Odora-Obote, Alex --- "Investigations and case selection" [2016] ELECD 1518; in de Brouwer, Anne-Marie; Smeulers, Alette (eds), "The Elgar Companion to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016) 235

Book Title: The Elgar Companion to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

Editor(s): de Brouwer, Anne-Marie; Smeulers, Alette

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781784711696

Section: Chapter 8

Section Title: Investigations and case selection

Author(s): Odora-Obote, Alex

Number of pages: 30

Abstract/Description:

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), a post-genocide court, was established on 8 November 1994 after the genocide was over. The chief prosecutor of the ICTY, based at The Hague, assumed that post for Rwanda as well. The seat of the ICTR was at Arusha, in northern Tanzania. The first ICTR Prosecutor, Judge Richard Goldstone, visited Rwanda for the first time in December 1994, but continued to reside at The Hague. These decisions had direct bearing on investigations in Rwanda. The many delays and inefficiency that dogged the ICTR in its first few years have been well documented. Although many problems were of the sort endemic to any large bureaucratic organization, others stemmed directly from the United Nations’ lack of experience in the field of international criminal justice. The rules of the UN are simply not very well suited to the staffing and running of a tribunal expected to investigate and prosecute perpetrators responsible for atrocity crimes. When recruited, ICTR staff were posted on three continents – at New York in North America, The Hague in Europe, Arusha and Kigali in Africa – thus making coordination, consultation and team building problematic. Delays in recruitment of staff members with experience in investigation of genocide cases resulted in the lapse of significant periods of time between events under investigation and when actual investigations began. This lapse created operational difficulties in the collection of evidence. Many witnesses were often interviewed more than once on the same subject matter, and by different investigators.