Rwanda: The Fundamental Obstacles to Reconciliation
Author(s)
Sebarenzi, Joseph K.
Abstract
Reconciliation in Rwanda is an absolute necessity. The new government established in July 1994 appeared to be a government of national unity with the stated goal of promoting reconciliation and eradicating impunity. That is why the new government set up a National Commission for Unity and Reconciliation (NCUR) as well as a traditional institution of justice, called Gacaca, to deal with the huge number of the perpetrators of the genocide of Tutsi. Unfortunately, these important initiatives came to be more window-dressing than effective endeavors of reconciliation between the two communities. In this article, I explain why reconciliation is crucially needed and how it is normally achieved. I then propose a new approach to achieve sustainable reconciliation between Hutu and Tutsi.
