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Rome (Agenzia Fides) – The contribution of justice in the process of reconciliation in Africa was debated in the Seminar “Reconciliation, Justice, and Peace in Africa” held in Rome, during the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops promoted by the “Giuseppe Toniolo” Institute for International Law for Peace and the Catholic Action International Forum.
In his address, Paolo Benvenuti, Professor of International Law and Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University “Roma Tre”, highlighted the firm adhesion of the majority of African nations to the International Crime Court, established in Rome on July 17, 1998, by the Conference of Plenipotentiary with 120 countries that voted in favor, over 20 of which were African. Today, of the 110 countries that adhere to the Court, 30 are African, while of the 18 judges present in it, 4 come from African nations: Mali, Ghana, Uganda, and Botswana.
However, the recourse to the ordinary judicial procedures (national and international) cannot always bring justice to the victims and return the climate of peace and international harmony. In the case of the Rwandan genocide in 1994, as Bishop Servilien Nzakamwita of Byumba, President of the Bishops' Commission for Lay Apostolate of Rwanda, pointed out, the drama was in such large proportions that it was impossible to only use instruments of national justice and the International Court of Rwanda (with headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania). Bishop Nzakamwita recalled that immediately following the genocide of 1994, Rwanda had nearly one million victims, three million refugees, and nearly 120,000 people in jail awaiting trial. “It was an unsupportable situation that needed to be resolved,” the Bishop said. In 1996, a law was passed to punish crimes against humanity and civil and military courts were created to process those accused of having taken part in the massacres. There were 4 kinds of offenses: the first two concern those who organized the genocide and participated in mass killings or individual homicides, whole the last two were crimes of sacking and pillaging and wounding of persons. The ordinary justice system, however, could not attend to the trials of such a large number of people in a reasonable time period, to allow for a favorable climate of reconciliation, also because many of these people could possibly be innocent. This is why they decided to use the traditional Gacaca Courts. In each Rwandan town, there is a “Gacaca” Court, whose job it is to judge those accused of crimes in the last three categories (those accused of organizing the genocide are judged by the ordinary courts and the International Court of Arusha). The formula of the Gacaca Courts calls for the participation of the entire local community: the first task is to shed light on the truth, in front of everyone. It is a cathartic process that everyone can take part in. Many of the guilty have asked for forgiveness from their victims or their their family members and have received it. The Catholic Church is active in the process of national reconciliation, especially thanks to the “Justice and Peace” Commission, Bishop Nzakamwita said.
In Burundi, as well, the Catholic Church plays a fundamental role in national reconciliation, as was made evident in the addresses given by Archbishop Simon Ntamwana of Gitega, President of the ACEAC (Association of Bishops' Conferences of Central Africa: Burundi, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo); Archbishop Evariste Ngoyagoye of Bujumbura, President of the Bishops' Commission for Lay Apostolate in Burundi; and Fr. Salvatore Niciteretse, Secretary of the Bishops' Commission for Lay Apostolate in Burundi. Archbishop Ntamwana mentioned the role of the ACEAC in working with the peoples of the three central African nations, involved in wars that are often interrelated. Archbishop Ngoyagoye highlighted the role of the lay associations in promoting national peace and reconciliation. Also important in this regards is the initiatives underway for youth, with academic and athletic activities. Groups of youth are often encouraged to go to spend time in another region of the country to get to know its people and help them overcome fears and challenges. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 21/10/2009)
