Justice amongst the Grass. The Gacaca Courts and their Reconciliation Lessons for Colombia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.espo.n51a11Keywords:
Transitional Justice, Human Rights, Reconciliation, Rwanda, ColombiaAbstract
In 1994, Rwanda underwent a terrible genocide between the Hutu and the Tutsi ethnic groups. The Rwandan Patriotic Front stopped the killings. The new government of the RPF built the Gacaca Courts as a justice and truth mechanism, its goal was to prevent the impunity of the genocide suspects and to promote reconciliation among Rwandans. The present article makes a contribution to the analysis of this case in order to establish how the experience of the Gacaca Courts can teach us something about the reconciliation process and for the current implementation of the Peace Agreements between the FARC-EP and the Colombian Government. The analysis focus on justice and reconciliation as the principal elements of the Gacaca Courts in order to build a parallelism between their postulates and experiences in implementing international legal standards of human rights, and the legitimacy of the mechanism of the Special Peace Jurisdiction in Colombia.
Downloads
References
(1) Agudelo, Martin. (2005). El debido proceso. Revista Opinión Jurídica, 4 (7). Recuperado de http://revistas.udem.edu.co/index.php/opinion/article/view/1307/1283
(2) Amstutz, Mark. (2006). Is Reconciliation Possible After Genocide?: The Case of Rwanda. Journal Of Church & State, 48 (3), pp. 541-565. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcs/48.3.541
(3) Biasco, Emilio. (2002, 28 de noviembre). Independencia e imparcialidad de magistrados y tribunales. Jornada Interdisciplinaria sobre Independencia del Poder Judicial. Instituto de Derechos Humanos, Facultad de Derecho, Universidad de la República, Montevideo.
(4) Brehm, Hollie; Gasanabo, Jean-Damascène y Uggen, Christopher. (2014). Genocide, Justice, and Rwanda's Gacaca Court. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 30 (3). pp. 333–352. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986214536660
(5) Burnet, Jennie. (2008). La injusticia de la justicia local: verdad, reconciliación y venganza en Ruanda. Journal of Genocide Studies and Prevention, 3, pp. 24-46.
(6) Castel, Antoni. (2009). La justicia tradicional en la reconciliación de Rwanda y Burundi. Revista CIDOB d'Afers Internacionals, 87, pp. 53-63.
(7) Coello, Isabel. (2002). Justicia popular en Ruanda. Papeles de Cuestiones Internacionales, 80, pp. 105-114.
(8) Comité de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos. (2009). Consideration of Reports Submitted by State Parties under Article 40 of the Covenant. Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee. Rwanda. Recuperado de http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/docs/co/CCPR-C-RWA-CO3.doc
(9) Des forges, Alison. (1999). Leave None to Tell the Story. Genocide in Rwanda. New York: Human Rights Watch.
(10) Gobierno de Colombia y las FARC-EP. (2015). Acuerdo sobre las Víctimas del Conflicto "Sistema Integral de Verdad, Justicia, Reparación y No Repetición", incluyendo la Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz; y Compromiso sobre Derechos Humanos. Mesa de Conversaciones. Recuperado de https://www.mesadeconversaciones.com.co/comunicados/comunicado-conjunto-64-la-habana-15-de-diciembre-de-2015
(11) Gobierno de Colombia y las FARC-EP. (2016). Acuerdo final para la terminación del conflicto y la construcción de una paz estable y duradera. Oficina del Alto Comisionado para la Paz. Recuperado de http://www.altocomisionadoparalapaz.gov.co/procesos-y-conversaciones/Paginas/Texto-completo-del-Acuerdo-Final-para-la-Terminacion-del-conflicto.aspx
(12) Gómez, Manuela. (2009). Ruanda: un colonialismo simbólico. (Tesis de pregrado en Comunicación Social). Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, D. C.
