Rwanda's Commonwealth hopes dented by human rights criticism

By Xan Rice
guardian.co.uk
July 19, 2009
Nairobi, Kenya

The following correction was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, Wednesday 22 July 2009.

In the article below we said that Rwanda was colonised by Belgium. It was colonised by Germany in the 1880s, with Belgium taking over under a League of Nations mandate after the first world war.
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Rwanda's suitability for Commonwealth membership this year has been questioned because of its human rights record.

Harsh laws banning "genocide ideology", harassment of independent journalists and military intervention in Democratic Republic of Congo make Rwanda's accession "ill-advised", according to a report released today by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), a non-government organisation.

Rwanda's application to join the 53-member English-speaking organisation will be considered at the Commonwealth summit in Trinidad and Tobago in November. Its bid is being strongly supported by the UK and African countries.

A historically Francophone country, Rwanda was colonised by Belgium and later enjoyed close ties to France. That changed after the 1994 genocide, with the new Rwandan government accusing France of providing weapons and training to the Hutu militias responsible for the 100-day massacres. Relations soured further after a French judge accused the Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, of downing the plane carrying Juvénal Habyarimana, the former president, sparking the genocide.

Besides cementing the separation from France, Kagame believes Commonwealth membership will offer economic, cultural and political benefits. Most members have historical ties to the UK but exceptions are made as in the case of Mozambique, the former Portuguese colony, which was admitted in 1995. The CHRI gives Rwanda's government credit for spending on health and education over the past 15 years. Half the legislature is female – the highest rate in the world – corruption is low, and the work ethic of government officials puts neighbouring countries to shame.

Kagame's admirers include Tony Blair, who acts as an unpaid advisor on governance and describes Rwanda as "one of Africa's most remarkable success stories".

But the CHRI, whose report was prepared by Professor Yash Pal Ghai, a Kenyan constitutional expert, said Rwanda's governance was wanting and its human rights record was "very poor". It said Rwandan troops had carried out abuses during three incursions into Congo, and that the Gacaca (community justice) courts established to try genocide suspects violated international norms. Rwanda, which has promoted cricket and introduced English into schools to push its Commonwealth credentials, rejected the accusations.

"We have made phenomenal progress that surpasses many Commonwealth countries that did not go through a small fraction of what Rwanda went through," said Joseph Kabakeza, from the foreign affairs ministry.

Related Materials:
Rwanda defends rights record over Commonwealth bid

Report on Rwanda s Application for Membership of the Commonwealth