The Gacaca Courts have been instituted in order to reach precise objectives :

1. To reveal the truth about what has happened

The unity and reconciliation of the Rwandans that are targetted are based on justice for all. But, this justice can become true only if the truth about the events is established. The way in which the Gacaca Institution has been conceived will allow to discover that truth because :

- The citizens who have been the eyewitnesses of the facts that occurred mainly in their cells will give evidence;

- The list of the names of the victims and those of the authors of the crimes committed will be established;

- Even if the task proves to be difficult, given the fact that now some places are mere ruins, some situations will at least be clarified.

2. To speed up the genocide trials

This problem will be solved because :

- The trials will be made by those who already act as witnesses in the said trials before the specialised courts;

- About 11,000 Gacaca Courts will deal with these genocide trials whereas in classical justice this task was performed by only 12 specialised;

- In front of the eyewitnesses of their deeds, the guilty persons will no more try to deny what has been evidenced.

3. To eradicate the culture of impunity

In their cells, the citizens will play an important role in the reconstruction of the facts and in the accusation of those who perpetrated them. None of those who took part in them will escape punishment. Thus, people will understand that the infringement implies the punishment for the criminal without exception.

4. To reconcile the Rwandans and reinforce their unity

The Gacaca Courts system will allow the population of the same Cell, the same Sector to work together in order to judge those who have participated in the genocide, identify the victims and rehabilitate the innocents. The Gacaca Courts system will thus become the basis of collaboration and unity, mainly because when the truth will be known, there will be no more suspicion, the author will be punished, justice will be done to the victim and to the innocent prisoner who will be reintegrated in the Rwandan society.

5. To prove that the Rwandan society has the capacity to settle its own problems through a system of justice based on the Rwandan custom.

The Rwandan genocide has been perpetrated by Rwandans against their brothers. It is then the responsibility of all the Rwandans with no exception and in the first place to rebuild their society, to settle the disputes related to that genocide especially through the trial of the presumed authors and the reparation of the damage caused to the victims.