Amnesty International Report 1999 - Rwanda

RWANDA

Thousands of unarmed civilians were killed by the security forces and armed opposition groups. There was a sharp increase in "disappearances". More than 130,000 people were detained, many for prolonged periods without charge or trial, most of them accused of involvement in the 1994 genocide. Conditions in many detention centres amounted to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Ill-treatment of detainees was reported. At least 800 people were tried on charges of participation in the genocide, some in unfair trials. At least 74 people were sentenced to death for participation in the 1994 genocide and 22 were executed. At least 12 other people were sentenced to death. At least two people were summarily executed without trial. Hundreds of Burundian refugees returned to Burundi, many apparently under duress.

Armed conflict continued, mostly in the northwest of the country, between the Rwandese Patriotic Army (RPA) and insurgent groups that included members of the Forces armées rwandaises, (the former Rwandese army), known as ex-far, and interahamwe militia who participated in the 1994 genocide. Both the RPA and the armed opposition carried out widespread, deliberate killings of civilians. The conflict caused large-scale population displacement. In the second half of the year, hundreds of thousands of people were living in camps in Gisenyi and Ruhengeri, in very poor conditions; some had reportedly been moved there by force.

In August fighting broke out in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC – see DRC entry) between Congolese armed groups and government forces of DRC President Laurent-Désiré Kabila. RPA troops were present in eastern DRC, backing the armed opposition. There were also reports of members of the ex-far and interahamwe militia fighting alongside DRC government forces.

In July the UN Human Rights Field Operation for Rwanda (UNHRFOR) withdrew from Rwanda after the government and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights failed to agree on a review of its mandate. Its activities had been suspended in May. The government had insisted that monitoring and reporting on the human rights situation be dropped from UNHRFOR's mandate, claiming that national organizations, including the newly established but not yet functional National Human Rights Commission, could take on these functions.

In April the UN Security Council adopted a resolution to reactivate the commission of inquiry set up in 1995 to investigate transfers of arms and equipment to the ex-far (see previous Amnesty International Reports). The commission's final report, issued in November, described the presence and activities of the ex-far in a number of countries, and stated that the free flow of small arms was a major cause of insecurity and instability in the region. The report asked the Security Council to reaffirm its arms embargo on the ex-far and proposed broader measures to address uncontrolled arms flows and to ensure respect for arms embargoes. However, it included no reference to grave human rights violations carried out by parties other than the ex-far and their allies, and did not mention killings of thousands of civilians by Rwandese security forces.

The government did not report on measures to investigate and bring to justice members of its security forces responsible for massacres committed in the DRC in 1996 and 1997, as requested by the UN Security Council (see DRC entry).

The Special Representative of the UN Commission on Human Rights visited Rwanda three times. His report to the UN General Assembly included recommendations to ensure that the National Human Rights Commission could be fully established and function effectively and independently.

Thousands of people, including many vulnerable people such as the elderly and young children, were unlawfully killed by members of the security forces, the majority in the context of military operations in the northwest. In some cases, soldiers were arrested for their alleged participation in such killings. However, in the majority of cases, no action was known to have been taken to bring the perpetrators to justice. Hundreds of people were killed in Mukingo, Ruhengeri, in January and February. They included more than 200 people reportedly killed by RPA soldiers in Shingiro and Muhingo on 21 January, around half of whom were young children and babies. The victims also included around 50 young men whose arms were reportedly tied behind their backs before they were shot dead. More than 120 people were reportedly killed by RPA soldiers assisted by armed Tutsi civilians in Nyabirehe, Mukingo, on 24 January. Some were killed with bayonets and knives, some had their heads crushed with large stones or rocks, and some, mainly women and children, were reportedly burned alive in their homes.

