Time extension request for ICTR and allow it to indict Members of Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) who committed crimes in Rwanda in1994.
His Excellence Mr. Baki Ilkin June 2, 2009
President of UN Security Council Nº:010/6JPK/2009
UN Ambassador and Permanent Representative
Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations
821 United Nations Plaza, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10017
Telephone: (212) 949-0150
Telefax: (212) 949-0086
E-mail: turkuno-dt@un.int
Reference: Time extension request for ICTR and allow it to indict Members of Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) who committed crimes inRwanda in1994.
His Excellence,
On June 4, 2009, Honorable Justice Dennis Byron and Prosecutor Boubacar Jallow will be presenting before the UN Security Council the progress report and closing strategy of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). The Organization for Peace, Justice and Development in Rwanda (OPJDR) uses this opportunity once again to raise our concerns that, almost six months remaining for the ICTR to complete its activities when members of Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), now in power in Kigali, who committed atrocities in Rwanda in 1994 have not been indicted yet.
The position of the Prosecutor Boubacar Jallow regarding the RPF cases has been ambiguous for anyone following closely the international justice. One recalls that during his speech before the UN Security Council in June 2005, Prosecutor Jallow asserted that he has the authority to issue the indictment even after the closure of the ICTR but did not elaborate within which legal framework he will be performing these activities. He did not ask the UN Security Council to extend his mandate nor that of the tribunal itself. In his December 2006 speech, Prosecutor Jallow stated that he expected to conclude the RPF investigations during the year 2007.
And in June 2007, when Prosecutor Jallow addressed the Security Council, he stated that he needed more time to complete the investigations.
In 2008, Prosecutor Jallow concluded a deal with the RPF –led government to trial RPF soldiers who killed 13 clergymen, including 2 Bishops in 1994 in Central part of Rwanda.
A Rwandan military tribunal condemned two low ranking officers who pleaded guilty to 5 years in prisons and acquitted two commanding officers.
This deal is questionable considering the fact that the ICTR itself has rejected to transfer five cases to Rwanda government on the ground that the Rwanda judiciary system is far from meeting the minimum standards to conduct a fair and speedy trial. More than four months after the sentence in appeal has been pronounced, Prosecutor Jallow did not make public his opinion about the proceedings in that trial.
His Excellency;
Failing to prosecute RPF suspects will not only produce a “victor’s justice’’ in Rwanda but it will also put the UN Security Council and the whole international community in a moral dilemma. In addition, once again the international community will have failed the people of Rwanda like in 1994 when the genocide occurred while many people and UN Security Council who had the power to intervene looked on. And lastly, the ICTR will have failed to fulfill its primary mandate which is “to contribute to the process of national reconciliation and the restoration and maintenance of peace”.
In conclusion, OPJDR requests that the UN Security Council stands on the side of all the victims, including the RPF victims by clarifying with Prosecutor Boubacar Jallow the course of actions to take in order for justice to be rendered and subsequently contribute to a true reconciliation and sustainable peace in Rwanda.
Sincerely;
Pascal Kalinganire
Coordinator General
Organization For Peace Justice &Development in Rwanda, Inc.
(OPJDR)
5830 West Thunderbird Rd, Ste B8-PMB207 Glendale, AZ 85306
PHONE: (603) 232-9048 & (602) 412-3787 www.opjdr.org
OPJDR is non-profit and apolitical. Its mission is to promote the respect of human rights and Cultural, educational, and economic development in the Great Lakes Region of Africa.
CC:
His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon
United Nations Secretary-General
UN Headquarters, Room S-3800
New York, NY 10017
Fax: +1 212-963-2155
Security Council Members (All)
Honorable Judge Dennis Byron
President of the ICTR
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
P.O.Box 4782 New York, NY 10017
Tel.: (212) 963-2850 (New York)
Fax: (212) 963-2848 (New York)
Honorable Mr. Hassan B. Jallow
Prosecutor of ICTR
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
P.O.Box 4782 New York, NY 10017
Tel.: (212) 963-2850 (New York)
Fax: (212) 963-2848 (New York)
President of UN Security Council Nº:010/6JPK/2009
UN Ambassador and Permanent Representative
Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations
821 United Nations Plaza, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10017
Telephone: (212) 949-0150
Telefax: (212) 949-0086
E-mail: turkuno-dt@un.int
Reference: Time extension request for ICTR and allow it to indict Members of Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) who committed crimes inRwanda in1994.
