Jean Mutsinzi
Encyclopedia
Jean Mutsinzi is a Rwanda
n jurist
in the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights
. He was elected for a six-year term of office on January 22, 2006 at the Eighth Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union
, held in Khartoum
, Sudan
.
He was nominated in September 2008, as President of the African Court for a first term of two years.
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
n jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
in the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights
African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights
The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights was a regional court that was created initially to make judgments on African Union states' compliance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights....
. He was elected for a six-year term of office on January 22, 2006 at the Eighth Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union
African Union
The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
, held in Khartoum
Khartoum
Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
.
He was nominated in September 2008, as President of the African Court for a first term of two years.
Other positions held
- Member, Council of the Wise, Rwanda Association of Jurists
- Senior Lecturer in Private and Public International lawInternational lawPublic international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
, Kigali Independent University, in Rwanda (2001–2003) - Executive Secretary, Legal and Constitutional Commission of the Republic of Rwanda (2000–2003). The Constitution of June 4, 2003 of the Republic of Rwanda was approved by Rwandan citizens in the Referendum of May 26, 2003.
- Judge at the COMESA Court of Justice (Common Market for Eastern and Southern AfricaCommon Market for Eastern and Southern AfricaThe Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, is a free trade area with nineteen member states stretching from Libya to Zimbabwe. COMESA formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area which had existed since 1981...
) (2001–2003) - President of the Superior Council of the JudiciarySuperior Council of the JudiciaryThe Superior Council of The Judiciary of Colombia is the highest court of appeal on matters of the administration of justice. Organically the Superior Council of the Judiciary is divided in two rooms, diverse in their origin and functions, this way the jurisdictional one disciplinary that is in...
(1995–1999) - Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Rwanda (1995–1999)
- Secretary of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' RightsAfrican Commission on Human and Peoples' RightsThe African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights is a quasi-judicial body tasked with promoting and protecting human rights and collective rights throughout the African continent as well as interpreting the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and considering individual complaints of...
(1989–1994) - Chief Legal Adviser, Organization of African Unity (1982–1995)
- Lawyer, president of the LubumbashiLubumbashiLubumbashi is the second largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, second only to the nation's capital Kinshasa, and the hub of the southeastern part of the country. The copper-mining city serves as the capital of the relatively prosperous Katanga Province, lying near the Zambian border...
Bar AssociationBar associationA bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
, ZaïreZaireThe Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
(1966–1982) - Lecturer in Public and Private International LawInternational lawPublic international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
, International Organizations, Maritime and Aviation Law at the National University of Zaïre, Faculty of Social, Political and Economic Sciences (1966–1982) - Director of Research at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, in BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
(1964–1966) - Ph.D in Private and Public International law, International Organizations, Maritime and Aviation Law at the Université Libre de BruxellesUniversité Libre de BruxellesThe Université libre de Bruxelles is a French-speaking university in Brussels, Belgium. It has 21,000 students, 29% of whom come from abroad, and an equally cosmopolitan staff.-Name:...
, in Belgium (1964)
Report
- December 1, 2007 - April 30, 2009: Chairman of the Committee of Independent Experts established via prime ministerial decree no. 07/03 of April 16, 2007 to investigate the circumstances of the crash of the Dassault Falcon-50 airplane, registration number 9XR-NN on April 6, 1994 which was carrying former President Juvénal HabyarimanaJuvénal HabyarimanaJuvénal Habyarimana was the third President of the Republic of Rwanda, the post he held longer than any other president to date, from 1973 until 1994. During his 20-year rule he favored his own ethnic group, the Hutus, and supported the Hutu majority in neighboring Burundi against the Tutsi...
and his counterpart, President Cyprien NtaryamiraCyprien NtaryamiraCyprien Ntaryamira , was President of Burundi from 5 February 1994 until his death when his plane was shot down on 6 April 1994.-Biography:...
of BurundiBurundiBurundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
. The death of former President Habyarimana holds tremendous historical significance since it kicked off a long-planned genocideGenocideGenocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
that claimed the lives of close to a million Tutsis in one hundred days.
- On January 11, 2010, the Rwandan Committee of Independent Experts published their findings on the crash of a Dassault Falcon-50 on April 6, 1994 that killed former President Habyarimana of Rwanda and President Ntaryamira of Burundi.
- It was concluded that the airplane crashed after being hit by at least one missile. The missiles were fired by the Anti-Aircraft Battalion located near the KigaliKigaliKigali, population 965,398 , is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is situated near the geographic centre of the nation, and has been the economic, cultural, and transport hub of Rwanda since it became capital at independence in 1962. The main residence and offices of the President of...
Airport. The conclusion of the report states that the assassination was the work of HutuHutuThe Hutu , or Abahutu, are a Central African people, living mainly in Rwanda, Burundi, and eastern DR Congo.-Population statistics:The Hutu are the largest of the three peoples in Burundi and Rwanda; according to the United States Central Intelligence Agency, 84% of Rwandans and 85% of Burundians...
extremists (akazu) who calculated that killing their own leader would torpedo a power-sharing agreement known as the Arusha AccordsArusha AccordsThe Arusha Accords were a set of five accords signed in Arusha, Tanzania on August 4, 1993, by the government of Rwanda and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front , under mediation, to end a three-year Rwandan Civil War...
. (The Mutsinzi Report Report of the Investigation into the Causes and Circumstances of and Responsibility for the Attack of 06/04/1994 Against The FalconFalconA falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
50 Rwandan Presidential Aeroplane Registration Number 9XR-NN).http://mutsinzireport.com
Key elements
- This key conclusion by the Committee is based on a large number of eyewitnesses, its members heard 557 witnesses, including former members of the Rwandan army and Presidential Guard under Habyarimana, employees of the adjacent airport where the plane was to land, and members of the Belgian peacekeeping contingent of UNAMIR who were within the crash zone and either witnessed the attack, or its immediate aftermath. The Committee perused post-genocide reports by Belgium, France and the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. The inquiry also relied on testimonies extracted by French judicial authorities from indicted masterminds of the genocide, now in detention at the International Criminal Tribunal for RwandaInternational Criminal Tribunal for RwandaThe International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 955 in order to judge people responsible for the Rwandan Genocide and other serious violations of international law in Rwanda, or by Rwandan...
in ArushaArushaArusha is a city in northern Tanzania. It is the capital of the Arusha Region, which claims a population of 1,288,088, including 281,608 for the Arusha District . Arusha is surrounded by some of Africa's most famous landscapes and national parks...
, Tanzania. - Perhaps most significantly, it's also the conclusion of the ballistics report prepared for the committee by Mike Warden and Alan McClue of the Department of Applied Science, Security and Resilience, Cranfield UniversityCranfield UniversityCranfield University is a British postgraduate university based on two campuses, with a research-oriented focus. The main campus is at Cranfield, Bedfordshire and the second is the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom based at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire. The main campus is unique in the United...
, Defence Academy of the United Kingdom that the missiles (that shot down the plane carrying Rwandan President Juvenal HabyarimanaJuvénal HabyarimanaJuvénal Habyarimana was the third President of the Republic of Rwanda, the post he held longer than any other president to date, from 1973 until 1994. During his 20-year rule he favored his own ethnic group, the Hutus, and supported the Hutu majority in neighboring Burundi against the Tutsi...
on April 6, 1994) could only have been fired from an area near the Kanombe military camp, the President's home, and the main Kigali international airport, and this entire area was completely controlled by the Rwandan army.
External links
- Official Website of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights
- Official Website of the Africa Union