Also in January more than 300 unarmed civilians were killed by RPA soldiers in Rubavu, Gisenyi, including more than 200 killed at Keya, Muhira. The victims included Emmanuel Rutikanga, a judicial official, his wife Thérèse Mujawayezu, a primary-school teacher, and their four children. On 12 May around 150 civilians were reportedly killed by RPA soldiers in Birembo, in Giciye, Gisenyi. The victims included elderly people such as Rubyeyi, aged 84, and children such as Uwamahoro, aged nine. In mid-July around 250 civilians were reportedly killed by RPA soldiers at Nanga, Nkuli, Ruhengeri. The victims included entire families who happened to live in the area; the RPA soldiers reportedly accused them of supporting the armed groups. Some of the victims' bodies were thrown into nearby latrines.

Seth Sendashonga, former Minister of the Interior in Rwanda and leader of a Rwandese opposition party in exile, was shot dead in Kenya in May. The assassination was believed to be linked to his criticisms of the Rwandese government and his denunciation of human rights violations in Rwanda (see Kenya entry).

Armed opposition groups carried out many deliberate and arbitrary killings of unarmed civilians. On 19 January around 40 people were killed in an attack on a bus carrying workers of a brewery in Gisenyi. Many of the passengers were trapped and burned alive after petrol was poured over the bus and set alight. Others were shot dead as they tried to escape. On 5 February more than 40 civilians were killed by an armed opposition group in Jenda, Nkuli, Ruhengeri; the victims included Sebahutu, Mucocori, Nzabarinda and Gaudence. The following night, up to 60 people were killed with machetes, bayonets and knives at a settlement of displaced persons at Byahi, Gisenyi. In June at least 25 people were killed at Nkamira, Gisenyi, at another settlement of internally displaced persons.

People perceived as collaborators with the authorities were also among those targeted by armed opposition groups. Charles Komeza and his wife Laurence Nyirampundu, both in their seventies, were among nine people killed in Nyabikenke, Gitarama, in March. Both their bodies were reportedly found decapitated.

There were reports of hostage-taking by armed opposition groups. On 19 September, after an unsuccessful attack on a military position, an armed group reportedly abducted several people in Birembo, in Giciye, Gisenyi, and killed at least one of them, Mavugabandi.

There were many cases of killings of civilians where the identity of the perpetrators remained unknown or where there were contradictory reports about who was responsible. On 16 August, 14 people were killed by unidentified perpetrators in Nyamagana, near Ruhango, Gitarama. The victims included the wife and children of Emmanuel Gasana – an Anglican pastor who had recently been released from prison – and Joseph Karamage, another pastor and a school official. On 12 July at least 34 people were killed in an inn at Tare, in Rural Kigali, where people had gathered to watch a football match. Some were shot dead, others were stabbed or burned to death. The attack was widely reported as having been carried out by an armed opposition group. However, several eyewitnesses claimed that the assailants were RPA soldiers.

The number of "disappearances" rose sharply during the year. Many of the "disappeared" were presumed dead. Others were believed to be held in detention centres to which access was denied. In the vast majority of cases, no conclusive investigation was known to have been carried out. Ladislas Mutabazi, prosecutor of Gisenyi, was reportedly last seen on 18 January with an RPA soldier at Base, near Ruhengeri, where he was visiting relatives. Investigations were launched by the Ministry of Justice and the gendarmerie, but their results were not known. Onesphore Byampiliye, a businessman, was led away by RPA soldiers in Rubavu, Gisenyi, on 28 June. He was never seen again. His wife, Immaculée Twagiramariya, was reportedly killed by soldiers the following day.

Scores of people "disappeared" in Umutara in the east in late December 1997 and January 1998. The victims were mostly former refugees in Tanzania who had returned to Rwanda in late 1996. They were reportedly rounded up from various locations and taken away by RPA soldiers assisted by local Tutsi civilians. The victims included Abraham Ndumviriye, aged around 80, his two sons, Joseph Tegeri and Seth Rwamirera, and their wives and children.

More than 130,000 people were detained in civilian prisons and detention centres across Rwanda, most of them awaiting trial on accusations of participation in the 1994 genocide. In addition, an unknown number were detained in military detention centres to which access to families and other visitors was denied. In October the Minister of Justice announced that around 10,000 detainees who did not have a case file would be released; a few hundred had been released by the end of the year. Several thousand detainees indicated their willingness to confess under the plea-bargaining system.

