The suspension of the trial of Felicien Kabuga, the key suspect in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, is "pitiable” and "a slap in the face of victims and survivors,” Rwanda’s Deputy Permenant Representative to the United Nations said on Wednesday, October 18.
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Robert Kayinamura addressed the UN General Assembly’s General Debate on the report of the International Residual Mechanisms for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), which ruled in June 2023 that Kabuga, who’s believed to be the main financier of the Genocide, was "unfit to stand trial” due to old age and dementia.
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"Rwanda is dismayed by the decision in the Kabuga trial,” Kayinamura said, adding that the indefinite suspension set "a very dangerous precedent.”
Kabuga, known as the financier of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, was a wealthy businessman and the president of what was called the National Defence Fund from about April 25, 1994 to July 1994.
A core member of the Akazu – a small circle of architects of the 1994 Genocide, Kabuga was also the founding president of the board of shareholders of hate radio RTLM, known as a key enabler of the Genocide against the Tutsi.
"The rationale provided for suspending Kabuga's trial - that he is unfit due to his age - is a pitiable excuse and a slap in the face of the victims and survivors. His age should not exempt him from facing the consequences of his actions. Justice knows no age. He is just 88 years old,” Kayinamura noted.
He cited a trial in a German court which found a 97-year-old woman guilty for her role as a secretary in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II and that of a 98-year-old and even a 101-year-old former Nazi camp guard who were tried for their role during the Holocaust.
"If they can face the legal consequences for their actions, why should Kabuga be any different?” wondered Kayinamura.
The Rwandan envoy was also concerned about the early release given to some Genocide convicts, who end consuming taxpayers’ money in countries where they live, while survivors are not supported.
"It is not solely the suspension and death of fugitives that is cause for concern alone,” he said.
"The fact that the UN system deems it appropriate to allocate member states’ taxpayer’s money to go directly into the hands of those who orchestrated and perpetrated one of the most heinous crimes in our shared history remains a concern.
"I don’t know if member states are aware that their taxpayer’s money is paying for sustaining and wellbeing of former Genocide convicts- who were give either early release or served their sentences- who now live in Niger. Yet, no funds are directed to support the survivors.”
Kayinamura also noted the issue of denial of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and "relentless attempts to undermine the work of the UN tribunal, which have been raised in the UN Security Council, the African Union and other forums.
"In the case of Rwanda there is the disturbing trend of Genocide denial, the glorification of former convicts, especially those who have been set free by [the UN tribunal] under early release,” he said.
The convicts, he said, "have joined other genocide deniers in re-writing the history, and provocative statements by convicted persons shamelessly admitting that they would do it all over again.”
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He said another issue of importance to address is that Rwanda sent out over 1,000 indictments to 34 countries, requesting cooperation in arresting and prosecuting fugitives or transferring them to Rwanda to face justice, "but only a few [countries] have complied.”
Kayinamura called for the strengthening the force and effect of international criminal law by instituting a comprehensive provision of conditional early release for convicted persons and "rigorous approach to conditional release ensures that the court grants conditional release only to those who have demonstrated adequate rehabilitation.”
He also called on the combatting of genocide ideology in all its manifestations, including genocide denial, by stepping up efforts at monitoring and addressing incidents of genocide convicts involving themselves in propagating genocide ideology, including genocide denial.
He called for the stepping up of efforts and collaboration among states to apprehend fugitives that remain at large and who are wanted by the Rwandan justice system.
"It is incumbent upon all Member States to cooperate to locate and apprehend the wanted criminal to face justice,” he said.