Committee Reports > List of Committees > Joint > 1998 > Committee on Foreign Affairs > Report - The Great Lakes Region of Africa

~RWANDA AND THE GREAT LAKES REGION~

Political Background Note

Current Concerns

1.The situation in Rwanda is a matter of growing concern notwithstanding the efforts of its Government, with international support, to stabilise the country. This stems mainly from the recent increase in violent clashes between the Rwandan armed forces and armed Hutu insurgents in the North West of the country. As a result, increased fatalities and hardship are being suffered by the civilian population who are caught between both sides. Similar attacks are being perpetrated by Hutu insurgents in Burundi. These clashes, involving the hard core of armed Hutu extremists who were implicated in the 1994 genocide and had previously found sanctuary among the refugee population (with some support from those who had unsuccessfully fought on the side of ousted President Mobutu) are destabilising both countries. Repressive local responses by the security forces and coercive actions by the rebel side have also given rise to concern about human rights abuses against the civilian population. There is thus an ongoing tension between the processes of national rehabilitation and reconciliation in both countries and the need to prevent the potential civil war with which they are both faced. While only part of each country is suffering directly from the current Hutu attacks they are nonetheless undermining the potential for peaceful ethnic co-existence which has begun to emerge in many communities. The EU and other members of the international community are therefore seeking to find a means of addressing the current security threat emanating from the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo while at the same time bolstering progress towards the achievement of substantive internal political dialogue which will lead to the establishment of inclusive democratic government in each of the countries of the Great Lakes Region.

Rwanda

2.In terms of the UN annual human development index (based on income, education and life expectancy figures) Rwanda was rated the second least developed country in the world in 1997 (Burundi was seventh least) and is endeavouring to reconstruct its national economy. On 15th January its Government announced a $445 million budget for 1998 which aims to maintain GDP growth at 13 per cent and to reduce inflation from eleven to seven per cent by the end of this year. Of the overall budget $293 million has been allocated for ongoing expenditure with the bulk of the remainder for development purposes. The Government of Rwanda has stated that it will provide 2.7 per cent of its development expenditure and 75 per cent of current expenditure with the remainder coming from donors, loans or aid. GDP has now reached 76% of its 1990 level having suffered a 49% fall in 1994, the year of the genocide.

3.The most pressing challenge facing the Government of Rwanda has been to deal with the political and economic pressures of reintegrating and housing the over one million Hutu refugees, many of them former combatants, who returned to the country during the fall of former Zaire. This has placed enormous burdens on the Government in relation to the effective reintegration of returnees. The EU Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region, Mr. Aldo Ajello, has highlighted the urgent need for a demobilisation programme in Rwanda so as to ensure that those who have returned become an integrated part of Rwandan society rather than a potential source of future unrest. In addition to the burden of reintegrating returnees, the Rwandan Government is also seeking to address the deeper legacy of the country’s 1994 genocide. This necessitates dealing with the impunity of those responsible for the genocide including the over 120,000 genocide suspects who are being held in detention (officially estimated to cost $20 million per year in upkeep). The Rwandan authorities have introduced the necessary legislation for a system of tiered culpability which includes the death penalty for the worst offenders. The EU Special Envoy has been actively engaged with the Rwandan Government in examining alternative non-judicial (e.g. amnesty-based) means of processing the prohibitive number of genocide suspects in detention. However, it is also recognised that the successful adoption of such an alternative strategy would rely to some extent on the securing of convictions by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda which is based in Arusha, Tanzania. There is a further need to provide support and legal redress (including the protection of property rights) for with those who have survived the genocide. Hence, judicial reform remains central to any lasting solution to the internal crisis facing Rwanda and is a key focus of the international community.

4.Rwanda has engaged positively with the international community and has made concrete efforts to reform its administration of justice including through the training of a civilian police force. It has also sought to improve the procedures which deal with those in detention and has implemented a review process which endeavours to establish which detainees have a substantive case to answer. In addition to judicial reform, any meaningful transition to democratic government in Rwanda will require the creation of institutions which will adequately represent both sides to the ethnic divide. It is generally recognised that the principles of power-sharing between the Hutu and Tutsi parties which were agreed between them under the 1993 Arusha Accords could still be used as a point of departure to agree the modalities of an eventual process of democratisation.

5.The EU Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region, Mr. Aldo Ajello, who is currently on a further mission to the region, met Ministers of the Rwandan Government in Kigali on 17-18 December. On that occasion he impressed upon the Rwandan authorities the need to avoid the use of repressive measures in response to insurgency. He also expressed the Union’s wish to see Rwanda remain true to the goal of national reconciliation and to take the necessary courageous political decisions, particularly in the justice sector. Vice-President Kagame made an official visit to Belgium on 20-23 January during which he had meetings with members of the Belgian Government and addressed the Development Committee of the European Parliament. In his address to the Parliament, Mr. Kagame gave assurances that his Government wished to follow a policy of democratisation and to hold elections in a meaningful context. He also called on the international community to stop taking sides in his country’s conflict and to assume an active role in finding a solution including through the provision of increased EU economic assistance. In recent statements, South Africa has called on the international community to help bring the escalating violence in Rwanda to an end as well as for “national reconciliation and the construction of a functioning democratic system” in that country. While acknowledging that the Rwandan Government “has clearly demonstrated its commitment to peace and reconciliation” Pretoria also stated that “the very forces who were responsible for the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 are now intensifying their terrorist campaign”.

