The purpose of this report is to explore the challenges that witnesses face in giving testimony about crimes committed during the Rwandan genocide and to assess the strength of the various processes and mechanisms established to ensure their protection.
Through examining some of their experiences and the challenges they encountered, this report seeks to identify patterns and trends that underline the need for reform in the area of victim and witness protection.
The basis of this report is an analysis of relevant Rwandan and ICTR legal documents, and individual interviews and focus groups conducted in March and April 2012 with sixty Rwandan prosecution and defense witnesses, Rwandan government officials, Rwandan and ICTR judicial personnel, as well as civil society actors and previous fieldwork conducted by REDRESS and other researchers.