Rwanda

Law N°33 BIS/2003 repressing the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes

Chapter 4. WAR CRIMES AND THEIR SENTENCES

Article 8:
The war crime is one of the following acts committed during armed conflicts
when they target persons or property protected by the Geneva Convention of August 12, 1949 and its additional protocols I and II of June 8, 1977:
1° wilful killing;
2° torture or other inhuman treatments, including biological experiments;
3° wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health ;
4° extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified be military necessity and carried out unlawfully such as premises devoted to religion, charitable organizations, schools, historical premises dedicated to arts and scientific experiments;
5° compelling a prisoner of war or other protected person to serve in intelligence service or administration of belligerent parties;
6° wilfully depriving a prisoner of war or other protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial ;
7° unlawful deportation, transfer or confinement ;
8° taking of hostages and subjecting them to terrorist acts ;
9° intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects or widespread long - term and severe damage to the natural environment and which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated ;
10° making improper use of distinctive emblems of humanitarian organizations or other protective signs of persons or objects recognized be the international law, with intention of killing, wounding or capturing the enemy ;
11° attacking or bombarding, be whatever means, towns, villages, dwellings or buildings which are undefended and which are not military objectives ;
12° practices of apartheid and other inhuman and degrading practices, based on racial discrimination, which give rise to attempts to human dignity;
13° the transfer, by the occupying power of the whole population or its part into the occupied territory, or deportation or transfer of the whole population or its part of within or outside the occupied territory without considering the population's interests ;
14° any unjustified delay in the repatriation of war prisoners or imprisoned civilians, after the end of active hostilities;
15° the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced be a regularly constituted court and without affording all judicial guarantees which are generally recognized as indispensable ;
16° killing or wounding a person knowing he or she is not involved in hostilities, or who laid down his or her weapons in case he or she was fighting, or no longer having means for self defence.


Chapter 5. OFFENCES TO HUMANITARIAN ORGANISATIONS

Article 14:
Shall be punished by an imprisonment of six (6) months to five (5) years and a fine of fifty thousand Rwandan Francs (50,000 Frws) to one hundred Rwandan Francs (100,000 Frws) or one of these penalties only, any person who:
1° will engage in hostile acts against persons belonging to Red Cross and Red Crescent organizations in their humanitarian activities;
2° will have willingly destroyed or damaged, during hostilities, equipment, installations or warehouses pertaining to such an organisation or placed under its protection.


Article 15:
The use of the logo of humanitarian organisations is exclusively reserved for health services as well as the staff and equipment of the International Committee for the Red Cross, the International Federations of Red Cross and Red Crescent as well as National Societies of the Red Cross and Red Crescent which are entitled to it under the Geneva Conventions of 1949 for the protection of victims in wartime.


Article 16:
He who, willingly and without being entitled to it, will have borne or flown the logo of humanitarian organisations, or any other sign which is an imitation or is likely to cause confusion, shall be punished by an imprisonment sentence of six (6) months to five (5) years and a fine of fifty thousand Rwandan francs (50,000Frw) to one million Rwandan Francs (1000,000Frw), or one of these penalties only.
Courts shall, in addition, pronounce confiscation of objects marked with the logo, and order destruction of instruments that will have served to produce the illegal marking.

Keywords

War crimes



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