His Excellence Mr. Vitaly Churkin May 26, 2009
President of the UN Security Council Nº:009/JPK/2009
136 East 67 Street
New York, NY 10065
Tel.: 212-861-4900; 861-4901;861-4902
Fax: 212-628-0252
Ref.: UN diplomats should remove pressure on the ICTR Judges and leave it work
independently.
His Excellency,
I am writing on behalf of the Organization for Peace, Justice and Development in Rwanda (OPJDR), Inc. to express concerns about the pressure UN Security Council diplomats including UN Deputy Secretary General for Legal Affairs, Patricia O’Brien are exercising on the UN International Court Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) based in Arusha, Tanzania. Created by the UN Security Council by resolution 955 of 8 November 1994, the ICTR has the purpose to bring to justice all persons responsible for the genocide and other serious violation of International humanitarian law committed in Rwanda and neighboring countries by all the
belligerents in the conflict between January 1st and December 31st 1994.
During their visit to Rwanda on May 18th, 2009, the UN Security Council commission of 15 member diplomats led by the Honorable British Ambassador John Sawers, expressed UN Security Council’s disappointment in the failure by the ICTR to transfer some of the Genocide cases to Rwanda as requested by the Rwandan government. About one month before, on March 30th, 2009, the UN Deputy Secretary General for Legal Affairs, Patricia O’Brien expressed her sympathies with Rwanda’s demands to take on the remaining cases at the ICTR after its completion. This is happening while different Human Rights organizations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and US Department of States who independently and regularly investigated on Rwanda and clearly showed that the Rwandan Tutsi led government exercises tight control on the jurisdiction system against Hutus as mentioned in Human Right Watch World 2009 report.
Although OPJDR strongly appreciated UN Security Council commission’s request for the Congolese government to investigate and arrest five high-ranking army officers known to have committed atrocities and responsible for over 19 civilians killed and 250 rapes in the north Kivu province, we are equally disturbed by its continued disregard of the seriousness of the nature of Rwandans problems which are the epicenter of most of the conflicts that are ravaging the Great Lakes Region of Africa the last two decades
While the population of Rwanda, with well known Human Rights Organizations and some western countries are constantly requesting that the responsibility in the 1994’ Rwandan tragedy of many senior officers from the current Rwandan government including President
Organization For Peace Justice &Development in Rwanda, Inc.
(OPJDR)
Organisation Pour la Paix, la Justice et le Développent au 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.
Paul Kagame be brought to light, it is completely incomprehensible why such a well informed body as the UN Security Council commission will choose to ignore those facts and opt rather to challenge ICTR’s independent decisions such as those related to transfer some cases to the government of Rwanda. It is in fact disappointing to the victims of the Rwanda tragedy that the UN Security council, who installed the ICTR, did not recommend that International Court expedites its work by bringing to justice all those implicated in Rwanda tragedy, including the members of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) currently on power in Kigali. Further, one would question the legacy of that UN body when it closes its shop in December 2009.
His Excellence, OPJDR would like to recall that the people who are accused and incarcerated by ICTR are the former Rwandan leaders, intellectuals, busnessmen and officers who fought against RPF when it invaded Rwanda from Uganda on that fateful day of October 1, 1990, which ended in 1994 with the genocide. Those are the people UN is pressuring on to be sent to Rwanda to be sentenced by their former enemies on power today. Once more, these inmates under the ICTR custody, who are innocent until proved guilty, were either refugees or asylum seekers in various countries where they settled after fleeing their own country because their lives were jeopardized by the current Rwandan authorities. Under the UN Refugee declaration of 1951, they should not be forcibly sent back to the country they fled unless on their will. Furthermore, very often witnesses for these ICTR inmates are Rwandan Refugees who would, in almost no circumstances, go to Rwanda to testify on their behalf for fear of repercussions to them and to their relatives from the Rwanda Government.
