L'instrumentalisation politique de la justice internationale en Afrique centrale

Despite intense judicial initiatives regarding Central Africa, the feverish and incriminating debate between opposing camps has still not calmed down. The Rebels? takeover of power has led to the reinforcement of authoritarian regimes and has turned Eastern Congo into a place of intense confrontation in order to plunder its mineral resources. The study of judicial proceedings sparked off by mass crimes committed in Rwanda and in the territory of neighbouring states between 1994 and 2000 and a retrospective outlook on the work accomplished by the ICTR, leads one to acknowledge the great effort made to prosecute those responsible for the 1994 genocide and to establish the truth. However, this critical assessment also reveals the weaknesses of international criminal justice which, for political or diplomatic reasons, did not dare to prosecute alleged crimes by the victorious camp today in charge in Kigali. This special privilege of impunity is about to be widened to war crimes, crimes against humanity and alleged acts of genocide committed in RDC between 1996 and 2003. This will weaken the credibility of the ?ethical mission? of the international community and probably mortgage its chance to contribute to building up a lasting peace in this unstable region.