Human rights in Rwanda
Encyclopedia
This article presents an overview of human rights
in Rwanda
.
During the Rwandan Genocide
in 1994, 800,000 people were murdered.
Subsequent governments, including the current government led by President Paul Kagame
, have been accused by Amnesty International
of numerous human rights
violations, notably extrajudicial killings. According to Amnesty International, between December 1997 and May 1998, thousands of Rwandans "disappeared" or were murdered by members of government security forces and of armed opposition groups. Amnesty International states that the Rwandan Patriotic Army and armed opposition forces both "deliberately target unarmed civilians", including children.
According to Human Rights Watch
, Rwandan troops involved in the Second Congo War
were responsible for the deaths of thousands of Congolese civilians. At the time, Pasteur Bizimungu
was President of Rwanda, while Paul Kagame was Vice-President and Minister of Defence. In 2010, the United Nations
prepared a report accusing Rwanda of having "committ[ed] war crimes against ethnic Hutu
s" in the D.R. Congo during the period. The report suggested that "Rwanda's army may have committed genocide" against Hutus - a suggestion "furiously" denied by Kagame's government.
Regarding human rights under the current government of President Paul Kagame, Human Rights Watch has accused Rwandan police of several instances of extrajudicial killings and deaths in custody. In June 2006, the International Federation of Human Rights
and Human Rights Watch described what they called "serious violations of international humanitarian law committed by the Rwanda Patriotic Army".
According to The Economist
, Kagame "allows less political space and press freedom at home than Robert Mugabe
does in Zimbabwe
", and "[a]nyone who poses the slightest political threat to the regime is dealt with ruthlessly".
The United States
' government in 2006 described the human rights record of the Kagame government as "mediocre", citing the "disappearances" of political dissidents, as well as arbitrary arrests and acts of violence, torture and murders committed by police. US authorities listed human rights problems including the existence of political prisoners and limited freedom of the press, freedom of assembly
and freedom of religion.
Reporters Without Borders
listed Rwanda in 147th place out of 169 for freedom of the press in 2007, and reported that "Rwandan journalists suffer permanent hostility from their government and surveillance by the security services". It cited cases of journalists being threatened, harassed and arrested for criticising the government. According to Reporters Without Borders, "President Paul Kagame and his government have never accepted that the press should be guaranteed genuine freedom". In 2010, Rwanda fell to 169th place, out of 178, entering the ranks of the ten lowest-ranked countries in the world for press freedom. Reporters Without Borders stated that "Rwanda, Yemen
and Syria
have joined Burma and North Korea
as the most repressive countries in the world against journalists", adding that in Rwanda, "the third lowest-ranked African country", "this drop was caused by the suspending of the main independent press media, the climate of terror surrounding the presidential election, and the murdering, in Kigali, of the deputy editor of Umuvugizi, Jean-Léonard Rugambage
. In proportions almost similar to those of Somalia
, Rwanda is empting itself of its journalists, who are fleeing the country due to their fear of repression".
In December 2008, a draft report commissioned by the United Nations
, to be presented to the Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council
, alleged that Kagame's Rwanda was supplying child soldiers to Tutsi
rebels in Nord-Kivu
, D.R. Congo
, in the context of the conflict in Nord-Kivu in 2008
. The report also alleged that Rwanda was supplying General Laurent Nkunda
with "military equipment, the use of Rwandan banks, and allow[ing] the rebels to launch attacks from Rwandan territory on the Congolese army".
In July 2009, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
issued a report critical of the human rights situation in Rwanda. It highlighted "a lack of political freedom and harassment of journalists". It urged the Rwandan government to enact legislation enabling freedom of information
, and to "authorise the presence of an opposition in the next election". It also emphasised abuses carried out by Rwandan troops in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and described Rwanda’s overall human rights situation as "very poor":
In the lead-up to the 2010 presidential election
, the United Nations
"demanded a full investigation into allegations of politically motivated killings of opposition figures". Specifically: the vice-president of the Democratic Green Party
, André Kagwa Rwisereka
, was found beheaded; "a lawyer who had participated in genocide trials at a UN tribunal was shot dead"; there was a murder attempt on Kayumba Nyamwasa
, "a former senior Rwandan general who had fallen out with Kagame"; and Jean-Léonard Rugambage
, a journalist investigating that attempted murder, was murdered.
In 2011, Amnesty International
criticized the continued detention of former transportation minister and Bizimungu ally Charles Ntakirutinka
, who was seven years into a ten year sentence at Kigali
central prison. Amnesty International called him a prisoner of conscience
and named him a 2011 "priority case."
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
in Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
.
During the Rwandan Genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
in 1994, 800,000 people were murdered.
Subsequent governments, including the current government led by President Paul Kagame
Paul Kagame
Paul Kagame is the sixth and current President of the Republic of Rwanda. He rose to prominence as the leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front , whose victory over the incumbent government in July 1994 effectively ended the Rwandan genocide...
