Publications

This discussion paper was submitted by IBUKA and it’s 15 member organisations, the Survivors Fund (SURF) and REDRESS to the government of Rwanda in October 2012 to help progress discussions on reparation (in particular in the form of rehabilitation,  restitution and compensation) for survivors of the Rwandan genocide survivor organisations and other stakeholders. It is based on a series of interviews carried out for five years with survivors, Rwandan government officials and representatives of national and international human rights organisations on the issue of reparation as well as workshops and seminars. It also examines reparation mechanisms established elsewhere in the aftermath of conflict and/or in response to systematic human rights abuses, focusing in particular on South Africa, Sierra Leone and Morocco.

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.

Until recently, international criminal courts and tribunals established since Nuremberg have given only sparse consideration to victims’ views and concerns and limited space for their active engagement with such institutions beyond the role of prosecution witness. The focus of this report is victim participation in international criminal justice processes and the array of measures that have been put in place by the Rome Statute system and the jurisprudence of the International Criminal Court.

Sexual violence is the most pervasive form of violence in many of the conflict-ridden countries in Africa and continues to remain so. The overall purpose of this manual is to eliminate the knowledge gap about strategies women may adopt to seek justice for sexual violence. It is also to encourage women to use and exhaust avenue of justice within their domestic legal system and, if the systems fail them to explore brining complains under regional or international mechanisms. This manual examines the different legal options available to a victim/survivor of sexual violence or rights group on her behalf.    

This report builds on the presentations and discussions held at an expert meeting on the law and practice on torture in Europe organised by REDRESS and the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) in Berlin on 25-27 November 2011. The meeting brought together experts from Armenia, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, and United Kingdom and provided an opportunity to exchange information and experiences on litigating torture cases and advocating legal and institutional reforms. The report provides a review of laws, practices and patterns of torture, examining the availability and effectiveness of safeguards, accountability mechanisms and avenues to obtain reparation for torture in the countries considered. It reflects both systemic challenges and best practices identified by the participants in respect of key areas of concern.