Covering events from January - December 2003
"Disappearances", arbitrary arrests, unlawful detentions and
the ill-treatment of detainees were reported. Eighteen
prisoners were sentenced to death for crimes committed during
the 1994 genocide; no executions were carried out.
Approximately 80,000 individuals remained in detention, nearly
all of them suspected of participation in the genocide. Most
were held for prolonged periods without charge or trial, in
harsh and overcrowded conditions. Trials of genocide suspects
continued at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
(ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania. Grave human rights violations
committed in previous years by state security agents remained
without thorough or independent investigation. Several people
were detained for peaceful opposition activities.
Background
The governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
and Rwanda accused each other of not honouring the July 2002
bilateral agreement, in which the Rwandese government pledged
to withdraw its troops from eastern DRC and the DRC government
undertook to disarm and repatriate Rwandese opposition groups.
Reports of continued Rwandese involvement in eastern DRC after
its forces had officially withdrawn were denied by the
government. The Rwandese and Ugandan governments made
accusations that the other was harbouring, sponsoring and
training armed opposition movements.
The end of the government's transition program following the
genocide was marked by the adoption of a new Constitution, the
fifth since independence in 1960. The draft Constitution
contained provisions that could restrict fundamental civil and
political rights.
Information provided by the government-controlled media on key
provisions of the draft Constitution was limited. In May the
new Constitution was overwhelmingly endorsed in a referendum.
The presidential election was held on 25 August and
parliamentary elections between 29 September and 2 October.
Incumbent Paul Kagame won the presidential election with 95
per cent of the vote, while his Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF)
party won 74 per cent in parliamentary elections. Opposition
candidates and supporters faced severe intimidation during and
after the electoral campaigns. There were consistent reports
of voter intimidation before and on polling day by supporters
of the governing party.
The high proportion of women elected to parliament resulted in
part from government legislation and administrative practices
aimed at advancing the position and status of women.
'Disappearances'
A number of "disappearances" were reported, many linked to
government actions against the Mouvement Démocratique
Républicain (MDR), Democratic Republican Movement. Others who
"disappeared" were reportedly victims of criminal activities
by members of the Rwandese security forces.
Several people reportedly "disappeared" in April, apparently
because they were suspected of opposition to the government.
They included Dr Leonard Hitimana, an MDR deputy,
Lieutenant-Colonel Augustin Cyiza, former President of the
Court of Cassation and Vice-President of the Supreme Court,
and Eliezer Runyaruka, a university student and cantonal
judge in Nyamata. According to witnesses, the vehicles in
which the "disappeared" were last seen or which belonged to
them were last sighted in a military detention facility or
driven and subsequently abandoned by members of the security
forces.
Charles Muyenzi and Aimable Nkurunziza, former armed forces
officers, were forcibly returned from Burundi. They were
reportedly handed over to the Rwandese security forces on 9
November, and subsequent efforts to locate them met with no
response from the authorities. Aimable Nkurunziza had
previously received refugee status in Uganda.
Suppression of the opposition
Opposition party members and leaders were intimidated by
repeated interrogations at police stations, unlawful
detentions and death threats. A number fled the country.
Opposition party organizers were allegedly threatened and
bribed to defect to the RPF or to make false accusations
against their party's candidate. Many voters were forced or
pressured to join the RPF and attend RPF political rallies.
Civil society organizations were denounced as "divisionist" or
"sectarian". In April a parliamentary commission accused the
membership of the MDR and 46 named individuals of fomenting
"division". The leading independent human rights organization
was accused of financially supporting the MDR.
Abuses in the criminal justice system
Public confidence in the criminal justice system continued to
erode. The police frequently detained suspects unlawfully for
long periods without trial. Court decisions were not always
respected by Public Prosecutors' Offices, and defendants
acquitted by the courts sometimes remained in prison. One
third of all arrests and preventive detentions were estimated
to be in violation of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Many
officials in the criminal justice system did not have the
necessary legal training or experience. Draft laws before
parliament proposed restructuring the judicial system and
simplifying civil and criminal justice procedures to address
some of these issues.
