Pauline Nyiramasuhuko
Encyclopedia
Pauline Nyiramasuhuko (born 1946, Rawanda) is a Rwandan politician who was the Minister for Family Welfare and the Advancement of Women. She was accused of having incited troops and militia to rape
thousands of women during the Rwandan Genocide
of 1994. She was tried for genocide and incitement to rape as part of the "Butare
Group" at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
(ICTR) in Arusha
, Tanzania. In June 2011, she was convicted of seven charges and sentenced to life imprisonment. Nyiramasuhuko is the first woman to be convicted of genocide by the ICTR.
, in the province of Butare
, to a poor Hutu
family. She attended high school at the Ecole sociale de Karubanda. There, she became friends with Agathe Habyarimana
, the future wife of Juvénal Habyarimana
, who became President of Rwanda in 1973.
Nyiramasuhuko trained and worked as a social worker. In 1968 she married Maurice Ntahobali, with whom she had four children. Nyiramasuhuko worked for the government's Ministry for Social Affairs, educating women about health and childcare. In 1986, she attended the National University of Rwanda
to study law. She was Minister for Family Welfare and the Advancement of Women in Habyarimana's government from 1992.
started on April 9, 1994, immediately following Habyarimana's assassination. Armed Hutu
s were deployed throughout the countryside. They set up check points to cull fleeing Tutsi
s from the rest of the evacuating crowds. Hutus who refused to participate in the genocide were attacked. At night, the residents of Butare watched the firelight from the hills in the west, and could hear gunfire from nearby villages. When armed Hutus gathered at the edges of Butare, citizens of Butare defended its borders.
In response to the revolt, the interim government of Rwanda sent Pauline Nyiramasuhuko from Kigali
, the capital, to intervene in her home town of Butare. She ordered the then-governor to organize the killings. When he refused, he was killed, and Nyiramasuhuko called in militias from Kigali.
On April 25, 1994, thousands of Tutsis gathered at the stadium where the Red Cross was providing food and shelter. Nyiramasuhuko is said to have orchestrated a trap in the stadium. The Hutu paramilitary group Interahamwe
, led by Arsène Shalom Ntahobali, Pauline's 24-year-old son, surrounded the stadium. Refugees were raped, tortured, killed, and their bodies were burned. Nyiramasuhuko allegedly told militiamen, "before you kill the women, you need to rape them". In another incident, she ordered her men to take cans of gasoline from her car and use them to burn a group of women to death, leaving a surviving rape victim as a witness.
She left Rwanda in 1994 following the Genocide and went to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
. She was arrested in 1997 in Nairobi
, Kenya, along with her son, Arsène Shalom Ntahobali, the former Prime Minister Jean Kambanda
, and eight others.
(ICTR) from 2001 to 2011. She was the first woman to be brought to trial by an international tribunal. She was indicted 9 August 1999, on the charges of conspiracy to commit genocide
, genocide, complicity in genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions
and additional protocol 3. She pleaded not guilty to all charges. Nyiramasuhuko stood trial before Trial Chamber II with five others as part of the "Butare Trial" which, at its start in 2001, included the highest number of defendants to be tried jointly in relation to the Rwandan Genocide. Her son, Arsène Shalom Ntahobali, was one of the co-defendants and was accused of having led Interahamwe forces. Closing arguments for the Butare case were heard 1 May 2009. According to prosecutor Holo Makwaia, Nyiramasuhuko had intended to "destroy in whole or in part the Tutsi ethnic group in Butare".
On 24 June 2011, Nyiramasuhuko was found guilty of seven charges including genocide and incitement to rape
; she was sentenced to life imprisonment and will not be eligible to apply for parole for 25 years. She was acquitted of three further charges. Although other women have been convicted of genocide by Rwandan courts, Nyiramasuhuko is the first woman to be convicted by the ICTR. Her son was also convicted and sentenced to life with no possibility of parole; four other officials on trial received 25-year sentences.
War rape
War rapes are rapes committed by soldiers, other combatants or civilians during armed conflict or war, or during military occupation, distinguished from sexual assaults and rape committed amongst troops in military service...
thousands of women during the Rwandan Genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
of 1994. She was tried for genocide and incitement to rape as part of the "Butare
Butare
Butare is a city in the Southern Province of Rwanda and capital of Huye district. It was the capital of the former Butare Province, Rwanda, that was dissolved on January 1, 2006....
Group" at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
The 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...
(ICTR) in Arusha
Arusha
Arusha 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. In June 2011, she was convicted of seven charges and sentenced to life imprisonment. Nyiramasuhuko is the first woman to be convicted of genocide by the ICTR.
Early life and career
Pauline Nyiramasuhuko was born in the small farming community of NdoraNdora
Ndora is a village and commune/sector in Butare Province, southwestern Rwanda, located roughly 10 kilometres east of the city of Butare. It is a farming community inhabited mainly by Hutu people...