(13) Government of the Republic of Rwanda. (2016). History. Republic of Rwanda. Recuperado de http://www.gov.rw/home/history/
(14) Human Rights Watch (HRW). (2011, mayo 31). Ruanda: el legado mixto de los tribunales comunitarios para el genocidio. Recuperado de https://www.hrw.org/es/news/2011/05/31/ruanda-el-legado-mixto-de-los-tribunales-comunitarios-para-el-genocidio
(15) Ingelaere, Bert. (2008). The Gacaca Courts in Rwanda. En: Huyse, Luc y Salter, Mark (eds.). Traditional Justice and Reconciliation after Violent Conflict. Learning from African Experiences (pp. 25-59). Stockholm: International IDEA.
(16) Lambourne, Wendy. (2014). Transformative Justice, Reconciliation and Peacebuilding. En: Buckley-Zistel, Susanne; Koloma, Teresa; Braun, Christian y Mieth, Friederike (eds.). Transitional Justice Theories (pp. 19-39). New York: Routledge.
(17) Márquez, Álvaro. (2007). La justicia restaurativa versus la justicia retributiva en el contexto del sistema procesal de tendencia acusatoria. Prolegómenos. Derechos y Valores, 10 (20), pp. 201-212. https://doi.org/10.18359/prole.2543
(18) Massó, Ester. (2012). La "noviolencia" en África: la actualidad de la paz. Nova Africa, 28.
(19) Molenaar, Arthur. (2005). Gacaca: Grassroots Justice after Genocide. The Key to Reconciliation in Rwanda? Leiden: African Studies Center.
(20) National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC). (2007). The National Policy on Unity and Reconciliation. Recuperado de http://www.nurc.gov.rw/index.php?id=70&no_cache=1&tx_drblob_pi1%5BdownloadUid%5D=26
(21) National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC). (2010). Rwanda Reconciliation Barometer. Recuperado de http://www.nurc.gov.rw/index.php?id=70&no_cache=1&tx_drblob_pi1%5BdownloadUid%5D=16
(22) National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC). (2015). Rwanda Reconciliation Barometer. Recuperado de http://www.nurc.gov.rw/index.php?id=70&no_cache=1&tx_drblob_pi1%5BdownloadUid%5D=55
(23) Oficina del Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos. (2016). Pacto Internacional de Derechos Civiles y Político. Recuperado de http://www.ohchr.org/SP/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CCPR.aspx
(24) Prieto, Rafael. (2001). La noción del debido proceso en el ámbito internacional: entre condicionamiento y criminalización. Revista Derecho del Estado, 10, pp. 121-138.
(25) Prunier, Gérard. (1995). The Rwandan Crisis: History of a Genocide. Londres: C. Hurst & Co.
(26) Reed, Cyrus. (1995). The Rwandan Patriotic Front: Politics and Development in Rwanda. Issue: A Journal of Opinion, 23 (2), pp. 48-53. https://doi.org/10.2307/1166507
(27) Reed, Cyrus. (1996). Exile, Reform, and the Rise of the Rwandan Patriotic Front. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 34 (3), pp. 479-501. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022278X00055567
(28) Sosnov, Maya. (2008). The Adjudication of Genocide: Gacaca and the Road to Reconciliation in Rwanda. Denver Journal of International Law and Policy, 36 (2), pp. 125-153.
(29) Tenconi, Eduardo. (2015). No puedes esconder el humo si encendiste fuego. Conceptos. Boletín de la Universidad del Museo Social Argentino, 90 (493), pp. 179-191.
(30) Umutesi, Marie Béatrice. (2006). Is Reconciliation between Hutus and Tutsis Possible? Journal of International Affairs, 60 (1), pp. 157-171.
(31) United Nations Human Rigths. Office of the High Commissioner. (2016). Human Rights and Traditional Justice systems in Africa. New York and Geneva: UN. Recuperado de http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/HR_PUB_16_2_HR_and_Traditional_Justice_Systems_in_Africa.pdf
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Estudios Políticos authorizes the copy of articles and texts for academic purposes or the internal use of institutions as long as the proper citation of the source is provided. Total or partial reproduction of the journal with different purposes should have an explicit authorization by the Institute of Politic Studies of the University of Antioquia.
The views and opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors and do not necessary reflect or bind those of the Institute of Political Studies of the University of Antioquia.
