who was threatened on her way to school because her parents had testified before the gacaca courts. According to the LDGL representative, [translation] "information from LDGL partners indicates that other such incidents have occurred, but the LDGL has not documented them."
In addition, in 3 November 2006 correspondence sent to the Research Directorate, another LDGL representative provided the following information based on his personal experience about the children of witnesses who appear before the gacaca courts:
[translation]
They are mistreated so that their family members will disclose things. We have registered many refugees, but unfortunately both of our governments (Rwanda and Burundi) are made up of former rebels, and as a result of the agreements between the states, many of these refugees are forced to return to Rwanda, and no one knows what is waiting for them. One thing is certain: there have been a lot of disappearances and detainees from the 1994 crisis.
An article in the Rwandan daily newspaper The New Times reports that the home of a Rwandan woman who had testified before a gacaca court in the Rwamagana district was set on fire while she and her son were inside (22 Oct. 2006). Another article from the same newspaper indicates that a woman who testified before a gacaca court in the Nyagatare district was killed, along with her husband and son (The New Times 24 Sept. 2006). The motive for the crime was not known, but the woman had complained to the police that her family had been "attacked" on more than one occasion (ibid.). No information corroborating these incidents could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Ligue des droits de la personne dans la région des Grands Lacs (LDGL). 3 November 2006. Correspondence from a representative.
_____. 31 October 2006. Correspondence from another representative.
The New Times [Kigali]. 22 October 2006. Paul Ntambara. "Gacaca Witness' House Set Ablaze." http://www.newtimes.co.rw/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8573&Itemid=1&pop=1&page=0> [Accessed 24 Oct. 2006] Additional Sources Consulted Oral sources: African Rights and IBUKA Mémoire et Justice did not respond to requests for information within time constraints. Avocats sans fronitères (ASF) and African Great Lakes Initiative (AGLI) had no information on this topic. Internet sites, including: African Great Lakes Initiative (AGLI), African Rights, Amnesty International, Avocats sans fronitères (ASF), Factiva, Freedom House, Friends Peace House, Human Rights Watch, IBUKA Mémoire et Justice, Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), Ligue des droits de la personne dans la région des Grands Lacs, National Service of Gacaca Jurisdictions, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, United States Department of State.
_____. 24 September 2006. Godfrey Ntagungira. "Family Murdered."
