The Role Of Genocide In Rwanda

Prior to the colonial era, the now called ‘’ethnic groups’’ of Hutu, Tutsi and Twa were actually social classes. They symbolized people’s economic status/occupation rather than a permanent identity. The Tutsi were cattle keepers, Hutus were cultivators (and were the majority), while the Twa were hunters and also did military work < “The Ungodly Missionary Legacy” >. However, social mobility was possible. A Hutu who acquired a large number of cattle could become a Tutsi and, a Tutsi who lost his cattle and resorted to cultivating for a living, would become a Hutu. The Tutsi dominated the political power. Rwanda was a Kingdom, with a hereditary system- meaning that only the sons of Kings (who were all Tutsi) could take power when their parents

It was hard for the people and government to deal with such overwhelming large number of perpetrators, and so the judicial response was to be prevailed in three levels. These levels are, the international criminal tribunal for Rwanda, the national court systems, and the Gacaca court systems. The international criminal tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) which was initiated by the United Nations security council on 8th, November 1994 and closed on the 31st December 2015. This tribunal had an authority to prosecute people who committed greater responsibilities during the genocide and also any other serious violations of the international humanitarian that were carried out during the Rwandan genocide in

During its time of work in Arusha Tanzania, the international criminal tribunal for Rwanda has indicated 93 individuals that are considered to have committed serious violation of the humanitarian international law in 1994 Rwandan genocide. These individuals include high-ranking military and government officials, politicians, businessmen, as well as religious, militia, and media leaders. Some of the landmarks issued by the tribunal include the conviction of Rwanda’s former mayor Jean-paul Akayesu in 1998, where he was convicted of nine counts of genocide and crimes against humanity. During this judgement by the international court, it was the first time for the court to conclude that rape and sexxual assults are composed acts of genocide as they were committed with the intent to destroy the targeted group. Another tribunal by the international criminal tribunal for Rwanda the conviction of the prime minister during the genocide, Jean Kambanda, he was imprisoned to life in 1998 and this was also the first time for a head of the government to be convicted for the crime of