Overall, the reasons OPJDR is against the transfer are:
1. The accused should not judge and prosecute the accused of the same crimes It has been unshaded that the current Rwandan President, his high ranking officers and
civilian aids participated in war crimes and crimes against humanity while fighting the former Rwandan government overthrown in 1994. Among these crimes, there are shooting and mass killings of population in Rwandan and DRC, assassinating the former Rwandan and Burundian Presidents and their aids as well as the aircraft crew, killing missionaries in Rwanda etc... These indictments are under International arrest warranties delivered by the France Justice in November 2006 and Spanish justice February 2008. These crimes fall under the jurisdiction of the ICTR and it is the main reason why the UN Security Council did not opt to install the ICTR in Kigali (Rwanda) in first place, but preferred Arusha (Tanzania) to guarantee its independence and prevent potential interferences from the RPF government.
2. A Biased Rwandan Justice System and heavily aligned with Rwandan government political needs. The Rwandan national justice system should prove its impartiality by investigating and prosecuting crimes committed by members of the Rwandese Patriotic Army (RPA), the armed wing of the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) on power today. This failure raises serious concerns about the ability of the national justice system to address all crimes committed in the conflict justly, fairly and impartially.
3. Tortures in Rwandan prisons
Different tortures have been reported by different independent human Rights organizations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, OPJDR, and US Department of States. This was legally confirmed by the US District Court for the District of Columbia in its 150-page opinion handed by Honorable Judge Ellen Huevelle on August 17th 2006.
4. Unlawful trials in Gacaca system
Since its beginning in March 2001, the RPF (Tutsi on power) controlled Gacaca system has been unlawfully investigating and prosecuting a massive number of crimes committed during the 1994 genocide where the process does not permit the accused to have legal representation. The persons who are deciding the case generally are not legally trained, where often the substance of the case is actually criminal in nature, with high crime punishment as up to 15, 30 years or life sentence in prison.
5. Insecurity for witnesses
It has been reported and testified at the ICTR – Arusha at different occasions that witnesses were forced and trained to wrongly testify against those incarcerated in ICTR Arusha. Also, many people are found in Rwandan prisons for crimes stated as genocide ideology because of their different political views which often intimidate a good number of people who would otherwise testify.
His Excellence, OPJDR is requesting that United Nations should let ICTR court work independently free from any pressure as it was stipulated in its mandate on its creation in
November 1994. The pressure on this court which mainly started in 1999 when Mrs. Louise Arbour, the then ICTR prosecutor between February 29, 1996 to September 15, 1999 when she was instructed to discontinue and put away Michael Hourigan’s investigation findings on Rwandan’s current authorities role in genocide. The same pressure happened on Carla Del Ponte, ICTR Prosecutor between August 11, 1999 and September 14, 2003 after she expressed the needs for Rwandans’s current authorities to be investigated and was subsequently removed from ICTR Arusha. Further more this court was established in Arusha Tanzania instead of Rwanda because the UN Security Council recognized the existence of both opponent belligerents.
OPJDR believes that the ICTR should operate independently and free from any pressure and influences; and its decisions should be accepted by all, including the Government of Rwanda and the UN Security Council.Otherwise, fair and speedy justice for all, which is one the fundamental principles of UN, would be seen by some as an empty slogan.
Sincerely,
Pascal Kalinganire
Coordinator General
Organisation Pour la Paix, la Justice et le Développent au 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
Copies:
His Escelency Ban Ki-Moon
United Nations Secretary-General UN Headquarters, Room S-3800
New York, NY 10017
Fax: +1 212-963-2155
Members of UN Security Council Honorable Mr. Kenneth Roth
Executive Director of Human Rights Watch
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10118-3299
USA
Tel: 1-(212) 290-4700
Fax: +1-212-736-1300
Email: hrwnyc@hrw.org
Honorable Mrs. Irene Khan
Secretary General of Amnesty International
1 Easton Street
London, United Kingdom
WC1X0DW, UK
Tel.: +44-20-74135500
Fax : +44-20-79561157
President of the UN Security Council Nº:009/JPK/2009
136 East 67 Street
New York, NY 10065
Tel.: 212-861-4900; 861-4901;861-4902
Fax: 212-628-0252
Ref.: UN diplomats should remove pressure on the ICTR Judges and leave it work
independently.