6.The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs Mary Robinson, visited Rwanda for four days from 6-9 December 1997. Following the visit HC Robinson described the human rights situation as bleak. She also expressed dissatisfaction at what she perceived as the Rwandan government’s commitment to national reconciliation. HC Robinson also said that the action of the international community had been wholly insufficient to facilitate improvement in Rwanda and drew attention to a dramatic increase in violence by Hutu extremists. US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited a number of African capitals in the first half of December and met President Bizimungu and Vice-President Kagame in Kigali. During candid discussions she acknowledged the serious threat of the Hutu insurgency in the north west of Rwanda while expressing her concern about on national reconciliation and on power sharing.

Burundi

7.The two main developments at present are (a) the intense international diplomatic efforts being made by the UN, OAU, regional leaders, EU, US and others to reinvigorate the Arusha talks process between the conflicting parties in Burundi, and (b) the increase in attacks by Hutu extremists on parts of the capital Bujumbura and elsewhere in the country. The trend towards increased conflict has been particularly evident since the rebel attack near Bujumbura airport in the early days of this year and has resulted in hundreds of new civilian fatalities. Thus, while efforts to find a political solution are intensifying so too is the military threat to such a peaceful approach. The armed forces in Burundi are currently engaged in the pursuit of rebel guerillas at large around Bujumbura and a number of other towns with the civilian population getting caught in the ensuing conflict. The Burundi armed forces are thought to have a troop level of about 30,000 while it is estimated that the rebel side has about 6,000 combatants. Although the current conflict only affects about 25% of the country humanitarian organisations are concerned that the greatest humanitarian need is in those areas most affected.

8.Alongside the growing militarisation of the conflict former Tanzanian President, Julius Nyerere, who has been acting as mediator between the Tutsi Government and Hutu opposition in Burundi with the support of regional leaders, has been endeavouring to reinvigorate talks between them. While President Buyoya has been taking a tough stance against the current rebel offensive he has also expressed his commitment to a dialogue “with all Burundian partners, including the armed factions…”. The international community, including EU Special Envoy Ajello who had discussions with former President Nyerere on 16th December, are actively engaged in efforts to exploit this commitment and to engage all relevant parties accordingly. The UN Special Representative to the Great Lakes Region, Ambassador Berhanu Dinka, visited Burundi and neighbouring Uganda on 11-13 January. While in Burundi he met President Buyoya, some members of his government, the Speaker of the National Assembly, and leaders of opposition groups including the militant Hutu leader, Mr. Bagaza. Buyoya had confirmed to Dinka that he had no objection to Mr. Nyerere continuing as a mediator provided that a group of experts, acceptable to all parties, was appointed to assist him. Buyoya also declared his willingness to attend a possible summit of East African Heads of State in early February in Arusha, Tanzania, provided any subsequent meetings were held at a more neutral venue outside Tanzania and the regional leaders agreed to lift the sanctions they imposed on Burundi when Buyoya took power in July 1996.

9.The feasibility of such a summit and of Buyoya being invited by regional leaders to attend is expected to become clearer in coming days. The Nairobi-based Burundi Hutu opposition group, the National Council for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD), whose armed wing (the Forces for the Defence of Democracy) is involved in the current conflict, has also signalled that it is available for consultations. The US Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region, Mr. Howard Wolpe, visited Burundi on 16th January where he had meetings with government and other representatives in an effort to assess current efforts to achieve peace in the country. This followed a similar mission by a special delegation of the Organisation of African Unity which visited Bujumbura on 8th January. The EU Council of Foreign Ministers discussed the situation in Burundi on 26th January.

Democratic Republic of Congo

10.Following the defeat of former President Mobutu by the Forces of the Democratic Alliance for the Liberation of Congo Zaire (AFDL), Laurent Kabila proclaimed himself President of former Zaire on 17th May 1997. Since then he has ruled under a decree which gives him full power over the government and armed forces and a monopoly of legislative power. This rule by decree is due to continue until the adoption of a new constitution for a new republic by a constituent assembly. A Constitutional Commission, charged with drafting the new constitution was established last June and is supposed to finish drafting by 1st March next. Thereafter, the duly formed constituent assembly is to present President Kabila with an agreed constitution by October to be submitted to a national referendum. Presidential and General elections are scheduled to be held in April 1999. The EU and other members of the international community are currently trying to ensure that the timetable for transition to democratic government undertaken by President Kabila can be maintained. The Union has recently extended its Joint Action in support of the holding of elections in DRC and mandated the head of the EU Electoral Support Unit for DRC to carry out an assessment mission in order to implement it. Financial support of ECU 4 million has been allocated accordingly. An important element of any electoral process in DRC will be the registration of voters which will necessitate the holding of a census in the first instance. There is some speculation that because of the large amount of preparation which remains to be done, the scheduled date for elections in 1999 may have to be postponed for a short period.

