International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)
Established	8 November 1994
Dissolved	31 December 2015
Location	Arusha, Tanzania
Authorized by	United Nations Security Council Resolution 955
Number of positions	16 permanent 9 ad litem
Website	www.unictr.org
President
Currently	Vagn Joensen (Denmark)

Human skulls at the Nyamata Genocide Memorial Centre
Part of a series on the
Rwandan genocide
Background History of Rwanda Origins of Hutu, Tutsi and Twa Kingdom of Rwanda Rwandan Revolution Rwandan Civil War Hutu Power Assassination of Habyarimana and Ntaryamira
Events Initial events Chronology Gikondo massacre Musha Church massacre Nyarubuye massacre
Parties responsible People indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal Genocidaires Akazu Impuzamugambi militia Interahamwe militia Kangura RTLM radio
Response Rwandan Patriotic Front International community United Nations Mission UN Security Council Resolution 935 Opération "Turquoise"
Aftermath Great Lakes refugee crisis Gacaca court First Congo War (Massacres of Hutus) Second Congo War
Resources Bibliography Filmography
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The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda^[a] (ICTR; French: Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda; Kinyarwanda: Urukiko Mpanabyaha Mpuzamahanga Rwashyiriweho u Rwanda) was an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 955 in order to adjudicate people charged for the Rwandan genocide and other serious violations of international law in Rwanda, or by Rwandan citizens in nearby states, between 1 January and 31 December 1994.^[1] The court eventually convicted 61 individuals and acquitted 14.^[2]

In 1995, it became located in Arusha, Tanzania, under Resolution 977.^[3] From 2006, Arusha also became the location of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. In 1998 the operation of the tribunal was expanded in Resolution 1165.^[4] Through several resolutions, the Security Council called on the tribunal to complete its investigations by end of 2004, complete all trial activities by end of 2008, and complete all work in 2012.^[5] The tribunal had jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of Common Article Three and Additional Protocol II of the Geneva Conventions (which deals with internal conflicts).

The first trial, of Jean-Paul Akayesu, began in 1997. Jean Kambanda, interim Prime Minister, pleaded guilty. According to the ICTR's Completion Strategy, in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1503, all first-instance cases were to have completed trial by the end of 2008 (this date was later extended to the end of 2009^[6]) and all work was to be completed by 2010. As of 2009, the tribunal had finished 50 trials and convicted 29 accused persons, and another 11 trials were in progress and 14 individuals were awaiting trial in detention; but the prosecutor intended to transfer 5 to national jurisdiction for trial. 13 others were still at large, some suspected to be dead.^[7] The United Nations Security Council called upon the tribunal to finish its work by 31 December 2014 to prepare for its closure and transfer of its responsibilities to the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT or Mechanism) which had begun functioning for the ICTR branch on 1 July 2012.^[8] The Tribunal was officially closed on 31 December 2016.

The tribunal's failure to prosecute war crimes committed by the Rwandan Patriotic Front or try RPF leader Paul Kagame was widely criticized, to the point of being characterized as "victor's justice".^{[9][10][11][12][13][14][15]}

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