National reconciliation... Rwandas experience

Every society has experienced situations of conflict and violence, its own experience, derived from its various factors. to mechanisms for the transformation of conflict or the cessation of violence, on which future destinies are based. Rwanda may be a unique and complex situation, coinciding with genocide, civil war and related horrific crimes. Weighed down by centuries of hostility and division between the Hutu and Tutsi peoples, until she was taken off the clothing of war and moved to build a common ground on the basis of national reconciliation.

Although Rwandas experience may not yet be complete, it has nevertheless made progress on the path to unity and reconciliation in the country and the revival of human dignity and Rwandan values.

Political will and reconciliation
While many international and regional factors are important in the Rwandan conflict, the most important example of launching the peace path and building common ground for sustainable peace has been a political will that has strengthened the countrys context, culture and customs. It played an important role in facilitating the development of effective mechanisms, which built a solid foundation for reconciliation.

Rwandas experience demonstrated the great responsibility of the Government to support real reconciliation. The mechanisms adopted, in parallel with active community participation, varied between local and national consultations and mandatory individual and community participation, with a safe and free space.

Dialogue at the community level played a key role in the process, and the mechanisms were retrospective and forward-looking. It ensured phases of response and preventive measures. It also involved judicial and non-judicial processes in a unique manner (Gachasha courts). In order to integrate local and national interests, together with a genuine locomotive of political will, it supported important achievements in the national reconciliation process.

Policy and national reconciliation
Although the ratios of the "National Unity and Reconciliation Commission" indicators were very high and reached more than 90%, some followers believe that these indicators relate to political reconciliation and are the weakest. which may give a stable landscape and superficial community coexistence. National reconciliation needs a long way to go, highlighting the dynamics of relationships, levels of trust, interdependence, cooperation and mixing.

In the light of the 2005 report of the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, unlike other reconciliation mechanisms in Africa and the world, the National Commission for Unity and Reconciliation published the concept of national reconciliation and policies at the community level.

Dialogue and reconciliation
Those mechanisms have developed an innovative approach to re-establishing unity among Rwandans, consolidating it through dialogue, transitional justice, education, mobilization, awareness-raising and training. It has also laid solid foundations for institutionalizing reconciliation.

It should be noted that Rwandas classification has changed from a collapsing State to a capable and effective civil society. Rwandans have regained common national sense of identity and dignity, through programmes that prioritize Rwandans integration and dignity. such as abolishing fake ethnic identities that cause divisions and promote Rwandan affiliation.

Despite Rwandas reconciliation achievements, its national reconciliation process has faced a number of challenges. The entrenched ideology of genocide, racial profiling, poverty and psychological and physical wounds, which have not yet healed, persists in society, where it is difficult for the Assemblys memory to shake off the impact of violence.

Rights
In addition, the issue of the return or compensation of property looted or destroyed during the genocide is a major obstacle to community-level unity and reconciliation. Failure to achieve justice and satisfaction through a winning equation will not allow society to defend those solutions. Although the rule of law was firmly guaranteed, such a law must be fair and achieve societal satisfaction.

The lack of coverage of various aspects of the issue is one of the problems of peace and reconciliation. In Rwanda, the main criticism has been the selectivity of the process of addressing the injustice of the past. It confined itself to the genocide committed by the defeated Government and neglected the RPFs crimes. Citizens dissatisfaction with the inability of the mechanisms adopted to address these important issues impedes national reconciliation. Accountability must not be unilateral, as one of the most important dispute resolution mechanisms was the equality of all parties before the law, in an atmosphere of public freedoms protected and open.

Every dispute is surely unique, and addressing it requires taking into account its context and influential factors, along with stakeholders. Therefore, there is generally no one size fits all formula or easy concise ways to promote national reconciliation. However, people experience common experiences in different cultures and contexts, if they have committed, experienced or witnessed severe violence in conflict situations. Regardless of the nature of the war, ethnic background, religion or politics, there is common ground in the quest for reconciliation.

Lessons from Rwanda
Based on Rwandas experience of national reconciliation, the following interrelated lessons may help countries that have experienced widespread violent conflicts:

It is the responsibility of promoting and securing roads and spaces that promote national reconciliation, by linking words with no compromise or bias. This, in turn, requires a democratic government, military integration, political will, potential differences and control of non-violent means.

There is no national reconciliation by an individual decision of the Government or actors and others. The issue needed positive interaction between governmental and non-governmental actors. This must ensure a secure dialogue space that brings together different groups.
Building reconciliation must not conflict with societys dynamics, culture, traditions and customs, but be based on them and raise awareness.

It requires independent coordination, monitoring, documentation and follow-up of the process at all levels.

Source: https://common-ground-sy.org/peace-building/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%88%D8%B7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%AC%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%A7.html