11.In addition to providing electoral support, the EU is also pressing the Kinshasa authorities to cooperate fully with the UN Human Rights Investigation Team which has been deployed in their country to investigate alleged human rights atrocities (most of them against Hutu refugees) which were perpetrated in areas under the control of Kabila forces during the conflict with the Mobutu regime. A number of obstacles have been put in the way of the effective deployment of the UN Team although it had managed to deploy in one location (Mbandaka) in December where it could not proceed with its operations due to local hostility and resistance. The EU is actively seeking to reactivate the investigation and to extend its area of operations as appropriate to the effective implementation of its mandate. It is also seeking to ensure greater accessibility for the UN High Commission for Refugees and adequate protection for all NGO’s operating in support of the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

12.A continued security problem arises in Kivu and other areas of eastern DRC due to the presence of roaming insurgents who are a coalition of former Hutu Rwandan Army personnel and Hutu interahamwe militias (both implicated in the 1994 genocide) as well as some defeated Mobutist forces and other locally-based armed factions. This coalition of displaced fighters is an ongoing threat to the stability of Eastern DRC, North West Rwanda and parts of Burundi. They represent the hardline core of militant Hutuism and of Kabila’s enemies who no longer have a large refugee presence in Eastern DRC to act as a shield for their operations. While there is no evidence of detailed coordination of their activities between the relevant countries their terrorist tactics are increasing ethnic tensions at local level in a manner which some observers fear could incite widespread ethnic conflict.

13.International efforts are being made to help in the reconstruction of DRC and to help establish it as a democratic State. International Donors have had a number of meetings to examine how best this can be achieved and are awaiting a comprehensive programme from the Kinshasa authorities which can be given appropriate support. At one such meeting on 3-4 December, the EU Commission announced the resumption of ECU 79 million worth of aid (suspended during the recent conflict) divided between health (ECU 45 million) and other rehabilitation programmes. The British Presidency in Kinshasa had a meeting with President Kabila on 19th January during which it reiterated the Union’s desire to see progress towards democracy in DRC and it was agreed that EU Special Envoy Ajello would be received in Kinshasa on a suitable date in early February.

~ Africa Section, 27.1.1998

CONCERN RWANDA PROGRAMME PLAN 1998

Introduction

Concern has been operational in Rwanda and Zaire since July 1994, responding to the enormous needs of a population that was devastated by war, destruction and genocide. While our initial response addressed the immediate needs of the populations in Rwanda and in the refugee camps, the focus of the programme has shifted from emergency relief to rehabilitation and towards finding community based solutions for the poorest. The programmes aim to assist the most vulnerable, be they survivors of the genocide, refugees returning to their home communes, homeless, unaccompanied children, the vulnerable in the camps, widows, prisoners and their families. In assisting these groups to minimise the very real economic burdens which they face we hope to reduce areas of conflict and tension within the civil society and gradually create an environment that is more conducive to encouraging reconciliation between communities.

Repatriation of over 1.3 million from Zaire and Tanzania at the end of 1996 has had an enormous impact on programming in Rwanda. This repatriation occurred shortly after the formation of Laurient Kabile’s Democratic Alliance, the ADFL, at the beginning of his march to Kinshasa.

In addition the first six months of 1997 has seen the return of a further 100,000 people. This has been a much more laborious and expensive operation than the massive repatriation of ’96 as over 50,000 have been airlifted from several different locations in Zaire (Congo). Many of those were in poor physical condition. Many others were seen as the hardliners who did not return until their other options had run out and this created an unease about the whole repatriation process with allegations of massacres being made against both Kabile’s forces and the Rwandise Army. A contributory factor to the unease was that the majority of returnees in the airlift operation were fit healthy young men. Many were arrested on arrival at their communes of origin.

According to World Bank statistics, Rwanda has a per capita income of US$ 80. Rwanda is now one of the poorest countries in the world with 85 - 95% of its population below the poverty line. Future growth and stability of the country can not be assured until there is a regional solution.

Recognising that the political and security situation in Rwanda will remain very unpredictable we have to allow for an emergency response capacity throughout 1998, while at the same time developing our on going community and rehabilitation programmes. In 1998 our programmes will be as follows:

•Continuation of our unaccompanied children programme with a view to a closure of the centres in September. This will involve an increased emphasis on tracing and fostering, finding long term solutions for hard to place children and community support to vulnerable families.

•The prison feeding programme will continue with more involvement and support from the International Committee of the Red Cross. The overall aim of our programmes is to contribute to stabilisation and economic development of the local communes. It is hoped that these interventions will contribute towards a reduction in areas of conflict between vulnerable groups.