His Excellency,
I am writing on behalf of the Organization for Peace, Justice and Development in Rwanda (OPJDR), Inc. to express concerns about the pressure UN Security Council diplomats including UN Deputy Secretary General for Legal Affairs, Patricia O’Brien are exercising on the UN International Court Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) based in Arusha, Tanzania. Created by the UN Security Council by resolution 955 of 8 November 1994, the ICTR has the purpose to bring to justice all persons responsible for the genocide and other serious violation of International humanitarian law committed in Rwanda and neighboring countries by all the
belligerents in the conflict between January 1st and December 31st 1994.
During their visit to Rwanda on May 18th, 2009, the UN Security Council commission of 15 member diplomats led by the Honorable British Ambassador John Sawers, expressed UN Security Council’s disappointment in the failure by the ICTR to transfer some of the Genocide cases to Rwanda as requested by the Rwandan government. About one month before, on March 30th, 2009, the UN Deputy Secretary General for Legal Affairs, Patricia O’Brien expressed her sympathies with Rwanda’s demands to take on the remaining cases at the ICTR after its completion. This is happening while different Human Rights organizations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and US Department of States who independently and regularly investigated on Rwanda and clearly showed that the Rwandan Tutsi led government exercises tight control on the jurisdiction system against Hutus as mentioned in Human Right Watch World 2009 report.
Although OPJDR strongly appreciated UN Security Council commission’s request for the Congolese government to investigate and arrest five high-ranking army officers known to have committed atrocities and responsible for over 19 civilians killed and 250 rapes in the north Kivu province, we are equally disturbed by its continued disregard of the seriousness of the nature of Rwandans problems which are the epicenter of most of the conflicts that are ravaging the Great Lakes Region of Africa the last two decades
While the population of Rwanda, with well known Human Rights Organizations and some western countries are constantly requesting that the responsibility in the 1994’ Rwandan tragedy of many senior officers from the current Rwandan government including President
Organization For Peace Justice &Development in Rwanda, Inc.
(OPJDR)
Organisation Pour la Paix, la Justice et le Développent au 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.
Paul Kagame be brought to light, it is completely incomprehensible why such a well informed body as the UN Security Council commission will choose to ignore those facts and opt rather to challenge ICTR’s independent decisions such as those related to transfer some cases to the government of Rwanda. It is in fact disappointing to the victims of the Rwanda tragedy that the UN Security council, who installed the ICTR, did not recommend that International Court expedites its work by bringing to justice all those implicated in Rwanda tragedy, including the members of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) currently on power in Kigali. Further, one would question the legacy of that UN body when it closes its shop in December 2009.
His Excellence, OPJDR would like to recall that the people who are accused and incarcerated by ICTR are the former Rwandan leaders, intellectuals, busnessmen and officers who fought against RPF when it invaded Rwanda from Uganda on that fateful day of October 1, 1990, which ended in 1994 with the genocide. Those are the people UN is pressuring on to be sent to Rwanda to be sentenced by their former enemies on power today. Once more, these inmates under the ICTR custody, who are innocent until proved guilty, were either refugees or asylum seekers in various countries where they settled after fleeing their own country because their lives were jeopardized by the current Rwandan authorities. Under the UN Refugee declaration of 1951, they should not be forcibly sent back to the country they fled unless on their will. Furthermore, very often witnesses for these ICTR inmates are Rwandan Refugees who would, in almost no circumstances, go to Rwanda to testify on their behalf for fear of repercussions to them and to their relatives from the Rwanda Government.