Genocide trials
More than 450 genocide suspects were tried, significantly
fewer than in 2002. By the end of 2003 the Specialized
Chambers had tried slightly more than 8,000 suspects since
they became operational in 1996. In many cases, trials did not
meet international standards of fairness. Eighteen defendants
were sentenced to death. The sentences were not carried out.
The government, in an attempt to address serious prison
overcrowding, provisionally released more than 20,000
detainees. Most had confessed to participation in the
genocide. However, among those who did not benefit from the
provisional release were detainees whose case files contained
insufficient evidence to warrant their detention.
Gacaca
The long awaited start of gacaca trials, a communitybased
system of justice, did not begin as planned. Community members
and elected local magistrates continued pre-trial work in the
746 tribunals, which started operating in 2002. They listed
victims and suspected perpetrators, and made an inventory of
civil damages claims. The remaining 8,258 tribunals were
planned to be operational in 2004.
The tribunals were plagued by inaction by magistrates and
community members, the unwillingness of communities to provide
information and public dissatisfaction that human rights
abuses by members of the former armed opposition group, the
RPF, were excluded from their consideration. After the fall of
the government in 1994 the RPF's political wing became the
ruling party and its armed wing became the armed forces, known
as the Rwandese Patriotic Army (RPA) until renamed the
Rwandese Defence Forces (RDF) in June 2002.
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
Trials of leading genocide suspects continued at the ICTR,
which held 56 detainees at the end of 2003. Five trials
involving 20 defendants continued, three of which began in
2003. The trials of seven former government ministers began in
November. Judgments were given in five trials involving eight
suspects. By the end of the year, the ICTR had delivered 17
judgments since its first indictments in 1995.
Two suspects were arrested in the DRC and Uganda, and
transferred to the ICTR for trial. Another 16 individuals were
indicted by the ICTR but not apprehended. The US Congress
renewed its Rewards for Justice Program to assist in the
capture of those indicted.
The ICTR had accused the Rwandese government of frustrating
investigations of war crimes allegations against former RPA
members. In August, human rights groups pressed the UN
Security Council to ensure the independence and impartiality
of the Court, despite pressure by Rwanda and other states not
to prosecute RPA members for crimes against humanity that had
led the court to suspend investigations against former RPA
members in September 2002.
International justice
Other states continued to bring to trial or deport genocide
suspects under their national jurisdiction. Despite the
Belgian parliament's repeal of its legislation conferring
universal jurisdiction on Belgian courts, a number of genocide
cases that had already begun were pending before the courts.
In September the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal ruled in
the case of Léon Mugesera, accused in Canada of crimes
against humanity for making a speech inciting violence and
ethnic hatred in Rwanda in 1992. The Court found that the
speech did not constitute an explicit incitement to genocide
or a crime against humanity, and that he could remain in
Canada.
Freedom of expression
Members of the press and civil society continued to face
intimidation and harassment for criticizing the government or
armed forces. A number of journalists and human rights
activists were interrogated by the police, detained and driven
into exile. Others had to exercise self-censorship in relation
to certain subjects to avoid politically motivated repression
by the security forces.
Police arrested five journalists and the driver of the
privately owned newspaper Umuseso on 19 November, and
confiscated one edition of the paper. The journalists were
interrogated and two of them reportedly beaten, allegedly
because of an article that questioned the demobilization of
certain senior military officers. They were released without
charge after two days.
Refugees
The government continued to express its intention for all
Rwandese refugees – estimated at 85,000 – to return to Rwanda.
Tripartite agreements were signed between Rwanda, the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and host countries: the
Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Uganda,
Zambia and Zimbabwe. Many returning refugees expressed concern
about their security and the economic situation in Rwanda. In
Uganda, only 200 out of 14,000 Rwandese refugees registered
for voluntary repatriation, despite attempts by the Rwandese
government and UNHCR to persuade them that it was safe to
return.
AI country visits
AI delegates visited Rwanda in January, March, July and
August. In October AI's Secretary General travelled to the
DRC, Rwanda and Uganda to meet senior government and UN
officials, survivors of human rights abuses, Congolese human
rights activists and international humanitarian agencies.