•Continuation of the 1997 shelter programme in the rehabilitation phase for the next year with a target of 4,000 houses to be constructed.

•Given the ongoing debate on numbers of refugees remaining in Eastern Congo it is probable that there will be some need to continue with a reduced input in repatriation and transit sites. We will maintain an involvement in Ruanda transit near Kigali unless the government of Rwanda makes a decision to close it.

•Capacity building initiatives of local associations and local government which began in 1997 will be continued

•Development of longer term 3 year community development programmes in three areas will take place during the first 6 months of 1998.

We envisage gradually transferring more of the programming to local staff and local associations. We plan to reduce our expatriate presence in the country over the two year period and enhance, in the longer term local capacity by training in national counterparts. In 1996 we began a process of local staff development which will continue through 1998, providing training for national staff to enable them to take over more responsibility for programme management.

Summary of programme details

Unaccompanied Children and Community Support Programme

There are now 750 children in our care. Many of these are under five and hard to trace. If there are no further influxes of unaccompanied children we estimate that for 1998 we will be actively involved in the care and maintenance of 400 children and their tracing and fostering with the aim to close the centres by September/October 1998. The follow-up of reunified and fostered children will continue through out 1998.

Programme Objectives

Concern will continue to develop it programme for unaccompanied children throughout 1998. The programme objectives are as follows:

•To provide temporary shelter, care and education facilities to all unaccompanied children referred to Concern and resident in Concern centres on a transit basis

•To eliminate the use of our need for unaccompanied children’s centres resulting from the events of April 1994, and to close Ruanda, Ruhengeri and Butare centre as soon as is practical

•To reunite as many lost Rwandan children as possible with their proper families through tracing of unaccompanied children

•To find foster families for all untraceable children under 5 and group homes or host families for all children over 5 who cannot find relatives.

Prisons & Community Support

The Prison and Community Support programmes are located in 12 communes, 6 in Gitarama and 6 in Butare prefectures.

Gitarama Prefecture; 6 communes and Butare Prefecture; 6 communes

Total number of beneficiaries: 6,000 prisoners and their families

Programme Activities

Families and relatives are obliged to supply food to cachot (commune level prisons) detainees putting enormous strains on the resources of these families. Many detainees do not receive food support except for food given to them by other detainees. Concern will continue to assist in the alleviation of some of the hardship faced by detainees, their families and communities in the Gitarama and Butare prefectures by providing approximately 6,000 detainees in twelve cachots with a meal five days a week. The programme enables families to devote their time and resources to much needed agricultural production. Concern in 1997 has been carrying out small micro-projects in the communes where the cachots are located to lessen any potential negative effects of the prison support programme. In the main Gitarama prison, work with female prisoners commenced to help them to earn income to supplement their food needs.

The objectives of the programme are:

•To improve community services in the working areas though the implementation of short duration micro-projects.

•To improve the welfare of prisoners and their families through meeting the basic food requirements of prisoners in the Gitarama cachots.

•To enable women in Gitarama prison to supplement their food ration through the implementation of training in Income Generating Activities.

The continued delays in the rehabilitation of the justice system in Rwanda and the increasing numbers of detainees will probably ensure that there will be a need for this programme through 1998. We are currently in negotiation with ICRC for food for the cachots which, if successful, will reduce the monetary funding required for 1998. We do not plan to expand the programme to include more cachots at this stage as the security of our staff is an issue. We only support cachots in the communes where we have other activities.

Housing Construction

1.Recent returnees who have returned since 15 November 1996.

2.Survivors of the 1994 genocide (Rescapés).

3.Old case-load returnees.

4.Vulnerable families who have returned to Rwanda between January 1995 and November 1996.

The programme will facilitate the population to construct or rehabilitate 4,180 houses for vulnerable homeless families in 25 communes across the prefectures of Butare, Ruhengeri, Gitarama and Cyangugu. Two strategies will be used (i) building houses on resettlement sites and (ii) building or repairing houses in housing clusters. By combining these strategies it will be possible to include vulnerable families from all sectors within society in the beneficiary target group. The programme is part of a national rehabilitation programme being carried out in conjunction with the Government, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and other international and local NGOs.

Capacity Building

This programme which commenced in 1997 will continue until July 1998.

The objective of the programme is:

To improve the capacity of local government staff to assist communities and NGOs working with them in planning and monitoring development activities through the provision of appropriate equipment and training for local government staff in 4 prefectures and 9 communes.

Community Development

This programme is currently at the planning stages and it is hoped to start implementation mid 1998.

The overall goal is:

•To develop the capacity of vulnerable groups in the community, according to their identified needs, to enable them to become more self reliant.

The programme will be implemented primarily in Gitarama and Butare and to a lesser extent in Cyangugu and Ruhengeri, depending on security developments in the coming months.

