Public Executions in Rwanda
The Public Executions of Prisoners Sentenced to Death for Crimes of Genocide in Rwanda Compromise Hopes for Reconciliation
Montreal, April 23, 1998 Tomorrow morning, the Rwandan government will publicly execute 33 people given the death sentence by the Rwandan courts for crimes of genocide. One other convicted offender had already died in detention. The Rwandan government has gone so far as to invite the public to come out in great numbers to witness these executions, which will be held in a stadium in the city of Kigali, in Ntarama in rural Kigali, in Kibungo, in Murambi in the prefecture of the Umutara, and in Gikongoro.
While recognizing the commitment the Rwandan government has shown in its struggle against impunity in the past years, the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (ICHRDD) believes that the executions follow upon trials that have not conformed to the fundamental principles of fairness with regard to evidence and rules of procedure provided by international instruments protecting human rights. For example, the rules regarding arrest and preventive detention, pre-trial investigations, witnesses' hearings, the time limit to issue summons, assistance from a defender or a lawyer, and procedures of appeal have not been respected. In its concern for justice, and with the goal of promoting national reconciliation, ICHRDD would have instead hoped to see more emphasis placed on complete respect of the fundamental principles of fairness with regard to evidence and procedures instead of public executions or killings.
Basing its analysis on various international instruments protecting human rights, notably the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its protocols, ICHRDD is opposed to the death penalty. In the context of a society already severely affected by a certain culture of violence, a death sentence is in itself an extreme form of violence and not a means of resolving it. ICHRDD therefore invites the Rwandan government to join with other States in ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aiming at the Abolition of the Death Penalty. ICHRDD fears that by holding public executions, public authorities are turning violence into an acceptable occurrence and ultimately laying the groundwork for a future social explosion on a scale that no one can predict.
For More Information
Augie van Biljouw, ICHRDD,
Tel. (514) 283-6073;
Fax: (514) 283-3792
E-mail: avbiljou@ichrdd.ca.
