EMBASSY - GOR ROUNDTABLE: RULE OF LAW IN RWANDA

UNCLAS KIGALI 000887

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM RW
SUBJECT: EMBASSY - GOR ROUNDTABLE: RULE OF LAW IN RWANDA



1. (SBU) Summary. As part of a continuing dialogue on human
rights, the Mission met with senior Rwandan officials to
discuss the Rule of Law in Rwanda. Discussions focused
chiefly on the role of the judiciary, procedures for
redressing police abuses, and the role of the Ministry of
Justice in the Gacaca courts. GOR officials delineated the
existing codes of ethics for judges, administrative
structures for selection of qualified candidates, and
disciplinary proceedings for wayward jurists. For the
police, various bodies exist for receiving complaints from
the public, and for disciplining police officers who violate
the law. GOR officials emphasized "no special treatment" for
any category of citizens, including members of the media,
regarding investigations of possible offenses. While the
Ministry of Justice has "administrative" oversight of Gacaca
courts, the courts are independent, and a Gacaca secretariat
conducts disciplinary proceedings in cases of abuse by Gacaca
officials. End Summary.


2. (U) Ambassador Arietti and Mission officers met September
12 with Ambassador Richard Sezibera, Special Envoy for the
Great Lakes, Vice President of the Supreme Court Sam Rugege,
Prosecutor General Martin Ngoga, and officials from the
Ministry of Justice and the Gacaca courts. The fourth in a
continuing series of meetings on human rights in Rwanda, the
topic for the day, Rule of Law, centered on the independence
of the courts, the procedures for redressing police abuses,
and the role of the Ministry of Justice in Gacaca proceedings.


3. (U) Supreme Court Vice President Rugege explained at
length the existing code of judicial ethics, the procedures
for selection of judges, and the administrative procedures
for disciplining misbehaving judges. A Judicial Inspectorate
conducts investigations, and refers serious offenses to the
Superior Council of the Judiciary. The Council can and does
dismiss judges -- several district court judges were
dismissed in 2005, he said, in corruption cases. The
Ombudsman also refers cases to judicial authorities, when
contacted by aggrieved members of the public. When questioned
on the prevalence of attempts to influence the judiciary, the
Rwandan delegation readily admitted that such cases occurred.
However, they said less qualified and less adequately
remunerated lower court judges were the usual objects of such
approaches.


4. (SBU) On abuses by the police, a senior police official
explained that a disciplinary council addressed allegations
of police abuse, either from internal investigations, or from
cases referred by the Human Rights Commission or the
Ombudsman. She mentioned that there were 15 current cases
underway, and that the police had dismissed a number of
officers in the past for abusive behavior toward the public.
Questioned on the subject of investigations involving
journalists, the Rwandan delegation said that investigating
officers accorded no "special treatment" to anyone, be it
journalists, engineers or any other profession or category of
citizen. Police had independent powers of investigation, and
had no requirement to discuss or clear investigations with
the National Press High Council or other entities. However,
the prosecutor's office would then determine which
investigations actually merited the filing of criminal
charges, including criminal libel cases or breach of national
security. When pressed by the Ambassador, the Rwandan
delegation acknowledged the "sensitivity" of cases involving
the media, and said that offices outside the police were kept
informed of such investigations.


5. (U) On Gacaca, a Ministry of Justice official explained
that the Ministry exercised a limited form of
"administrative" oversight of the Gacaca court system,
assisting with such matters as the collection of public
complaints (which the Gacaca secretariat then assessed and
processed). The Gacaca courts had full judicial independence
in regard to its caseload, appeals and imposition of
sentences.


6. (SBU) Comment. The GOR delegation gave a comprehensive
response to the Mission's questions regarding the existing
administrative and judicial machinery in place to deter abuse
of the public and corruption among the police and the courts.
Readily acknowledging that abuses did occur, the officials
expressed their commitment to the redress of abuses
generally. On the subject of criminal investigations of
media outlets, where publications were alleged to be either
criminally libel or infringing on national security, these
officials invoked the principle of equal treatment of
criminal suspects (a core principle of the rule of law).
However, they did acknowledge that investigating journalists
for what they print or broadcast is not quite the same as
investigating someone for tax fraud or other run-of-the-mill
crime.


7. (SBU) Comment continued. This is an area where further
patient approaches by this Mission on the subject of an
independent media can reap dividends. We find today that the
local press is able and willing to publish very critical
pieces on the GOR, without reaction of any kind from the
government. The balance of investigatory powers versus
freedom of the press could be positively altered, for
example, by a decision to make libel a civil, not criminal,
matter. We will continue to encourage such constructive
change. End comment.
ARIETTI