Situation Report - Rwanda

28th January 1998

Insecurity in the North West of Rwanda has continued throughout January with occasional isolated incidents of violence reported from other areas. However, though these attacks appear no less frequent than they were in December 1997 there is a comparative feeling of calm. The facts are grim but there is no air of panic, patterns have emerged and it is no longer thought that these attacks are the work of renegades working in a random fashion from hideouts in the forest. The situation in Gisenyi and Ruhengeri is now recognised as not far short of guerrilla was fare, as rebels carry out organised attacks, seeming to be masterminded from across the borders in Congo.

Rwanda radio remains quiet, local staff in Kigali learn of the situation in the North West from UN and other expatriate sources. Minor incidents involving the death of 2 or 3 people are rarely reported and do not merit discussion. Repeated confirmation from the military leaders that the ‘scourge’ is almost over and perhaps a certain amount of familiarity with the situation, all add to an atmosphere of resigned acceptance and semi indifference to the ‘troubles’ in the North of the Country.

Add together the facts and the area does begin to justify the term used by one UN Human Rights Official, ‘low intensity was zone’, leading the Human Rights teams to push the UN to revert to phase 4 security for this region.

There are fewer and fewer Bourgemeistres living in their communes, many are mow operating out of the towns and visiting the population to carry out their duties on a daily basis. The Bourgemeistres have been the most frequently targeted individuals, perhaps because as petty Government officials this is an easy way to discourage and de stabilise the population.

MSF Belgium who are running a children’s centre in Gisenyi town reported in a meeting with Concern last week that they are losing at least one member of staff a week, a few have been confirmed dead the others remain missing. Attacks on houses in the night are frequent and journeys by road, i.e. to and from work, or loss of friends and relations. Minibus attacks are so frequent that the local staff now refuse to travel by local transport to Kigali.

On the 15th January the brewery bus from Gisenyi was attacked 1.5 kms outside the town, at least 34 people were reported dead though over 30 others were missing and 20 were wounded. Rebels stopped the bus, asked the people to divide into groups of Hutu and Tutsi and when they refused to separate they were all attacked. It was also reported that local people cheered on the rebels and if passengers tried to escape they were hacked down by the crowd. Two taxi minibuses were also attacked on the same day on the Gisenyi/Ruhengeri road.

During the week 5 - 9th January armed helicopters were often heard circling over the prefecture, even over the town. In some communes villagers are totally deserted as people have run to the forests to escape from this man hunt.

Earlier this week over a hundred refugee Tutsi’s, wounded in Decembers attack on a refugee camp in Gisenyi, were airlifted from the Gisenyi hospital to Kigali by UNHCR. These individuals were reported to be barely able to travel but were nevertheless moved on to Byumba to join the rest of the refugee population who were relocated after the attack. One can only assume that UNHCR officials believed the danger of staying to be greater than the danger of moving those only partially recovered.

Finally the most recent incident reported was in Kingi commune in Ruhengeri were 300-400 rebels were said to attack on Saturday 24th. Two rebels, two soldiers and 8 civilians were killed though this is generally believed to be a conservative figure.

This final attack has attracted some attention coming as it did just days after the early return of the assessment team after their failed attempt to visit all the communes of Ruhengeri on a fact finding mission. They had in fact visited Kingi on Tuesday 20th and reported the following:

•8 members of the assessment team having asked for a military escort were supplied with 22 soldiers of the highest calibre, heavily armed and each expatriate was covered by an armed guard each time they got out of the vehicles.

•Kinigi commune is said by the Bourgemeistre to have 63,000 people and an IDP population of 4,067, he said that people arrive daily at his office to seek shelter. They have no food and little likelihood of returning to their fields to harvest their crops. Three health clinics which had been operational were now reduced to one due to attacks. The assessment team visited some of the IDP population and they did seem to be in a very vulnerable situation. They were sheltering in destroyed buildings and plastic huts huddled around the commune office for protection. The commune had no food to give them but as crops in the area are good some of them did seem to be cooking.

Other general impressions from the assessment during the two days that the team were in Ruhengeri were that though crops looked promising there was fear that the population would not be able to harvest, the impression is that many people do not go home each night but their friends and relatives circulate in a small area to try to keep an eye on their crops but to avoid been ‘caught’ in their houses at night. Both Tutsi and Hutu members of the population are equally at risk, Hutus can be accused by the RPA for collaborating with rebels and Tutsi’s can be directly attacked or just caught in the cross fire.

The assessment team also noted that village resettlement sites, although newly completed and ready to provide much needed housing remain unoccupied. The population may be fearful of being too conspicuous and being trapped there though the local authorities claimed that they had run out of funds to finish the work, a fact which can be blamed partly on many international NGO’s who have withdrawn their support in the past few months.

Finally the team confirmed that the population report news of regular skirmishes and ambushes and whilst these do not often reach the scale of large confrontation and population is terrorised and the lack of access only goes to confirm this.

The assessment mission was abandoned due to lack of access via the dirt roads to most of the communes originally chosen for visiting, the team has returned to Kigali and re attempting to obtain the necessary clearance from Ministers and military officials in order to return next week. Concern has provided the only non UN member of the team, as the most active remaining NGO in Ruhengeri it was felt important to show to the people of Ruhengeri a genuine and positive gesture of interest and support, the mission should be seen as an important initiative for morale as well as information gathering.

