• Localisation: Kigali, Muhanga and Rubavu
• Date of establishment: 1996
• Team: 2 expatriates, 22 local collaborators and 140 collaborating lawyers
• Objective: contribute to better access to justice through improved legal advice and representation for vulnerable people in Rwanda
• Funding: Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, USAID, Canadian Agency for International Development, UNICEF, European Union

Background

Independent since 1962, Rwanda has in recent decades suffered recurring political crises related to the fight for power and access to wealth, against a background of tension between Hutus and Tutsis.  In April 1994, this conflict culminated in the genocide, orchestrated by those in power at the time, of 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.  Following the assumption of power by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (FPR), a transitional government was put in place in June 1994.  The transition period lasted from 1994 to 2003, at which time Paul Kagame was elected President of the republic via universal suffrage.

Since the genocide of 1994, Rwanda has made significant progress towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals thanks to reforms in various sectors (economy, agriculture, education, health, and infrastructure) and to financial support from the international community. Nevertheless, it remains one of the poorest countries in the world (167th out of 182 on the Human Development Index of 2007) with 57% of the population living below the poverty line in 2006.

Fundamental freedoms and the state of democracy in Rwanda continue to be cause for concern.  Certain opponents of the Government report having been threatened or having suffered physical attacks.  Others have been arrested and charged with denial (of the genocide), sectarianism and/or collaboration with a terrorist organisation. Independent newspapers are subjected to constant pressures.

The evolution of justice remains paradoxical; encouraging in certain respects, worrying in others.  After abolition in July 2007 of capital punishment and abolition in April 2010 of solitary confinement in relation to convicts serving long periods (20 or 30 years) or life sentences, other important steps remain neglected. Many international documents have yet to be ratified by Rwanda, such as the optional protocol to the Convention against Torture and the optional protocol related to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.  In addition, a ‘Draft Law on the Creation of the Bar Association of Rwanda’ in June 2009 appears to undermine certain principles fundamental to the independence of the legal profession.  The creation of the post of assistant to the Minister of Justice for legal aid and human rights was an important step that offered a direct official interlocutor to justice and human rights agencies.  However, it is unfortunately still the case that such decisions often remain formal and purely symbolic and are rarely followed by real results. 

In relation to the genocide cases being handled by the Gacaca courts, the date for conclusion of the work of these tribunals has been repeatedly postponed by the authorities: the latest official date was 30 June 2010. Many criticisms have been published in both international and national media, especially concerning the use of Gacaca for political ends as demonstrated by the legal harassment of certain persons who have already been acquitted in the formal courts by professional judges.  

Programmes

ASF aims to contribute to better access to justice in Rwanda for vulnerable people, through improved legal advice and representation as well as the consolidation of the rule of law.  To these ends, ASF works in the following areas:

• Legal advice: people benefit from free legal consultations with lawyers in a legal aid office (Gisenyi) and through mobile legal clinics.
• Legal representation: vulnerable people receive assistance from a lawyer to take their case from pre-trial phases through to trial, in the following types of cases: rights of women and minors, sexual violence, illegal detention, civil rights and genocide.
• Strengthening the capacities of lawyers and the Bar Association: ASF works with lawyers and the Bar to build their capacities and thus help ensure the equitable delivery of justice. ASF thus provides theoretical and practical training for lawyers on topics such as torture, sexual violence, civil rights, ethics, etc.
• Monitoring of trials in Gacaca and formal/mainstream courts (cases of genocide, civil rights, vulnerable women and minors): through these observations and the publication of reports, ASF aims to improve the judicial handling of these cases.
• Advocacy: ASF is conducting advocacy on the draft law on the creation of a bar association as well as on the new draft Criminal Code, which proposes to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12 years.

Past activities

• Publication and dissemination of 7 volumes of a review of case law from Rwandan courts on cases of genocide and crimes against humanity.
• Publication and dissemination of numerous monitoring reports: since the commencement of the judgment phase of the Gacaca courts in 2005, ASF observers have attended trials, drafted reports describing the conduct of hearings, and highlighted issues related to law and procedure. 

Links

• ASF's publications