"Disappearances", arbitrary arrests, unlawful detentions and
the ill-treatment of detainees were reported. Eighteen
prisoners were sentenced to death for crimes committed during
the 1994 genocide; no executions were carried out.
Approximately 80,000 individuals remained in detention, nearly
all of them suspected of participation in the genocide. Most
were held for prolonged periods without charge or trial, in
harsh and overcrowded conditions. Trials of genocide suspects
continued at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
(ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania. Grave human rights violations
committed in previous years by state security agents remained
without thorough or independent investigation. Several people
were detained for peaceful opposition activities.
Background
The governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
and Rwanda accused each other of not honouring the July 2002
bilateral agreement, in which the Rwandese government pledged
to withdraw its troops from eastern DRC and the DRC government
undertook to disarm and repatriate Rwandese opposition groups.
Reports of continued Rwandese involvement in eastern DRC after
its forces had officially withdrawn were denied by the
government. The Rwandese and Ugandan governments made
accusations that the other was harbouring, sponsoring and
training armed opposition movements.
The end of the government's transition program following the
genocide was marked by the adoption of a new Constitution, the
fifth since independence in 1960. The draft Constitution
contained provisions that could restrict fundamental civil and
political rights.
Information provided by the government-controlled media on key
provisions of the draft Constitution was limited. In May the
new Constitution was overwhelmingly endorsed in a referendum.
The presidential election was held on 25 August and
parliamentary elections between 29 September and 2 October.
Incumbent Paul Kagame won the presidential election with 95
per cent of the vote, while his Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF)
party won 74 per cent in parliamentary elections. Opposition
candidates and supporters faced severe intimidation during and
after the electoral campaigns. There were consistent reports
of voter intimidation before and on polling day by supporters
of the governing party.
The high proportion of women elected to parliament resulted in
part from government legislation and administrative practices
aimed at advancing the position and status of women.
'Disappearances'
A number of "disappearances" were reported, many linked to
government actions against the Mouvement Démocratique
Républicain (MDR), Democratic Republican Movement. Others who
"disappeared" were reportedly victims of criminal activities
by members of the Rwandese security forces.
Several people reportedly "disappeared" in April, apparently
because they were suspected of opposition to the government.
They included Dr Leonard Hitimana, an MDR deputy,
Lieutenant-Colonel Augustin Cyiza, former President of the
Court of Cassation and Vice-President of the Supreme Court,
and Eliezer Runyaruka, a university student and cantonal
judge in Nyamata. According to witnesses, the vehicles in
which the "disappeared" were last seen or which belonged to
them were last sighted in a military detention facility or
driven and subsequently abandoned by members of the security
forces.
Charles Muyenzi and Aimable Nkurunziza, former armed forces
officers, were forcibly returned from Burundi. They were
reportedly handed over to the Rwandese security forces on 9
November, and subsequent efforts to locate them met with no
response from the authorities. Aimable Nkurunziza had
previously received refugee status in Uganda.
Suppression of the opposition
Opposition party members and leaders were intimidated by
repeated interrogations at police stations, unlawful
detentions and death threats. A number fled the country.
Opposition party organizers were allegedly threatened and
bribed to defect to the RPF or to make false accusations
against their party's candidate. Many voters were forced or
pressured to join the RPF and attend RPF political rallies.
Civil society organizations were denounced as "divisionist" or
"sectarian". In April a parliamentary commission accused the
membership of the MDR and 46 named individuals of fomenting
"division". The leading independent human rights organization
was accused of financially supporting the MDR.
Abuses in the criminal justice system
Public confidence in the criminal justice system continued to
erode. The police frequently detained suspects unlawfully for
long periods without trial. Court decisions were not always
respected by Public Prosecutors' Offices, and defendants
acquitted by the courts sometimes remained in prison. One
third of all arrests and preventive detentions were estimated
to be in violation of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Many
officials in the criminal justice system did not have the
necessary legal training or experience. Draft laws before
parliament proposed restructuring the judicial system and
simplifying civil and criminal justice procedures to address
some of these issues.
