UN Tribunal

ICTR PROSECUTOR MOURNS DES FORGES

By Sukhdev Chhatbar, Hirondelle

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR),
Hassan Jallow, has said that he has received with shock the news of the death
of a renowned human rights activist and historian, Dr Alison Des Forges, who
was  among 48 passengers  killed in the plane crash from Newark to Buffalo,
the United States, on 12 February.

“She was one of the topmost authorities on the history and politics of Rwanda.
 As a world renowned expert in this field, her knowledge, professionalism and
commitment to justice assisted the ICTR and indeed the world at large
tremendously –through her writings, her expert reports and her oral testimony
spanning several trials before the tribunal acquire a better understanding of the
genesis and course of the tragedy of the Rwanda genocide of 1994’’, stated
Justice Hassan Jallow, Prosecutor of ICTR, in a statement to the Hirondelle Agency.

He added:” Dr Des Forges has made an indelible contribution to the
cause of international criminal justice and to the cause of human rights.
Her death is a loss to those causes and to all who have had the
opportunity to interact with her.”

She was a Senior Adviser to the African division at Human Rights Watch since the
early 1990s. She appeared as an expert witness in 11 trials for genocide at the Arusha-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR); three trials in Belgium and at trials in Switzerland, the Netherlands and Canada. She was known for her award-winning book of the 1994 Rwanda genocide, “Leave None to Tell the Story”.

Dr Forges, 67, made herself unpopular in Rwanda by insisting that the rebel Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), currently in power, which defeated the genocidal regime, should also be held accountable for their alleged crimes, including the murder of 30,000 people during and just after the April-July, 1994 genocide.

The Rwandan government late last year banned her from the country after Human Rights Watch published an extensive analysis of judicial reform there, drawing attention to problems of inappropriate prosecution and external influence on the judiciary that resulted in trials and verdicts that in several cases failed to conform to facts of cases, according to Human Rights statement from New York.

“Alison’s loss is a devastating blow not only to Human Rights Watch but also to the people of Rwanda and the Great Lakes region’’, said Kenneth Roll, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch.

“Alison was the rock within the Africa team, a fountain of knowledge, but also a tremendous source of guidance and support to all of us,” said Georgette Gagnon, Africa Director at Human Rights Watch.

Most recently, Des Forges was working on Human Rights Watch report about killings in Eastern Congo.

Dr  Forges, who was a graduate from Redcliffe College in 1964 and received her doctorate from Yale in 1972, leaves behind a husband, a daughter, a son, three grandchildren, a brother and a sister-in-law.

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