His Excellence,
On June 4, 2009, Honorable Justice Dennis Byron and Prosecutor Boubacar Jallow will be presenting before the UN Security Council the progress report and closing strategy of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). The Organization for Peace, Justice and Development in Rwanda (OPJDR) uses this opportunity once again to raise our concerns that, almost six months remaining for the ICTR to complete its activities when members of Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), now in power in Kigali, who committed atrocities in Rwanda in 1994 have not been indicted yet.
The position of the Prosecutor Boubacar Jallow regarding the RPF cases has been ambiguous for anyone following closely the international justice. One recalls that during his speech before the UN Security Council in June 2005, Prosecutor Jallow asserted that he has the authority to issue the indictment even after the closure of the ICTR but did not elaborate within which legal framework he will be performing these activities. He did not ask the UN Security Council to extend his mandate nor that of the tribunal itself. In his December 2006 speech, Prosecutor Jallow stated that he expected to conclude the RPF investigations during the year 2007.
And in June 2007, when Prosecutor Jallow addressed the Security Council, he stated that he needed more time to complete the investigations.
In 2008, Prosecutor Jallow concluded a deal with the RPF –led government to trial RPF soldiers who killed 13 clergymen, including 2 Bishops in 1994 in Central part of Rwanda.
A Rwandan military tribunal condemned two low ranking officers who pleaded guilty to 5 years in prisons and acquitted two commanding officers.
This deal is questionable considering the fact that the ICTR itself has rejected to transfer five cases to Rwanda government on the ground that the Rwanda judiciary system is far from meeting the minimum standards to conduct a fair and speedy trial. More than four months after the sentence in appeal has been pronounced, Prosecutor Jallow did not make public his opinion about the proceedings in that trial.
His Excellency;
Failing to prosecute RPF suspects will not only produce a “victor’s justice’’ in Rwanda but it will also put the UN Security Council and the whole international community in a moral dilemma. In addition, once again the international community will have failed the people of Rwanda like in 1994 when the genocide occurred while many people and UN Security Council who had the power to intervene looked on. And lastly, the ICTR will have failed to fulfill its primary mandate which is “to contribute to the process of national reconciliation and the restoration and maintenance of peace”.
In conclusion, OPJDR requests that the UN Security Council stands on the side of all the victims, including the RPF victims by clarifying with Prosecutor Boubacar Jallow the course of actions to take in order for justice to be rendered and subsequently contribute to a true reconciliation and sustainable peace in Rwanda.
Sincerely;
Pascal Kalinganire
Coordinator General
Organization For Peace Justice &Development in Rwanda, Inc.
(OPJDR)
5830 West Thunderbird Rd, Ste B8-PMB207 Glendale, AZ 85306
PHONE: (603) 232-9048 & (602) 412-3787 www.opjdr.org
OPJDR is non-profit and apolitical. Its mission is to promote the respect of human rights and Cultural, educational, and economic development in the Great Lakes Region of Africa.
CC:
His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon
United Nations Secretary-General
UN Headquarters, Room S-3800
New York, NY 10017
Fax: +1 212-963-2155
Security Council Members (All)
Honorable Judge Dennis Byron
President of the ICTR
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
P.O.Box 4782 New York, NY 10017
Tel.: (212) 963-2850 (New York)
Fax: (212) 963-2848 (New York)
Honorable Mr. Hassan B. Jallow
Prosecutor of ICTR
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
P.O.Box 4782 New York, NY 10017
Tel.: (212) 963-2850 (New York)
Fax: (212) 963-2848 (New York)
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