Genocide trials
More than 450 genocide suspects were tried, significantly
fewer than in 2002. By the end of 2003 the Specialized
Chambers had tried slightly more than 8,000 suspects since
they became operational in 1996. In many cases, trials did not
meet international standards of fairness. Eighteen defendants
were sentenced to death. The sentences were not carried out.
The government, in an attempt to address serious prison
overcrowding, provisionally released more than 20,000
detainees. Most had confessed to participation in the
genocide. However, among those who did not benefit from the
provisional release were detainees whose case files contained
insufficient evidence to warrant their detention.
Gacaca
The long awaited start of gacaca trials, a communitybased
system of justice, did not begin as planned. Community members
and elected local magistrates continued pre-trial work in the
746 tribunals, which started operating in 2002. They listed
victims and suspected perpetrators, and made an inventory of
civil damages claims. The remaining 8,258 tribunals were
planned to be operational in 2004.
The tribunals were plagued by inaction by magistrates and
community members, the unwillingness of communities to provide
information and public dissatisfaction that human rights
abuses by members of the former armed opposition group, the
RPF, were excluded from their consideration. After the fall of
the government in 1994 the RPF's political wing became the
ruling party and its armed wing became the armed forces, known
as the Rwandese Patriotic Army (RPA) until renamed the
Rwandese Defence Forces (RDF) in June 2002.
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
Trials of leading genocide suspects continued at the ICTR,
which held 56 detainees at the end of 2003. Five trials
involving 20 defendants continued, three of which began in
2003. The trials of seven former government ministers began in
November. Judgments were given in five trials involving eight
suspects. By the end of the year, the ICTR had delivered 17
judgments since its first indictments in 1995.
Two suspects were arrested in the DRC and Uganda, and
transferred to the ICTR for trial. Another 16 individuals were
indicted by the ICTR but not apprehended. The US Congress
renewed its Rewards for Justice Program to assist in the
capture of those indicted.
The ICTR had accused the Rwandese government of frustrating
investigations of war crimes allegations against former RPA
members. In August, human rights groups pressed the UN
Security Council to ensure the independence and impartiality
of the Court, despite pressure by Rwanda and other states not
to prosecute RPA members for crimes against humanity that had
led the court to suspend investigations against former RPA
members in September 2002.
International justice
Other states continued to bring to trial or deport genocide
suspects under their national jurisdiction. Despite the
Belgian parliament's repeal of its legislation conferring
universal jurisdiction on Belgian courts, a number of genocide
cases that had already begun were pending before the courts.
In September the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal ruled in
the case of Léon Mugesera, accused in Canada of crimes
against humanity for making a speech inciting violence and
ethnic hatred in Rwanda in 1992. The Court found that the
speech did not constitute an explicit incitement to genocide
or a crime against humanity, and that he could remain in
Canada.
Freedom of expression
Members of the press and civil society continued to face
intimidation and harassment for criticizing the government or
armed forces. A number of journalists and human rights
activists were interrogated by the police, detained and driven
into exile. Others had to exercise self-censorship in relation
to certain subjects to avoid politically motivated repression
by the security forces.
Police arrested five journalists and the driver of the
privately owned newspaper Umuseso on 19 November, and
confiscated one edition of the paper. The journalists were
interrogated and two of them reportedly beaten, allegedly
because of an article that questioned the demobilization of
certain senior military officers. They were released without
charge after two days.
Refugees
The government continued to express its intention for all
Rwandese refugees – estimated at 85,000 – to return to Rwanda.
Tripartite agreements were signed between Rwanda, the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and host countries: the
Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Uganda,
Zambia and Zimbabwe. Many returning refugees expressed concern
about their security and the economic situation in Rwanda. In
Uganda, only 200 out of 14,000 Rwandese refugees registered
for voluntary repatriation, despite attempts by the Rwandese
government and UNHCR to persuade them that it was safe to
return.
AI country visits
AI delegates visited Rwanda in January, March, July and
August. In October AI's Secretary General travelled to the
DRC, Rwanda and Uganda to meet senior government and UN
officials, survivors of human rights abuses, Congolese human
rights activists and international humanitarian agencies.