Rwandan Genocide Perpetrators Start Community Service Elements of their Sentences

September 25, 2005 – Nearly 800 Rwandans who had been convicted by Gacaca, or community courts, of participating in that country’s genocide in 1994 began the community service portion of their sentences. Those convicted of taking part in the genocide were eligible to engage in community service only after serving as least half of their sentences in jail. The option to perform community service in lieu of extended incarceration was devised as a way for Rwanda to rebuild communities devastated by the Hutu-Tutsi conflict of a decade ago.

According to reports, community service cannot be pursued by those convicted of rape or planning the genocide. Anyone convicted of those crimes must serve the entirety of their sentences in prison. To be eligible for community service, convicted genocide participants had to confess their role in the slaughter of more than 500,000 people.
Gacaca act separately from both the International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda (ICTR) and convention courts, the latter of which can impose death penalties.

The Gacaca system was devised to hasten community reconciliation and redevelopment, given the burden placed on both Rwanda’s conventional court and ICTR to investigate and prosecute the more than 760,000 Rwandans accused of participating in the genocide.

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Last updated September 29, 2005

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