, in the province of Butare
Butare Province
Butare was a province of Rwanda prior to its dissolution in January 2006. Butare city is the second largest city in Rwanda and one of the nation's former twelve provinces. It is located in south-central region of the country and borders Burundi to the south...
, to a poor Hutu
Hutu
The 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...
family. She attended high school at the Ecole sociale de Karubanda. There, she became friends with Agathe Habyarimana
Agathe Habyarimana
Agathe Habyarimana is the widow of former President of Rwanda Juvénal Habyarimana. Kanziga is part of a Hutu lineage that long ruled an independent principality until the late nineteenth century...
, the future wife of Juvénal Habyarimana
Juvénal Habyarimana
Juvénal 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...
, who became President of Rwanda in 1973.
Nyiramasuhuko trained and worked as a social worker. In 1968 she married Maurice Ntahobali, with whom she had four children. Nyiramasuhuko worked for the government's Ministry for Social Affairs, educating women about health and childcare. In 1986, she attended the National University of Rwanda
National University of Rwanda
The National University of Rwanda is the largest university in Rwanda. It is located at in the city of Butare and was established in 1963 by the government in cooperation with the Congregation of the Dominicans from the Province of Quebec.When it was established, the NUR had three divisions The...
to study law. She was Minister for Family Welfare and the Advancement of Women in Habyarimana's government from 1992.
Background of attack
The Rwandan GenocideRwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
started on April 9, 1994, immediately following Habyarimana's assassination. Armed Hutu
Hutu
The 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...
s were deployed throughout the countryside. They set up check points to cull fleeing Tutsi
Tutsi
The Tutsi , or Abatutsi, are an ethnic group in Central Africa. Historically they were often referred to as the Watussi or Watusi. They are the second largest caste in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and the Twa ....
s from the rest of the evacuating crowds. Hutus who refused to participate in the genocide were attacked. At night, the residents of Butare watched the firelight from the hills in the west, and could hear gunfire from nearby villages. When armed Hutus gathered at the edges of Butare, citizens of Butare defended its borders.
In response to the revolt, the interim government of Rwanda sent Pauline Nyiramasuhuko from Kigali
Kigali
Kigali, 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...
, the capital, to intervene in her home town of Butare. She ordered the then-governor to organize the killings. When he refused, he was killed, and Nyiramasuhuko called in militias from Kigali.
On April 25, 1994, thousands of Tutsis gathered at the stadium where the Red Cross was providing food and shelter. Nyiramasuhuko is said to have orchestrated a trap in the stadium. The Hutu paramilitary group Interahamwe
Interahamwe
The Interahamwe is a Hutu paramilitary organization. The militia enjoyed the backing of the Hutu-led government leading up to, during, and after the Rwandan Genocide. Since the genocide, they have been forced out of Rwanda, and have sought asylum in Congo...
, led by Arsène Shalom Ntahobali, Pauline's 24-year-old son, surrounded the stadium. Refugees were raped, tortured, killed, and their bodies were burned. Nyiramasuhuko allegedly told militiamen, "before you kill the women, you need to rape them". In another incident, she ordered her men to take cans of gasoline from her car and use them to burn a group of women to death, leaving a surviving rape victim as a witness.
She left Rwanda in 1994 following the Genocide and went to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
. She was arrested in 1997 in Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, Kenya, along with her son, Arsène Shalom Ntahobali, the former Prime Minister Jean Kambanda
Jean Kambanda
Jean Kambanda was the Prime Minister in the caretaker government of Rwanda from the start of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide...
, and eight others.
Trial
Nyiramasuhuko was tried at the International Criminal Tribunal for RwandaInternational Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
The 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...
(ICTR) from 2001 to 2011. She was the first woman to be brought to trial by an international tribunal. She was indicted 9 August 1999, on the charges of conspiracy to commit genocide
Genocide
Genocide 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...
, genocide, complicity in genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions
Geneva Conventions
The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish the standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment of the victims of war...
and additional protocol 3. She pleaded not guilty to all charges. Nyiramasuhuko stood trial before Trial Chamber II with five others as part of the "Butare Trial" which, at its start in 2001, included the highest number of defendants to be tried jointly in relation to the Rwandan Genocide. Her son, Arsène Shalom Ntahobali, was one of the co-defendants and was accused of having led Interahamwe forces. Closing arguments for the Butare case were heard 1 May 2009. According to prosecutor Holo Makwaia, Nyiramasuhuko had intended to "destroy in whole or in part the Tutsi ethnic group in Butare".
On 24 June 2011, Nyiramasuhuko was found guilty of seven charges including genocide and incitement to rape
War rape
War rapes are rapes committed by soldiers, other combatants or civilians during armed conflict or war, or during military occupation, distinguished from sexual assaults and rape committed amongst troops in military service...
; she was sentenced to life imprisonment and will not be eligible to apply for parole for 25 years. She was acquitted of three further charges. Although other women have been convicted of genocide by Rwandan courts, Nyiramasuhuko is the first woman to be convicted by the ICTR. Her son was also convicted and sentenced to life with no possibility of parole; four other officials on trial received 25-year sentences.