Appropriateness and adequacy of judicial remedies in international humanitarian law:A case study on the Rwanda Tribunal

Abstract

The 1994 genocide civil war in Rwanda I was sparked by the shooting of Rwandese President Juvenal Habyarimana's private plane causing his death and other entourages aboard the plane, including the Burundian president Cyprien Ntarymira. 2 Hutu extremists immediately accused the Rwandes Patriotic Front (RPF) of assassinating President Habyarimana who was a Hutu. This resulted to a systematic and well organised killing of the minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus by the militiamen of the ethnic Hutu majority. The killings then spread throughout the countryside as Hutu militia, armed with machetes, clubs, guns and grenades, began indiscriminately killing Tutsi civilians3 who were referred to as 'cockroaches' and 'the enemy.' Subsequently, all individuals in Rwanda carried identification cards specifying their ethnic background. The media played a major role in spreading hate racist propaganda. For instance, radio broadcasts from the station popularly known as Radio-Television Libre des Milles Collines, set-up by two close associates of president Habayarimana came in handy. The station is said to have broadcasted unceasing message of hate in the months leading up to the massacre. At the height of the killings, one message reportedly sent over the airwaves was, "the grave is only half full, who will help us fill it?,,4 Hutu soldiers, the presidential guard, and the militias- interahamwe (those who attack) and the impuzamugambi (those with one aim) began to hunt down and kill Tutsi civilians. Sufficient evidence exists to confirm that the slaughter that ensued was not chaotic, uncontrolled violence but rather a planned and organised campaign of genocide. 5