, have been accused by Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
of numerous human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
violations, notably extrajudicial killings. According to Amnesty International, between December 1997 and May 1998, thousands of Rwandans "disappeared" or were murdered by members of government security forces and of armed opposition groups. Amnesty International states that the Rwandan Patriotic Army and armed opposition forces both "deliberately target unarmed civilians", including children.
According to Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
, Rwandan troops involved in the Second Congo War
Second Congo War
The Second Congo War, also known as Coltan War and the Great War of Africa, began in August 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , and officially ended in July 2003 when the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power; however, hostilities continue to this...
were responsible for the deaths of thousands of Congolese civilians. At the time, Pasteur Bizimungu
Pasteur Bizimungu
Pasteur Bizimungu was the fifth President of Rwanda from 19 July 1994 until 23 March 2000. He is considered belonging to the Hutu caste/ethnic group and was born in the Gisenyi prefecture of Rwanda. Bizimungu worked within the Hutu MRND regime which ruled Rwanda , including as director general of...
was President of Rwanda, while Paul Kagame was Vice-President and Minister of Defence. In 2010, the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
prepared a report accusing Rwanda of having "committ[ed] war crimes against ethnic Hutu
Hutu
The Hutu , or Abahutu, are a Central African people, living mainly in Rwanda, Burundi, and eastern DR Congo.-Population statistics:The Hutu are the largest of the three peoples in Burundi and Rwanda; according to the United States Central Intelligence Agency, 84% of Rwandans and 85% of Burundians...
s" in the D.R. Congo during the period. The report suggested that "Rwanda's army may have committed genocide" against Hutus - a suggestion "furiously" denied by Kagame's government.
Regarding human rights under the current government of President Paul Kagame, Human Rights Watch has accused Rwandan police of several instances of extrajudicial killings and deaths in custody. In June 2006, the International Federation of Human Rights
International Federation of Human Rights
The International Federation for Human Rights is a non-governmental federation for human rights organizations. Founded in 1922, FIDH is the oldest international human rights organisation worldwide and today brings together 164 member organisations in over 100 countries.FIDH is nonpartisan,...
and Human Rights Watch described what they called "serious violations of international humanitarian law committed by the Rwanda Patriotic Army".
According to The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
, Kagame "allows less political space and press freedom at home than Robert Mugabe
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...
does in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
", and "[a]nyone who poses the slightest political threat to the regime is dealt with ruthlessly".
The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' government in 2006 described the human rights record of the Kagame government as "mediocre", citing the "disappearances" of political dissidents, as well as arbitrary arrests and acts of violence, torture and murders committed by police. US authorities listed human rights problems including the existence of political prisoners and limited freedom of the press, freedom of assembly
Freedom of assembly
Freedom of assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests...
and freedom of religion.
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders is a France-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press. It was founded in 1985, by Robert Ménard, Rony Brauman and the journalist Jean-Claude Guillebaud. Jean-François Julliard has served as Secretary General since 2008...
listed Rwanda in 147th place out of 169 for freedom of the press in 2007, and reported that "Rwandan journalists suffer permanent hostility from their government and surveillance by the security services". It cited cases of journalists being threatened, harassed and arrested for criticising the government. According to Reporters Without Borders, "President Paul Kagame and his government have never accepted that the press should be guaranteed genuine freedom". In 2010, Rwanda fell to 169th place, out of 178, entering the ranks of the ten lowest-ranked countries in the world for press freedom. Reporters Without Borders stated that "Rwanda, Yemen
Human rights in Yemen
The situation for Human Rights in Yemen is rather poor. The security forces have been responsible for torture, inhumane treatment and even extrajudicial executions. But according to the Embassy of Yemen, in recent years there has been some improvement, with the government signing several...
and Syria
Human rights in Syria
Human rights in Syria have been described as "poor". Since 1963, emergency rule has remained in effect which gives security forces sweeping powers of arrest and detention....
have joined Burma and North Korea
Human rights in North Korea
The human rights record of North Korea is extremely hard to fully assess due to the secretive and closed nature of the country. The North Korean government makes it very difficult for foreigners to enter the country and strictly monitors their activities when they do...
as the most repressive countries in the world against journalists", adding that in Rwanda, "the third lowest-ranked African country", "this drop was caused by the suspending of the main independent press media, the climate of terror surrounding the presidential election, and the murdering, in Kigali, of the deputy editor of Umuvugizi, Jean-Léonard Rugambage
Jean-Léonard Rugambage
Jean-Léonard Rugambage was a Rwandan journalist, acting editor of the newspaper Umuvugizi. He was shot dead in front of his home in Kigali on 24 June 2010....
. In proportions almost similar to those of Somalia
Human rights in Somalia
Human rights in Somalia are extremely poor and serious human rights violations are a problem due to the unstable political situation in the country. Somalia has not had a central government since President Mohamed Siad Barre fled the country in 1991...
, Rwanda is empting itself of its journalists, who are fleeing the country due to their fear of repression".