Overall, the reasons OPJDR is against the transfer are:
1. The accused should not judge and prosecute the accused of the same crimes It has been unshaded that the current Rwandan President, his high ranking officers and
civilian aids participated in war crimes and crimes against humanity while fighting the former Rwandan government overthrown in 1994. Among these crimes, there are shooting and mass killings of population in Rwandan and DRC, assassinating the former Rwandan and Burundian Presidents and their aids as well as the aircraft crew, killing missionaries in Rwanda etc... These indictments are under International arrest warranties delivered by the France Justice in November 2006 and Spanish justice February 2008. These crimes fall under the jurisdiction of the ICTR and it is the main reason why the UN Security Council did not opt to install the ICTR in Kigali (Rwanda) in first place, but preferred Arusha (Tanzania) to guarantee its independence and prevent potential interferences from the RPF government.
2. A Biased Rwandan Justice System and heavily aligned with Rwandan government political needs. The Rwandan national justice system should prove its impartiality by investigating and prosecuting crimes committed by members of the Rwandese Patriotic Army (RPA), the armed wing of the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) on power today. This failure raises serious concerns about the ability of the national justice system to address all crimes committed in the conflict justly, fairly and impartially.
3. Tortures in Rwandan prisons
Different tortures have been reported by different independent human Rights organizations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, OPJDR, and US Department of States. This was legally confirmed by the US District Court for the District of Columbia in its 150-page opinion handed by Honorable Judge Ellen Huevelle on August 17th 2006.
4. Unlawful trials in Gacaca system
Since its beginning in March 2001, the RPF (Tutsi on power) controlled Gacaca system has been unlawfully investigating and prosecuting a massive number of crimes committed during the 1994 genocide where the process does not permit the accused to have legal representation. The persons who are deciding the case generally are not legally trained, where often the substance of the case is actually criminal in nature, with high crime punishment as up to 15, 30 years or life sentence in prison.
5. Insecurity for witnesses
It has been reported and testified at the ICTR – Arusha at different occasions that witnesses were forced and trained to wrongly testify against those incarcerated in ICTR Arusha. Also, many people are found in Rwandan prisons for crimes stated as genocide ideology because of their different political views which often intimidate a good number of people who would otherwise testify.
His Excellence, OPJDR is requesting that United Nations should let ICTR court work independently free from any pressure as it was stipulated in its mandate on its creation in
November 1994. The pressure on this court which mainly started in 1999 when Mrs. Louise Arbour, the then ICTR prosecutor between February 29, 1996 to September 15, 1999 when she was instructed to discontinue and put away Michael Hourigan’s investigation findings on Rwandan’s current authorities role in genocide. The same pressure happened on Carla Del Ponte, ICTR Prosecutor between August 11, 1999 and September 14, 2003 after she expressed the needs for Rwandans’s current authorities to be investigated and was subsequently removed from ICTR Arusha. Further more this court was established in Arusha Tanzania instead of Rwanda because the UN Security Council recognized the existence of both opponent belligerents.
OPJDR believes that the ICTR should operate independently and free from any pressure and influences; and its decisions should be accepted by all, including the Government of Rwanda and the UN Security Council.Otherwise, fair and speedy justice for all, which is one the fundamental principles of UN, would be seen by some as an empty slogan.
Sincerely,
Pascal Kalinganire
Coordinator General
Organisation Pour la Paix, la Justice et le Développent au 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
Copies:
His Escelency Ban Ki-Moon
United Nations Secretary-General UN Headquarters, Room S-3800
New York, NY 10017
Fax: +1 212-963-2155
Members of UN Security Council Honorable Mr. Kenneth Roth
Executive Director of Human Rights Watch
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10118-3299
USA
Tel: 1-(212) 290-4700
Fax: +1-212-736-1300
Email: hrwnyc@hrw.org
Honorable Mrs. Irene Khan
Secretary General of Amnesty International
1 Easton Street
London, United Kingdom
WC1X0DW, UK
Tel.: +44-20-74135500
Fax : +44-20-79561157
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