The trial of Jacques Mungwarere on charges of participating in the Rwandan genocide begins today in Ottawa. Coverage here. This is Canada’s second trial since bringing in the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act in 2000. As with the first trial, that of Desire Munyaneza (see Chapter 5 of the book), Canada has exercised custodial universal jurisdiction over Mungwarere and his alleged crimes, which arise from events in Rwanda in 1994.
There is no particular news about this matter, other than the fact that the accused had originally opted for a jury trial and unexpectedly reversed this decision on the day of jury selection. The trial will now proceed before a judge alone — which, given the complexity of applying the law to the facts as they emerge during the trial (again, see Chapter 5), is probably to everyone’s advantage.