Throughout the rest of the country there are scattered incidents, outside Kigali the failed grenade attack of a World Vision car on the 21st January, an armed robbery in Kigali on the 23rd killing 4 people and wounding 6, the death of two more people in their home in Remera (near Concern team house) on Sunday 25th and on the 23rd also a family of 12 in a suburb of Kigali were shot dead as they sat together eating dinner. The refugee population of Ruanda transit camp (run by Concern) remains partially static due to insecurity in Kibuye blocking their return home. The road between Cyangugu and Butare is still closed as insurgents are still reported to be hiding in the forest, Concern team members can only travel out of Cyangugu by plane to Kigali.

The cogs of the justice system are slowly turning, there is news of the first few trials of minors accused of genocide, we learnt of the attempted suicide in an Arusha jail of the former editor of the newspaper ‘Kangura’ accused of knowingly inciting the population to genocide and during Vice President Kagame’s recent visit to Brussels he proposed measures to solve the problem of overcrowding in Rwanda’s jails, a situation he deplored partly due to the enormous cost of running them.

Willa Addis

Assistant Country Director

Concern Worldwide

Rwanda

TROCAIRE POSITION PAPER ON RWANDA

January 28th, 1998

* * *

OVERVIEW

The recent escalation of violence and human rights abuses in Rwanda have been well documented and have provoked condemnation of the Rwandan government by the international community including United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs Mary Robinson. The starting point for any discussion on recent events in Rwanda must be the genocide of 1994 when an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were murdered. Since the genocide took place, the Rwandan government has faced the very difficult task of rebuilding a country whose fabric had been completely destroyed. Despite isolated incidents such as the Kihebo massacre of 1995, The Rwandan government in its first two years in office showed remarkable restraint given the nature and scale of the atrocities perpetrated against its own people in 1994.

With the mass return of refugees from Zaire and Tanzania at the end of 1996 many of the problems which had caused the genocide were now re-imported into Rwanda. During the past year, the Rwandan government has had to confront growing insurgency by returnees and infiltrators especially in the north-west of the country in the prefectures of Gisenyi and Ruhengeri. During operations against the rebels, the Rwandan Patriotic Army has, without doubt, used excessive military force against civilians, killing at least 3,000 during the past year. It has also detained unknown numbers of civilians in military camps where they are held in facilities not open to UN Human Rights Field Operation in Rwanda (UNHFOR) or to the International Committee of the Red Cross. These developments have led to increased polarisation of the Tutsi and the Hutu communities in Rwanda. In the north-west of the country the fear amongst the local population is so strong that many of them have been forced to flee from their homes and live in transit camps. This in turn has led to a lack of agricultural production in a part of the country which has traditionally provided a high proportion of internal food needs leading to a situation of severe food insecurity.

In the meantime, more than 130,000 people suspected of complicity in the 1994 genocide are housed in overcrowded conditions in prisons all over Rwanda. While the government of Rwanda is correct is not seeking to encourage a culture of impunity, it is also coming under increasing fire for the inhumane and degrading conditions under which prisoners are detained.

In the absence of significant movement in bringing those suspected of genocide to trial, efforts at reconciliation and peace building have been extremely difficult. However, these efforts should be actively encouraged and supported by the international community both at grass-root level through NGOs and the Church and at government level through international agencies and governments.

JUSTICE IN RWANDA

•The government of Rwanda should be commended for their efforts in establishing the legal structures which have allowed the commencement and continuance of trials against those accused of participation in the genocide. Since January 1997, over 300 defendants have been tried in the Rwandan courts under the organic law on the organisation of prosecution for offences constituting the crime of genocide or crimes against humanities since October 1990, which was enacted in September 1996. The following are statistics on the overview of results of trials so far: 36% of defendants received the death penalty, 34% received life sentences, 5% were acquitted and the remainder received prison terms. None of the 108 death sentences for genocide handed down by the national courts have been carried out.

•Despite recent progress with respect to increased access by the defendant to legal counsel, the increased appearance of prosecution witnesses in court and the continued granting of reasonable requests for adjournments, there are still serious shortcomings with respect to guarantees of the right to fair trial for the accused. The government of Rwanda must ensure that all guarantees to fair trial as set out under Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (which was ratified by Rwandan government in 1975) are ensured for all accused persons.

•The government of Rwanda must ensure that the NGO Avocats Sans Frontières (and other organisations offering to provide legal assistance) which to date has provided most legal representation for defendants in national trials are encouraged rather than hindered in their access to the provision of legal advice and representation and in particular, that ASF are permitted to accept as clients those who request their assistance.

•Donors have already made a significant contribution to the rehabilitation of the national justice system, in particular towards the training of human resources and the rehabilitation and procurement of material resources. Questions should now be asked about what has been done with this assistance and why it has not significantly speeded up the trials process. Also the Rwandan government need to be asked why it has rejected some offers of assistance from the international community. For example, in 1995-96, despite an initial agreement within the government to recruit foreign judges to work on a temporary basis in the national courts, the National Assembly rejected this idea. The Rwandan government must in the future give serious consideration to all offers of assistance and the international community must not accept weak or unfounded reasons for rejection of these offers.

