Blazing a Trail.

• Author: Okali, Agwu Ukiwe
• Position: The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

ICTR establishes important precedents

In a century marked by genocide and other gross violations of human rights, the hope that impunity will be deterred by justice is gradually but surely being realized. The success achieved by the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) at Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, and the effective implementation of its mandate has demonstrated clearly that international criminal justice is possible, thus moving it from the realm of aspiration to that of reality, writes United Nations Assistant Secretary-General Agwu Ukiwe Okali, who is the Registrar of the Tribunal, in this contribution to the Chronicle.

By mid-May 1999, the Tribunal had delivered three judgements and sentences, as well as decisions on more than 200 motions on various points of law. Found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment for genocide and crimes against humanity were Jean-Paul Akayesu, former Mayor of Taba, and Jean Kambanda, former Prime Minister of Rwanda, who pleaded guilty to his crimes; Omar Serushago, a militia leader who also pleaded guilty, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. A fourth judgement - in the joint trial of Clement Kayishema, a medical doctor and former Governor of Kibuye, and Obed Ruzindana, a businessman - will be handed down by the Tribunal on 21 May 1999 (See next page).

The ICTR, which was established by the United Nations Security Council in November 1994, commenced its operations a year later. Through its decisions, the Tribunal has delivered what many observers regard as perhaps the most effective judicial blows against the culture of impunity by any jurisdiction. These verdicts, which have been broadcast live to the people of Rwanda, have also gone some way to restore confidence and hope to the victims.

The judgement of Jean-Paul Akayesu was the first-ever on the crime of genocide by an international tribunal. It also contained another landmark.

For the first time, it defined rape in international law and led that rape may constitute genocide, to the extent that it is committed with intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. And the judgement highlighted the importance of individual responsibility for criminal acts of subordinates if a superior knew or should have known of these acts and did nothing to prevent them or punish the perpetrators.

Jean Kambanda's guilty plea and sentence were also historic. It was the first time in history that anyone - let alone a...