Muzigo-Morrison, Rosette --- "The rights of victims" [2016] ELECD 1523; in de Brouwer, Anne-Marie; Smeulers, Alette (eds), "The Elgar Companion to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016) 385

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 13

Section Title: The rights of victims

Author(s): Muzigo-Morrison, Rosette

Number of pages: 37

Abstract/Description:

This chapter evaluates the contribution made by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR or Tribunal) to the development of the law/jurisprudence on the rights of victims of genocide, violations of international human rights and violations of international humanitarian law. It challenges the myth that the ICTR was established for ‘the sole purpose’ of prosecution of perpetrators of genocide and other transgressions of international humanitarian law, and makes the case that the Tribunal is not only a criminal court but it is equally a ‘human rights’ court, before which victims’ rights ought to have been and were indeed substantively enforced. The chapter further demonstrates how unprecedentedly the Tribunal translated basic principles of justice for victims of crime and abuse of power to practical protocols and procedures that have with time evolved into basic practices for enforcing victims’ rights before international criminal tribunals. Regrettably, the Tribunal’s statute does not include victims’ substantive rights in the definition of the Tribunal’s mandate – except to the extent that they would be ‘protected’ and their ‘welfare/privacy’ ensured particularly if they were witnesses. It is argued that, notwithstanding this limitation, the Tribunal may be credited for developing protocols and procedures that have over time evolved into critical victims’ rights in international criminal justice systems. Moreover, the Tribunals’ outreach programs in Rwanda have sought to redress the plight of victims. The first part of the chapter establishes victims’ rights to a remedy.