Belgium Condemns Four for Involvement in Rwandan Genocide

On June 2, 2001 a Belgian court convicted four Rwandan nationals for their involvement in the 1994 genocide in their home country. They were found guilty of having committed serious violations of international humanitarian law and were sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from 12 to 20 years. The legal basis for their convictions is the 1993 War Crimes Act which is applicable to serious violations of the Four 1949 Geneva Conventions and their two 1977 Additional Protocols. The Act is quite unique since it contains – unlike its American, Spanish or Swiss counterparts, a provision stipulating that it is universally applicable…[more]