Beneficiaries are actors too.pdf - Southern Institute of Peace ...

Recommendations

Info

through the inama y'umuryango or the village level, namely the umudugudu (the institution of governance and conflict resolution at that level) has failed to adequately resolve the dispute. However, of the institutions that resolve disputes locally, the abunzi is the only one whose formal, statutory mandate is dispute resolution through mediation. Mandated by the Constitution and the Organic Law (No. 31/2006) on Mediation Committees, the abunzi is defined as “an organ meant for providing a framework of obligatory mediation prior to submission of a case before the first degree courts hearing cases referred to in articles 8 and 9 of this organic law.” In essence, the provisions of the Organic Law are such that the formal courts act as an appellate court and will not consider a dispute unless the abunzi has first considered and ruled on the dispute, especially if the dispute's property value is below 3 million Rwandese francs. The abunzi mediators exit mainly at cell level, although the mediation appellate is found at the sector level. Article 2 of the Organic Law (2010) spells out two types of abunzi Mediation Committees, namely Mediation Committee whose jurisdiction is at the cell level and the abunzi Appeal Mediation Committee whose jurisdiction is the Sector level. Formally situated under the Ministry of Justice (MINIJUST) with the Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC) providing administrative oversight, the abunzi comprises of 12 volunteers (plus three substitutes), all of whom must be residents of the cell. Every two years each village elects fifteen new abunzi who will constitute a committee. The Organic Law (2006, 2008 and 2010) spells out that abunzi members must not hold any other government administrative position in the community at the time they serve as mediators. The Abunzi committee is headed by a 'Bureau' comprising the President, Vice-President and Secretary. The Presidents and Vice-Presidents are elected by the Abunzi Committees and the Secretary of the Abunzi is also the Secretary of the Cell. In addition, the Rwandan constitution underscores that any institution of governance, including the abunzi must comprise at least 30 percent women. Abunzi members, just like their counterparts, the inyangamugayo in the gacaca courts are expected to be “persons of integrity who are acknowledged for 141
their mediation skills.” The cell council elects the abunzi whose members serve a two-year term, which is renewable. The system of re-election is designed to give all members of the community an opportunity to serve on the abunzi as well as prevent complacence, bias and corruption. When it comes to the process of mediation, three abunzi mediators hear and resolve the dispute. As such, at the beginning of the first session, each party is requested to choose one mediator from the twelve available at the cell level. The third mediator is mutually chosen by the two selected abunzi, and hence the panel is thus established. Before assuming their responsibilities, each abunzi mediator must take an oath of office in front of the population and the cell coordinator, which includes swearing to “observe the Constitution and other laws” and to “consciously fulfil my duties of representing the Rwandan people without any discrimination whatsoever, and “promote respect for the freedoms and fundamental rights of the human being and safeguard the interests of the Rwandan people.” In the oath, the mediator acknowledges that for failure to honour the oath, “may I face the rigors of the law.” The Organic Law mandates that the abunzi makes decisions consistent with the law: “To settle the conflict submitted to them, the Mediators shall seek first to conciliate the two parties. In case of non-conciliation, they take decision in all honesty and in accordance with the laws and place's custom, provided it is not contrary to the written law.” As with the gacaca courts, the abunzi function according to codified laws and established procedures; although their decisions are still often inspired by custom. The abunzi encourage disputing parties to reach a mutually satisfying agreement, but they will issue a binding decision if need be. More than 30 000 abunzi mediators operate in Rwanda at the cell level. The abunzi have a broad jurisdiction which ranges from civil disputes to criminal cases. The abunzi mediate over civil disputes related to land and other immovable assets whose value does not exceed three million Rwandan francs and defamation. The abunzi also settle cases involving immovable property and assets such as cattle whose value does not exceed one million 142
