Civil Society and Political Organizations of Rwanda His Excellency Mr. António Guterres United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees PO Box 2500 CH‐1211 Genève 2 Dépôt
May 20, 2011 No: 24/CSR/MK/511
Geneva, Switzerland. Ref.: Plea for no Cessation Clause of Rwandan Refugee Protection Status Your Excellency, We, Civil and Political Organizations of Rwanda and friends of Rwanda stated in the attached memo, would like to bring to your attention the urgent request of not considering the cessation clause of Rwandan Refugee Protection Status this year because of the lack of fair justice system, political space, freedom of speech, press and assembly in Rwanda. Rwanda is currently in a state of emergency. There are multiple and gross human rights abuses by the government, threatening the security of many people that it is supposed to protect in the first place. We have also elaborated some of these key topics in the attached memorandum. As organizations that include a significant number of people who continue to live as refugees or are constantly watching closely the Rwandan refugee problems as your office does on a different level, we do believe that to really tackle the Rwanda’s chronic refugee problem, it is important to understand the Rwandan refugee history since 1959, when the first massive wave of the Rwandan refugees took the road of exile in neighboring countries. Rwandan refugees were most probably among the earliest on the African continent. As often repeated in the history of refugees worldwide, unresolved refugee problems have the potential to generate violent conflict and bloodshed. In the case of Rwanda, the decades old problem culminated in the RPF invasion from Uganda on October 1, 1990. President Paul Kagame is familiar with the dangers and cost of refugee problems. He has been a refugee himself, and he led RPF’s rise to the costly military victory in 1994. He has witnessed the price of civil war, human rights abuses, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide that are now part of Rwanda’s contemporary history. Since 1994, the presence of Rwandan refugees in neighboring countries has threatened the stability of the whole Great Lakes region, with far reaching implications for international peace and security. It is subsequently very unfortunate to see President Paul Kagame, a former refugee himself, pursuing policies that aggravate rather solve deep rooted Rwandan social and political problems that have been generating refugees continuously. While on one hand he spares no effort in trying to forcefully get those refugees back home, telling the international community what they want to hear on refugees issues, on the other hand he threatens and harasses Rwandan refugees telling them through chilling words that generating refugees is simply a natural process similar to how human beings generate residues that are not necessary to their bodies1. If there is one lesson that the international community is fully aware of, it is that durable solutions to refugee problems require bold and realistic approaches to redressing internal conditions in countries of origin. Cosmetic solutions, especially those born out of coercion and manipulation of the international community, not only do not work, they could sometimes be counter‐productive, generating unintended triggers to violent conflict. 1
President’s speech in the parliament during the swearing in ceremony of high ranking military officers on April 13, 2010
OPJDR • P.O. Box 3026 • Manchester, NH • 03105 / PHONE: (603) 361‐6473 www.opjdr.org. OPJDR is non‐profit and apolitical. Its mission is to promote the respect of human rights and Cultural, educational, and economic development in the Great Lakes Region of Africa.
1
Civil Society and Political Organizations of Rwanda It is with great concern to see UNHCR looking at the prospect of applying the cessation of refugee protection status clause for Rwandan exiles by the end of 2011 while new wave of Rwandans are constantly taking the road to exile. It has to be noted that while the Rwandan government is campaigning for refugee repatriation at the time when there are many Rwandan citizens, including several senior administrative officials, political leaders and army officers who have fled and are still fleeing the country. According to Human Right Watch report2 "Victoire Ingabire, president of the FDU‐Inkingi, has faced an intensive campaign of public vilification since she returned from exile in the Netherlands in January 2010. She has been widely condemned in official and quasi‐official media and described as a "negationist" of the genocide for stating publicly that crimes committed against Hutu citizens by the RPF and the Rwandan army should be investigated and those responsible brought to justice. The Rwandan government and the RPF have strongly resisted any political opposition or broader challenge of their policies by civil society. On several occasions, the government has used accusations of participation in the genocide, or "genocide ideology " as a way of targeting and discrediting its critics. " The lack of political space in Rwanda has led to multiple key political actors and journalists to either being killed, going to exile, being tried and sentenced in absentia, or being jailed on politically motivated grounds. Leading political opponents like Ms. Victoire Ingabire, Mr. Bernard Ntaganda, Mr. Deogratias Mushayidi, Mr. Theoneste Niyitegeka and Mr. Charles Ntakirutinka as well as some of their close associates are currently in jail. We strongly urge you, Excellency Mr. António Guterres, to rather ask President Paul Kagame to work in establishing conditions that will avoid generating new refugees, and create enabling conditions that will allow voluntary and peaceful return of Rwandan refugees. Such conditions include, among others; 1) Releasing all political prisoners unconditionally 2) Immediate cessation of human rights abuses by the government 3) Organizing a genuine highly inclusive dialogue amongst all Rwandan constituents that will pave the way for a peaceful democratic transition ; 4) Creating a Truth and Reconciliation process that will aim at forging genuine reconciliation and healing among Rwandans of various backgrounds; 5) Creating a constitution that is not simply tailored to the needs of the current regime but to the aspirations of all Rwandan constituents and pave the way to establishing and respecting democratic institutions. Only through such a process, amongst others, we believe that Rwanda will be on the path of truly breaking away from its past of violent conflict and endless refugees crises. We urge the UNHCR to reconsider its position and facilitate Rwandans everywhere to continue benefiting from the Refugee protection status as conditions in Rwanda are not safe for a great majority of Rwandans to return home. We urge you to receive our request with the understanding and compassion that the plight of refugees has always received from UNHCR for decades since its birth. Please accept, Your Excellency, our highest regards and consideration. Sincerely, For the Rwandese Community Pascal Kalinganire
2
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/02/10/rwanda‐end‐attacks‐opposition‐parties OPJDR • P.O. Box 3026 • Manchester, NH • 03105 / PHONE: (603) 361‐6473 www.opjdr.org. OPJDR is non‐profit and apolitical. Its mission is to promote the respect of human rights and
Cultural, educational, and economic development in the Great Lakes Region of Africa.