In many detention centres, conditions amounting to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment continued to cause serious health problems and led to deaths of detainees.

Cases of torture or ill-treatment were reported, usually at the time of arrest and interrogation, and during detention in the cachots communaux (local detention centres) and military detention centres. Tharcisse Rusagara, director of a primary school in Bicumbi, Rural Kigali, was reportedly beaten on the arm and back by soldiers with rifle butts after his arrest in February. Another man testified that he was badly beaten all over his body in a local detention centre in Kicukiro in Kigali town after his arrest in January; he was initially denied access to medical treatment for injuries caused by the beatings.

At least 800 people were tried on charges of participation in the 1994 genocide. Although certain aspects of the trials were better than earlier trials (see previous Amnesty International Reports), most defendants continued to be denied a trial within a reasonable time. More witnesses testified during trials than before, but securing the presence of witnesses remained difficult, especially for the defence. More defendants had access to lawyers than in 1997, but this access mostly remained limited to trial and post-trial phases. Most trials taking place in areas of armed conflict proceeded without lawyers, who would generally not risk travelling there. Legislation establishing a compensation fund for the victims of the genocide was adopted, although victims still awaited compensation. The work of the Court of Cassation became paralysed after the suspension of several judges, including the Court's President, who subsequently resigned.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) based in Arusha, Tanzania, announced its first judgments. Among those sentenced was Jean Kambanda, former Prime Minister in the interim government at the time of the genocide, who received life imprisonment after pleading guilty to six charges including genocide and crimes against humanity. Jean-Paul Akayesu, a former local official, was also sentenced to life imprisonment. By the end of the year, 32 people were held in Arusha.

At least 74 people were sentenced to death by the national courts for their role in the genocide. On 24 April, 22 people were executed in public, the first executions of people found guilty of participation in the genocide. Several of them had received an unfair trial, including Silas Munyagishali, former assistant prosecutor of Kigali, whose arrest may have been politically motivated and in whose trial defence witnesses had been threatened and effectively prevented from testifying. Déogratias Bizimana and Egide Gatanazi, two of those executed, had no access to a defence lawyer (see previous Amnesty International Reports).

Four RPA soldiers were sentenced to death in January by a military court of appeal in connection with the assassination of Captain Théoneste Hategekimana in 1997; they had initially been sentenced to life imprisonment (see Amnesty International Report 1998). The same month two RPA soldiers accused of murder, Gaspard Mutabazi and Emmanuel Rutayisire, were summarily executed in public in Ruhengeri and Gisenyi without a trial. In November a military court confirmed the death sentences of RPA Captain Godfrey Ntukayagemo and Corporal John Simbaburanga, convicted of the murder of two women in August.

In May, six people were sentenced to death in Cyangugu in connection with the killing of five members of UNHRFOR in 1997 (see Amnesty International Report 1998).

Hundreds of Burundian refugees returned home from Rwanda. Many appeared to have been coerced into returning to Burundi despite widespread human rights abuses there. It appeared that many refugees' decision to return was motivated primarily by unfavourable factors in Rwanda, including ill-treatment and threats by the security forces and harsh conditions in the refugee camps.

Amnesty International raised its concerns with the authorities throughout the year. In June it published a report, Rwanda: The hidden violence – "disappearances" and killings continue, based in part on the findings of an Amnesty International visit to Rwanda in February. During the visit, Amnesty International delegates discussed human rights concerns with senior government and military officials.

In April Amnesty International published International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda: Trials and tribulations, which expressed concern about several aspects of the ICTR's work, including a weak witness protection scheme. In September Amnesty International welcomed the first judgments of the ICTR, but regretted that it had taken the ICTR so long to issue them.

Amnesty International campaigned for the UNHRFOR to be allowed to remain in Rwanda and for monitoring and reporting to remain in its mandate.

Amnesty International welcomed the resumption of the work of the UN commission of inquiry into arms transfers to the ex-far and recommended that the commission's mandate be broadened to cover arms transfers to other armed groups as well as to security forces in the Great Lakes region, in recognition of the fact that grave human rights abuses were being carried out by all parties.