•In terms of looking at the needs of the justice system and how it can be improved, the upcoming Thematic Group on Justice and Security (as follow-up to the 1996 Geneva Round Table) should be used as an opportunity by the international community to request long-term planning and prioritisation from the government. The international community should urge the Rwandan government to organise this Thematic Group as soon as possible (it was originally scheduled for 1997 but did not take place).

•Despite the progress made to date by the Rwandan judicial system, greater efforts must be concentrated at speeding up the trials process and looking at alternatives to the traditional trial system. If trials continue at their current rate, it would take over 350 years to try all those new held in prison.

•The international community should encourage the Rwandan government to consider carefully all alternative proposals on how to deal with the question of impunity, given that there are currently 130,000 persons awaiting trial in Rwanda’s prisons and cachots.

One such alternative proposed by an international agency based in Rwanda, suggests the possibility of holding joint trials in one commune or in one sector where a profile has been built up by the judicial authorities of the genocide in that particular area including in the profile the role of the actors from the national level down to the cellule level. This information could be gathered from witnesses to the genocide still living in the area. Trials could then be held in itinerant courts which would travel into the sector of commune and justice could be “seen” to be done by all. (This is a much simplified version of the proposal). Currently, trials are held on a random basis in each Prefecture, one every couple of months depending on the efficiency of the judicial authorities.

•On 31/12/97, a new law was published modifying the Rwandan Code of Criminal Procedure, by extending the deadline for release of persons without completed casefiles for another two years until December 1999. Originally the Code of Criminal Procedure provided that all persons without completed casefiles by 31 December 1997 would have to be released by that date. In effect this modification of the law legally justifies preventative detention for a period of up to 5 years.

The government of Rwanda should be urged to implement mechanisms which would prevent the holding of persons in preventative detention for an extended period of time. The use of Chambre de Conseil, which are pre-trial release hearings to determine whether the accused should continue to be held in preventative detention, should be encouraged by the Rwandan government, in particular by the Ministry of Justice. During these pre-trial release hearings, the onus is placed on the prosecuting authority to show that serious indication of guilt exist against the accused.

DEVELOPMENT NEEDS

The question of Human Rights in Rwanda needs to be addressed in the widest possible context, i.e. social, economic and cultural rather than just civil and political. Without justice there can be no development and equally without development justice cannot be sustained. Despite the problems outlined above, the Rwandan government must by supported by the international community in its development efforts in order to avoid another cycle of serious violence. Recently, it has been alarming to witness signs of genocidal tendencies re-emerging, i.e. the attack on Mudende camp in Gisenyi. The response by the RPA following this incident was also alarming. Given the seriousness of the situation, it is now more important than ever for the international community to engage with the Rwandan government. Trócaire believes that the problems in Rwanda are political and require political solutions. While NGOs have a critical role to play, they cannot act as a substitute for political engagement by international governments.

In this context, the government should continue to provide direct bilateral aid for development to the government of Rwanda in addition to working through NGOs. However, bilateral projects should be monitored very closely and reviewed regularly.

The Rwandan Government would like to increase the amount of aid received through direct bilateral assistance, and to drastically reduce the amount of aid received through NGOs. However, a balance needs to be maintained. A substantial proportion of aid should continue to be channelled through NGOs, as their presence on the ground allows them to closely monitor the implementation of projects, and the general situation in the country.

•Justice: The Government is under a lot of pressure to bring the perpetrators of the genocide to justice, and feelings are running very high on this issue. Major progress on the completion of genocide trials is a pre-requisite for reconciliation, rehabilitation and all other development efforts.

•Shelter: Apart from justice, the resolution of the housing issue is probably the most critical requirement to allow any process of reconciliation to begin, The government is insisting on providing high quality housing in new villages (often in remote locations) including the provision of piped water supplies, schools, health centres, and markets. This is a slow process. The priority should be to assist projects where individuals are rehabilitating houses on their own plots, and to provide a basic level of housing for all initially. These types of projects have worked well in the past.

•Health: Given the scale of the trauma problems, trauma counselling projects should remain a priority for the foreseeable future. A lack of adequately trained medical personnel is also a cause of concern in the general health service.

•Food Security: There is already a serious food shortage. With the current population growth rate, the country is facing another disaster in the next ten years. There is an urgent need for alternative and innovative agricultural programmes. Even these on their own will not be sufficient to resolve the problem, and the reliance on basic agriculture must be reduced. Support should be given to the development of food processing and industrial development. Consideration should also be given to support for projects such as alternative energy resources (e.g. Lake Kivu gas project, peat-fired electricity generation project for Kigali).