In December 2008, a draft report commissioned by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, to be presented to the Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
, alleged that Kagame's Rwanda was supplying child soldiers to Tutsi
Tutsi
The Tutsi , or Abatutsi, are an ethnic group in Central Africa. Historically they were often referred to as the Watussi or Watusi. They are the second largest caste in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and the Twa ....
rebels in Nord-Kivu
Nord-Kivu
Nord-Kivu is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Its capital is Goma....
, D.R. Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, in the context of the conflict in Nord-Kivu in 2008
2008 Nord-Kivu campaign
The 2008 Nord-Kivu campaign was an armed conflict in the eastern Nord-Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The upsurge of violence in the Kivu conflict saw heavy battles between the Democratic Republic of Congo's army, supported by the United Nations, and Tutsi militia under...
. The report also alleged that Rwanda was supplying General Laurent Nkunda
Laurent Nkunda
Laurent Nkunda or Laurent Nkundabatware, or Laurent Nkunda Batware, or as he prefers to be called The Chairman — is a former General in the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo and is the former warlord operating in the province of Nord-Kivu, sympathetic to Congolese Tutsis and the...
with "military equipment, the use of Rwandan banks, and allow[ing] the rebels to launch attacks from Rwandan territory on the Congolese army".
In July 2009, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative is an international non-governmental organisation formed to support Human Rights and particularly to support the implementation of the Harare Declaration in the countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
issued a report critical of the human rights situation in Rwanda. It highlighted "a lack of political freedom and harassment of journalists". It urged the Rwandan government to enact legislation enabling freedom of information
Freedom of information
Freedom of information refers to the protection of the right to freedom of expression with regards to the Internet and information technology . Freedom of information may also concern censorship in an information technology context, i.e...
, and to "authorise the presence of an opposition in the next election". It also emphasised abuses carried out by Rwandan troops in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and described Rwanda’s overall human rights situation as "very poor":
- "The report details a country in which democracy, freedom of speech, the press and human rights are undermined or violently abused, in which courts fail to meet international standards, and a country which has invaded its neighbour, the Democratic Republic of Congo, four times since 1994. […] Censorship is prevalent, according to the report, and the government has a record of shutting down independent media and harassing journalists. It concludes that Rwanda's constitution is used as a ‘façade’ to hide ‘the repressive nature of the regime’ and backs claims that Rwanda is essentially an ‘an army with a state’."
In the lead-up to the 2010 presidential election
Rwandan presidential election, 2010
A presidential election was held in Rwanda on 2010, the second since the Rwandan civil war. The incumbent President Paul Kagame, of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, was re-elected for a second term.-Background:...
, the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
"demanded a full investigation into allegations of politically motivated killings of opposition figures". Specifically: the vice-president of the Democratic Green Party
Democratic Green Party of Rwanda
The Democratic Green Party of Rwanda is a green political party in Rwanda. Formed in 2009, the party aimed to run in the 2010 elections. It was, however, prevented from registering. The party's vice-president, André Kagwa Rwisereka, was found beheaded during the election campaign. -External links:...
, André Kagwa Rwisereka
André Kagwa Rwisereka
André Kagwa Rwisereka was vice-chairman of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, a political party founded in August 2009 in Rwanda.He was found murdered and partially beheaded on 14 July 2010....
, was found beheaded; "a lawyer who had participated in genocide trials at a UN tribunal was shot dead"; there was a murder attempt on Kayumba Nyamwasa
Kayumba Nyamwasa
Lieutenant General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa was a Rwandan Army former Chief of Staff who fled to South Africa in February 2010 afterbeing accused of involvement in terrorist activity within Rwanda.Nyamwasa had formerly been head of Rwandan intelligence....
, "a former senior Rwandan general who had fallen out with Kagame"; and Jean-Léonard Rugambage
Jean-Léonard Rugambage
Jean-Léonard Rugambage was a Rwandan journalist, acting editor of the newspaper Umuvugizi. He was shot dead in front of his home in Kigali on 24 June 2010....
, a journalist investigating that attempted murder, was murdered.
In 2011, Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
criticized the continued detention of former transportation minister and Bizimungu ally Charles Ntakirutinka
Charles Ntakirutinka
Charles Ntakirutinka is a former Transportation Minister of the Rwandan government and current detainee. Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience and a 2011 "priority case".-PDR-Ubuyanja:...
, who was seven years into a ten year sentence at Kigali
Kigali
Kigali, population 965,398 , is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is situated near the geographic centre of the nation, and has been the economic, cultural, and transport hub of Rwanda since it became capital at independence in 1962. The main residence and offices of the President of...
central prison. Amnesty International called him a prisoner of conscience
Prisoner of conscience
Prisoner of conscience is a term defined in Peter Benenson's 1961 article "The Forgotten Prisoners" often used by the human rights group Amnesty International. It can refer to anyone imprisoned because of their race, religion, or political views...
and named him a 2011 "priority case."