United Nations: International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

Today we went to Arusha for an educational trip. First, we stopped at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. We actually got to sit in on part of a trial for the 1994 Rwanda Genocide. It's crazy to think that they are still trying to convict people 17 years later. The court systems in third world countries are definitely a lot different than they are back home. One of the workers at the ICTR came and talked to us for a bit and he told us that the reason they are still doing this is because they are sending a very strong message to people of these countries that action will be taken for wrongdoing. These types of crimes will not go unnoticed and justice will be served.

Wanted for the 1994 Rwanda Genocide

"…First, never forget. Second, never stop working to prevent another genocide. …Our thoughts go to the victims -- the more than 800,000 innocent people who lost their lives with terrifying speed. May they continue to rest in peas. Our thoughts go the the survivors. Their resilience continues to inspire us."

The Rwandan Genocide was a mass murder. Over the course of approximately 100 days from the assassination of Juvnal Habyarimana, president of Rwanda, on April 6 through mid-July, at least 800,000 people were killed, as much as 20% of the country's total population.

Mass Murders

The worker at the ICTR also mentioned Joseph Kony and his rebel army of child soldiers that occurred in Uganda, but he has now moved and escaped into the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kony's army is called the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The LRA was formed in 1987 to rebel against the Ugandan government. Kony claims that he is a "spokesperson" of God. The LRA is accused of many human rights violations. These include: murder, abduction, mutilation, sexual enslavement of women and children, and the forcing of children to participate in the war as Kony's personal soldiers.

Wanted: Joseph Kony

To this day, Joseph Kony and the LRA is one of Africa's longest-running conflicts of over 20 years.

Kony is just one of the many people that the ICTR is searching for and trying to convict for their brutal attacks.