Reference points The Overall Context The media environment What is the IDTA ? The Team The IDTA Charter The Hirondelle News Agency in Arusha (Tanzania) has covered since 1996 all major judiciary events related to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, mainly the proceedings of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), but also the gacaca tribunals and the trials conducted according to classic justice procedures in Rwanda. Since December 2002, it has been the only news agency covering these trials via news reports, on a daily basis and in four languages -- English, French, Swahili and Kinyarwanda.
The agency also offers to dozens of African journalists the opportunity to receive training on international justice and on legal reporting. Its name: Officially named IDTA (Information, Documentation and Training Agency), it is commonly called Hirondelle News Agency or Agence de Presse Hirondelle. Its role: To provide independent and objective information to the Rwandan population as well as to other people or organisations interested in trials related to the Rwandan genocide and their developments. To offer the international public comprehensive documentation on the trials held by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. To organise for the benefit of African journalists, training sessions dedicated to judiciary reporting, issues of international law, human rights. Its target audience: The IDTA addresses mainly Rwandan citizens and the population of the countries of the Great Lakes Region. The Agency also targets a broad international public -- journalists, researchers, jurists, diplomats, etc. -- concerned by, or interested in, the genocide. Its objective: The Agency's objective is to contribute to spread ideas of justice and peace in the African Great Lakes Region as well as to participate in the fight against impunity. It tends to support the national reconciliation and democratisation process in Rwanda. For this purpose, the Agency endeavours to publicise as far as possible the proceedings of judiciary bodies related to the Rwandan genocide, targeting in particular those populations directly affected.