2
Civil Society and Political Organizations of Rwanda Mr. Félicien NDINDABAHIZI CERCI –Cote D’Ivoire (se) Mr. Théobald Gakwaya Rwaka CNR‐Switzerland (se) Mr. Gerard Karangwa Semushi PDP‐Imanzi Netherlands (se) Théobald RUTIHUNZA RIPRODHOR (se) Mr. Léon Ngarukiye Amical‐Rwandais Danermark (se) Mr. Jean‐Baptiste Ngarambe HRRF‐Belgium (se) Mr. Jean‐Paul Mihigo RAYA‐USA (se) Mr. Pacifique Kabalisa CPCH‐Belgium (se) Mr. Elysee Ndayisaba AVICA‐Belgium (se) Mr. Etienne Mutabazi RDTJ‐South Africa (se) Mr. Ildephonse Murengezi UMUNTU‐Switzerland (se) Mr. Callixte Kanani CRES‐Switzerland (se) Mr. Jean‐Damascene Rugomboka CARP‐Netherlands (se)
Mr. Jean‐Marie Vianney Ndagijimana FEIDAR‐France (se)
Mr. Raphael Rwambonera RFIEKU‐Suede (se)
Mme. Agnes Mukarugomwa Dialogue & Convivialité – Belgium (se)
Mr. Eustache Habumuremyi Jambo‐Belgium (se)
Mr. Joseph Matata CLIIR‐Belgium (se)
Mme. Daphrose Nyirankundwankize RIFDP‐Belgium/Canada/Netherlands (se)
Mr. Gilbert NIZEYIMANA CORWABEL‐Belgium (se)
Mr. Pierre‐Claver Nkinamubanzi CRC‐Canada (se)
Mr. Theophile Murengerantwari MDPR‐Intiganda Germany (se)
Mr. Jean‐Paul Rwasamanzi AKAGERA‐RHEIN Germany (se)
Mme. Prudentienne Seward PAX‐UK (se)
Mme. Marthe‐Antoinette Balihe ARL‐Luxemburg (se)
Mr. Pascal Kalinganire OPJDR‐USA (se)
OPJDR • P.O. Box 3026 • Manchester, NH • 03105 / PHONE: (603) 361‐6473 www.opjdr.org. OPJDR is non‐profit and apolitical. Its mission is to promote the respect of human rights and Cultural, educational, and economic development in the Great Lakes Region of Africa.
3
Civil Society and Political Organizations of Rwanda CC: - Excellency Mr. Barak Obama President of United States of America
The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 - Rt. Hon David Cameron Prime Minister of United Kingdom 10 Downing Street London, SW1A2AA - Honorable M. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero Prime Minister of Spain Palacio de la Moncloa 28071 Madrid
Madrid, Spain - Hon. Ban Ki-moon Secretary-General of United Nations United Nations Headquarters First Avenue at 46th Street New York, NY 10017 - U.N. Permanent Security Council Members (all) - Honorable Mr. Herman Van Rompuy Permanent President of the European Union 48, Rue de Stassart 1050 Brussels Belgium Tel: +32.894.9320 Fax: +32.2.894.9301 - East African Community Members (All) - Honorable Mr. Jean Ping
President of the African Union P.O. Box 3243 Roosvelt Street, (Old Airport Area), W21K19 Addis Ababa‐ Ethiopia - Amnesty International - Human Rights Watch - International Crisis Group
OPJDR • P.O. Box 3026 • Manchester, NH • 03105 / PHONE: (603) 361‐6473 www.opjdr.org. OPJDR is non‐profit and apolitical. Its mission is to promote the respect of human rights and Cultural, educational, and economic development in the Great Lakes Region of Africa.
4
