Resisting the spiral of mass violence: when perpetrators tell their story

RCN Justice & Démocratie is a Belgian NGO created in 1994 in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide where we have been assisting the reconstruction of the justice system. After a few years in Rwanda, they decided to extend their activities into Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, South-Sudan, Chad, Senegal, and Europe. The history of their involvement in Europe is tied to the historical trial in Brussels of four Rwandans accused of being involved in the genocide. To preserve the memory of this trial, they recorded the entirety of the trial’s debates and created a website to ensure access to the larger public. In 2009, RCN Justice et Démocratie expanded their European activities by launching a programme to preserve and disseminate the memory of contemporary international crimes. Indeed, they believe that the humanity that has been shattered by those crimes cannot be restrained by geographical or time boundaries. The programme activities center on two radio series called “If It’s there, it’s here”. The first series tells the experience of people who refused to participate in crimes and, while the second is about the experiences of perpetrators. Rather than judging, this second series focus on understanding the mechanisms leading to participation in mass crimes. Both uncover the lives and experiences of people who have lived through mass crimes in Bosnia, Burundi, Cambodia, DRC and Rwanda. Their life experiences show, in a very concrete manner, how people have faced violence, either by resisting it, or by participating in it, and how they managed to rebuild their lives. On the basis of these testimonies, we are organizing reflection and debate sessions in secondary schools and academic settings. The aim of these workshops is to encourage universal questions on the meaning of justice and reconciliation during and after a conflict, as well as to stimulate our ability to mobilize against international crimes and to act consciously in the present to prevent violence.

Approach	Diversity as a common viewpoint
Target Audience	Educators/academics
Materials	Workshop based on interviews with victims and persons who refused to participate in international crimes Workshop based on interviews with perpetrators of mass crimes Audiovisual materials
Geographical scope	Africa – Europe
Start of practice	1994
Country of origin	Belgium