Rwandan Gacaca Courts End Operations

Yesterday, the Rwandan community courts known as gacaca courts, which were set up to hear genocide-related cases, concluded their operations after ten years of work. The courts were established by the Rwandan government in 2001 to help relieve pressures on other national courts hearing genocide-related cases.  The gacaca courts have been praised for their work by the UN; but also have been criticized by Human Rights Watch in a 2011 report  for bribery, untrained judges and witness intimidation.  During their ten years of operation, the gacaca court tried approximately two million persons and issued guilty verdicts in approximately 65% of the cases.

(cgb)