Page 1 and 2:
Sustainable peace and development a
Page 3 and 4:
Sustainable peace and development a
Page 5 and 6:
Contents Introduction: The primacy
Page 7 and 8:
its work on community, with special
Page 9 and 10:
in Africa. The paper highlights the
Page 11 and 12:
1 Women's access to microfinance an
Page 13 and 14:
all household members, especially i
Page 15 and 16:
family well-being are often higher
Page 17 and 18:
“[b]y plugging the gap left by th
Page 19 and 20:
As at 30 July 2011 the country's ba
Page 21 and 22:
analysis will also be as much infor
Page 23 and 24:
not about bemoaning the limited acc
Page 25 and 26:
approach the MFIs, is that “it wi
Page 27 and 28:
d) Indicators of the social and eco
Page 29 and 30:
Illiteracy creates a situation of d
Page 31 and 32:
Disabilities: Lessons from Zambia a
Page 33 and 34:
Abbreviations and acronyms CBNRM Co
Page 35 and 36:
(Murindagomo, 1990). Its main appro
Page 37 and 38:
percentages to the gross domestic p
Page 39 and 40:
some trees were not supposed to be
Page 41 and 42:
formulation will ensure their total
Page 43 and 44:
the commons'. The concept of commun
Page 45 and 46:
esources in these government estate
Page 47 and 48:
management in Botswana and Namibia:
Page 49 and 50:
Introduction This article seeks to
Page 51 and 52:
esearchers come to study with backg
Page 53 and 54:
the land US$750.00. Mudzi laid the
Page 55 and 56:
case the chief's court sought the t
Page 57 and 58:
The chief's personality This influe
Page 59 and 60:
process of reporting a case is too
Page 61 and 62:
and implies that offenders should r
Page 63 and 64:
Cases reported to Chief Chounda bet
Page 65 and 66:
4 The role of Indigenous Knowledge
Page 67 and 68:
enlarging the range of their choice
Page 69 and 70:
this also served to promote food se
Page 71 and 72:
development strategies in Africa sh
Page 73 and 74:
countries seriously questioned why
Page 75 and 76:
especting their realities and prior
Page 77 and 78:
competing knowledge systems, charac
Page 79 and 80:
impressive in transforming poor peo
Page 81 and 82:
must be recognised if it is to be i
Page 83 and 84:
implications for sustainable conser
Page 85 and 86:
Pretty, J. N. (1994) Alternative sy
Page 87 and 88:
Introduction The United Nations Edu
Page 89 and 90:
Science educators have failed in th
Page 91 and 92:
education in this historical era th
Page 93 and 94:
esult may be disastrous. The HIV an
Page 95 and 96: affairs and ultimately the adoption
Page 97 and 98: esources, increasing green house ef
Page 99 and 100: years, and yet it is less than 100
Page 101 and 102: Fuchs, S. (2000) A social theory of
Page 103 and 104: 6 Re-examining the role of NGOs in
Page 105 and 106: that NGOs are involved in when tryi
Page 107 and 108: to see the causes of conflict as go
Page 109 and 110: which the oil is located are disgru
Page 111 and 112: communities putting into question t
Page 113 and 114: The controversies surrounding NGOs'
Page 115 and 116: conflict ridden African states, whe
Page 117 and 118: in resolving conflict and peace bui
Page 119 and 120: Recommendations To work effectively
Page 121 and 122: Juma, M.K. (2008) Conflict Preventi
Page 123 and 124: Introduction The Zimbabwean land re
Page 125 and 126: Government or private agencies. Thi
Page 127 and 128: credit facilities, new farmers in Z
Page 129 and 130: control 49 percent in any business
Page 131 and 132: implementation of investment progra
Page 133 and 134: the ice-berg. Disadvantaged areas m
Page 135 and 136: eventual agreement on the implement
Page 137 and 138: they are simply recipients of polic
Page 139 and 140: the government embarks on a nationw
Page 141 and 142: farm ownership in the country. The
Page 143 and 144: 8 Community-driven conflict resolut
Page 145: approximately 800,000 Rwandans and
Page 149 and 150: well as centre-periphery thesis whi
Page 151 and 152: justice In the post-genocide era, t
Page 153 and 154: marginalized and disenfranchised fr
Page 155 and 156: summarized and simplified versions
Page 157 and 158: In Rwanda for example, citizens cou
Page 159 and 160: Although the use of carrot and stic
Page 161 and 162: abunzi and the formal system beckon
Page 163 and 164: Kauzya, John-Mary. (2007) Political
Page 165 and 166: Conclusion All through the papers,
Page 167 and 168: About the editor Samuel Maruta is t
show all

Beneficiaries are actors too.pdf - Southern Institute of Peace ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?