•Education: Basic primary education for all is essential if the mistakes of the past are to be avoided. Lack of education was a key factor in the manipulation of the population during the genocide. In particular, consideration should be given to support for education projects where reconciliation will be a key element of the primary school curriculum, as proposed by the Rwandan Ministry of Education. This policy should be extended to secondary level also.

CONCLUSION

The situation in Rwanda is a complex one which requires concerted mediation efforts by the international community.

A regional conference involving Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo should be convened to help avert another serious cycle of violence from developing in Rwanda.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1.That the Irish Government should continue to provide direct development assistance to the Government of Rwanda and to Irish NGOs working there.

2.That the Irish Government should actively engage with the Rwandan Government in addressing the problems posed by the justice system.

3.That the UNHRFOR mission to Rwanda be strengthened to unable it to carry out its mandate more effectively.

4.That a Parliamentary Delegation from Ireland should visit Rwanda as soon as possible on a fact finding mission.

5.That the international Community should actively encourage a regional conference to involve neighbouring countries in seeking to resolve the problems faced by Rwanda.

NOTE ON OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS INTERVENTIONS IN RWANDA

RWANDAN HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS

Ideally the organizations best suited to monitoring the local situation are Rwandan human rights organizations, but in the last eighteen months they have steadily lost strength and now do little to investigate and publish data on major abuses by the government.

Before the genocide, Rwanda was known for its active human rights movement, comprising five assocations. Although each had its own special interests (and some a clear ethnic identification), they cooperated successfully in a bi-ethnic coalition (Collective des leagues et associations des droits de l’homme, CLADHO) and worked well with the internationl human rights organizations.

When the killings began in April 1994, human rights activists were among the first targeted, regardless of ethnic group, and more than three dozen were slain immediately. Others were forced to hide or flee as the international community, once so enthusiastic in its support, left them alone to face the threat of extermination.

After the genocide was finished, activists took up the work once more, still loyal to the ideals if understandably disappointed in those who had preached to them about those ideals.

The groups began attempting to document the genocide, but their effort foundered on disputes among them concerning accuracy of the data they collected. These initial difficulties multiplied as some activists sought to document abuses by the RPA and the new government while others held that the government should not be criticized, particularly in the first months of its efforts to restore order. One of the organizations became clearly identified with the interests of survivors of the genocide and declined to participate in denouncing current government abuses. Activists themselves deplored suspicions which developed both among local associations and between them and international partners who doubted the independence of some of the groups.

Many of the previously reputable human rights organisations have now been infiltrated by pro-government board members and have therefore lost their objectivity.

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

International organizations provide important models for local organizations and an independent check on both local and UN human rights activities, but they remain small in scale. Human Rights Watch and FIDH have maintained a joint office in Rwanda since early 1995 with the triple objective of documenting the genocide, monitoring the current situation, and supporting the activities of local colleagues. The office is staffed by one or, sometimes, two human rights professionals. Amnesty International, which has done little to gather material about the genocide, monitors the current situation by occasional missions. African Rights, devoted solely to documenting the genocide, has abstained from any criticism of the current government. Other NGOs not specifically identified as human rights organizations have devoted some staff and resources to keeping track of the local situation. Trocaire, for example, has a staff person who follows these questions, has funded local and international human rights organizations, and has provided grants to the Rwandan judicial system.

RWANDAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONS

For several years the Rwandan Patriotic Front has maintained a human rights commission which has gathered material concerning the genocide but has done nothing to comment on current abuses. The National Assembly also has a committee on human rights that has been largely inactive. The Ministry of Justice is drafting legislation to establish a national human rights commission, whose mandate and composition remain as yet vaguely defined. Even should it be considerably more active than the other commissions, it is unlikely to prove a truly independent monitor of the government in the present circumstances.

UNHRFOR

Given the weakness of local organizations, the limits on resources of international groups and the as yet untested capability of the national human rights commission, UNHRFOR remains the organization best able to provide the comprehensive monitoring now needed in Rwanda.

Like other monitoring organizations, UNHFOR has to operate within the constraints of concern for security of its staff and of witnesses. While the temporary restrictions on staff activities imposed following the attacks and killings of UNHRFOR personnel in early 1997 were understandable, the reduction in active monitoring outside the capital left many Rwandans feeling abandoned in the face of abuses by the government and the insurgents. UNHRFOR should respond promptly to the offer by the United Kingdom to provide experts on security and should use these advisers to help re-establish a field presence in difficult areas ouside the capital.

Lack of resources and frequent changes in leadership have clearly hampered the operation of UNHRFOR, but perhaps more serious still has been inadequate support from the international community in general and from the local diplomats in particular. Like the local organizations, UNHRFOR has been subject to criticism, both official and unofficial, by the Rwandan government and those close to it. In response to such criticisms as well as to security concerns, UNHRFOR has seemed to shift resources from monitoring to other activities, such as the promotion of human rights and technical assistance to the judicial system. In this, it has paralleled the shift of local human rights organizations. While this work no doubt makes contributions to long-term improvements in human rights, it cannot replace close attention to current abuses, whether by the government or by the rebels.