In the summer of 2023, two bold UNC School of Law students embarked on a groundbreaking internship adventure across the world, to Kigali, Rwanda, to work in the nation’s Ministry of Justice. Their goal was to learn first-hand about Rwanda’s innovative legal system and how it has facilitated reconciliation in the country after the devastating 1994 genocide.
What struck Lance Rybka 2L most was the incredible contrast from his first visit to Rwanda in 2015. Then, all he knew about the country was that nearly 1 million people had been murdered in ethnic violence and unimaginable brutality. However, when he arrived, he saw a peaceful, harmonious society working collaboratively to rebuild. He wondered — how did they heal so quickly from such atrocities? His research uncovered that the legal system played a pivotal role.
Rwanda implemented a mediation-based court system called Gacaca, which focuses on confession, apology, forgiveness, and community participation. Both victims and perpetrators share their stories, and in most cases, forgiveness is granted, often with community service sentences rather than harsh retribution. Rybka realized this approach was radically different than adversarial courts in the United States that pit parties against each other without resolution. He became determined to understand it in person one day.
When Joseph Stipp 2L learned about Rybka’s internship opportunity in the Rwandan Ministry of Justice, he quickly jumped at the chance to join. The two were the first American law students ever to intern there. While initially the Ministry was unsure what to do with the American interns, Rybka and Stipp soon met with high-ranking officials across every department. They discussed Rwanda’s remarkable reconciliation process and learned about alternatives to imprisonment that keep the focus on rehabilitation.
Most striking for Stipp was witnessing perpetrators and survivors come together in person to share stories of loss and listen to each other’s grief and pain. The ability of survivors to forgive staggered belief. He realized mediation would play a large role in his future legal practice after seeing its healing powers firsthand.
While there, the students also participated in the vital Rwandan cultural practice of “Umuganda” – a communal workday. They helped build a house for a widow alongside Hutus and Tutsis working side by side. This unity and common purpose left a deep impression. “Just the unity that comes out of that is incredible.” Rybka reflected, “When you come together and work towards a common goal, it’s hard to be angry or to just view somebody based on what they believe. And it really does unify the country in an amazing way.”
Both Rybka and Stipp aim to actively apply concepts like mediation to promote similar healing and justice in their own practice. After witnessing the reconciliation progress achieved in Rwanda, they firmly believe that overcoming even centuries-long divides is possible when all sides make the courageous choice to come together.
Additionally, the students noted Rwanda’s bright future ahead thanks to the unified spirit firmly rooted within its people. The nation has set ambitious goals for further economic growth and opportunity by 2050, and thanks to the groundwork laid by Rybka and Stipp with the Ministry of Justice, future Carolina Law students interested in restorative justice models may have exciting, expanded opportunities to intern there as well.
