The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda operated in Arusha from 1994 to 2015, when its residual mechanism took over. Based at a purpose-built complex on the outskirts of the city, it prosecuted the architects of the 1994 Rwandan genocide — the mass murder of approximately 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu in 100 days. Over its two decades, the ICTR indicted 93 individuals, completing proceedings against 80.
The tribunal's legacy is debated. It brought senior perpetrators to account in ways no domestic process could have managed, but it was slow, expensive, and its distance from Rwanda made it feel remote to survivors. The Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT), which now handles outstanding cases and appeals, continues to operate in Arusha. The facility is not generally open to the public, but its presence gives the city an unlikely role in international justice history.