VZCZCXRO6384
PP RUEHLMC
DE RUEHLGB #0563 1661103
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 151103Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY KIGALI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4292
INFO RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA 0080
RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM 0889
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 1622
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0229
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 0896
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0251
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP 0042
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS KIGALI 000563 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM RW
SUBJECT: RWANDA COMMITS TO FURTHER JUSTICE SECTOR REFORMS 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama chaired a June 
8 presentation of results from a two day Justice Sector 
retreat that included 12 justice sector institutions, among 
them the Ministry of Justice, the Prison Service, the 
Prosecution Service, the National Gacaca Service, the 
Military Courts and Prosecution Service, The National 
Reconciliation Commission, and the National Human Rights 
Commission.  He was joined at the podium by the Prosecutor 
General Martin Ngoga, the National Police Commissioner Andrew 
Rwigamba, and the Vice President of the Supreme Court Sam 
Rugege.  Attemdees included diplomatic missions, members of 
the press, and interested citizen groups. 
 
¶2.  (U) The Minister offered a three-tiered analysis of the 
deliberations, starting with the overarching policy goals of 
the justice sector, including: enhanced respect for the rule 
of law; the proper exercise of institutional independence; 
and continued capacity building.  Next he reviewed several 
key priorities for the sector, including: construction of 
military courts; rehabilitation of police detention 
facilities; rehabilitation of prisons; focused training for 
all institutions; strengthened mediation committees (the 
"abunzi," who handle village-level disputes), and 
implementation of a justice sector IT strategy. 
 
¶3.  (U) Next, the Minister presented forty-four 
"institutional challenges" discussed at the retreat, 
including: case backlogs in the courts and prosecution 
service; non-execution of judgments; poorly written 
judgments; poor investigation of human rights violations; 
absence of legal aid for vulnerable groups, including 
indigents and children; disappearance of judicial dossiers; 
influence peddling; lack of respect for detainees' rights by 
institutions charged with their arrest and/or incarceration; 
and poor popularization of laws, including limited awareness 
of the scope and definition of the crimes of sectarianism and 
genocide ideology. 
 
¶4.  (U) The Minister in his remarks emphasized the 
free-flowing nature of the discussions at the retreat, noting 
dryly that heated debate "was not in short supply" when it 
came to apportioning responsibility for inter-institutional 
failings, such as poor communication between the prosecution 
service and the gacaca service.  He said that each 
institution was expected to frame its own implementation 
strategy, and that the justice sector secretariat (itself in 
need of support, he said) would monitor plans and activities. 
 He then opened the floor for questions, which covered a 
broad range of topics. 
 
¶5.  (U) Comment.  As regards the judicial sector, airing 
one's institutional limitations in public strikes us as a 
laudable exercise in transparency and accountability.  This 
needs to be accompanied by solid strategies for improvements 
and be monitored by donor governments.  Minister Karugarama 
is an activist reformer who will follow through on these 
challenges.  We anticipate linkages between the announced 
reform program and anticipated MCC Threshold governance 
projects. 
ARIETTI