Gacaca courts used to be traditional councils made up of elders to resolve conflicts. Literally, it means "a resting relaxing green lawn in the Rwandan homestead" (yes, all of that) where family members and neighbors met to exchange views and resolve conflicts.
It is a collectivist reconciliatory process that has been central to African justice for centuries.
Today, Gacacas continue to define society and are now being used to try genocide suspects.
Reconciliation is key. In kinyarwandan reconciliation is kwiyungo, meaning "to mend ourselves": it means that restorative justice should take precedence over punitive or retributive justice. Indeed, a dialogue takes place between all the parties involved: victims, judges, community and criminal.This type of dialogue is quite rare in traditional/typical trials and dialogue is meant to ensure that the offender understand the harm he has caused (this is quite optimistic in a way.I'm not sure they always understand their actions). The goal is to make amends and to make the offender personally accountable. To reach that goal, the accused must acknowledge the pain he has caused and ask for forgiveness (this idea is quite optimistic as well. family obviously have a hard time forgiving the offender)
Gacaca always take place in the communities in which the crime was committed. This is important since the International Criminal Court for Rwanda was based in Arusha, Tanzania, making it almost impossible for anyone to travel there. Victims and witnesses had to be brought there but families and the rest of the community could hardly attend trials. Rwandans felt that the tribunal had been sat up to please the international community who had failed to come to the help of Rwandans during the genocide.
This is one of the reasons why Gacaca courts are being used. there are other reasons as well: after the genocide, the country's infrastructure and law and order were in a state of collapse. Judicial institutions had ceased to exist and many judges had participated in the genocide, had fled to the Congo or, because they were Tutsis, had been killed. There was also an extremely large number of perpetrators: 818,564 suspected of having committed crimes of genocide. The process turned out to be extremely slow and tenuous. By 2000, 120,000 suspects were still cramped in prisons living in inhuman conditions (I have heard horror stories about prisoners having to stand all day, making their feet swell and hard like rock to the point that the prisoner could simply "take off" his toes. I know....disgusting). There was a need for speed. The new government therefore decided the merge two objectives: the rehabilitation of the fragile justice system and the organization of genocide trials the Rwandan way.
The courts have 4 objectives: bring the conflict into the open; involve the whole community; provide compensation; bring offenders back into the community. Truth, reconciliation and punishment are central. By coming forward the perpetrator would get "rewarded" with reduced sentences.
The accused persons were put into 4 categories (later 3):
1. those whose planned, organized, instigated, supervised, led the genocide and committed crimes.The first category of perpetrators were tried in Arusha at the International tribunal for Rwanda. These included\ Ministers, the Prime Minister, military officials, religious leaders.
2. those who committed homicide or attacks intended to cause death
3. those who participated in serious attacks which were not intended to cause death
4. property crimes
Gacaca are still taking place today. It is estimated that 1.5 million have been tried by now.By 2008, the courts had tried 1,127,706 cases. The process helped put the nature of the genocide into context while also considering the historical, political and cultural context of the society in transition. The state also showed that it was able and willing to act and wanted to work according international human rights standards. Whether the process has truly worked will have to been seen. I am sceptical about full reconciliation and believe that considering the amount of crimes committed and mass the violence that took place, people do not trust each other and certainly not neighbours (it was common during the genocide for someone to kill a neighbour even though they had lived side by side for years). I am scared that something will happen that will trigger new violence. We'll have to see.
Belgian Memorial pictures
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