COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION EXAMINES SITUATIONS IN RWANDA AND THE CONGO

AFTERNOON
HR/CERD/99/11
5 March 1999




Experts Voice Preoccupation Concerning Conditions of Detention in Rwanda


The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this afternoon considered the situation in Rwanda and the Congo.

The Committee considered the situation in Rwanda under its early warning measures aimed at preventing existing problems from escalating into conflicts. In recent practices, the Committee may decide to initiate urgent action procedures aimed at responding to problems requiring immediate attention to prevent or limit the scale or number of serious violations of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Canisius Kananura, Chargé d'Affaires of the Permanent Mission of Rwanda, told the members of the Committee that the Government of Rwanda had taken measures that could strengthen harmony among the different ethnic groups.

Theodor van Boven, the Committee expert serving as country rapporteur for the situation of Rwanda, said that effective actions to prevent further violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms should be at the centre of concerns in Rwanda. In addition, the strengthening of human rights components was indispensable to national reconciliation and reconstruction in Rwanda, he said.

Also this afternoon, the Committee considered the situation of the Congo, whose initial report, due in 1989, was never submitted. After hearing the presentation of Committee expert Shanti Sadiq Ali, who served as country rapporteur for the situation of the Congo, the Committee decided to issue concluding observations and recommendations on the situation of the Congo at the end of its three-week session.

The following Committee experts also participated in the discussion: Régis de Gouttes, Michael Parker Banton, and Eduardo Ferrero Costa.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Monday, 8 March, it will discuss the situation Yugoslavia under its early warning measures and urgent action procedures, in the presence of the delegation of that country.

Discussion on Situation of Rwanda

CANSISIUS KANANURA, Chargé d'Affaires, Permanent Mission of Rwanda in Geneva, said he regretted that the periodic reports of his country were not submitted on time. He attributed the delay to the problem created by conflicts and the 1994 massacre. He said that according to the World Bank report, the rate of poverty in the country had increased since 1985, presently affecting 70 percent of the population. However, his Government had put more effort in overcoming the economic situation. In addition, it had taken measures to bring all the ethnic groups together in harmony and to ensure all citizens fully enjoy their rights on an equal basis.

Mr. Kananura said that the country's Constitution recognized the equality of all citizens before the law. The right of individuals to property was guaranteed by the organic laws of the country. In addition, the country's penal and labour codes, among others, had devoted several provisions to ensure the principle of non-discrimination. At present, the transitional national assembly was considering a draft law which would guarantee gender equality.

Mr. Kananura said that the separation of State powers was guaranteed.
Human rights are guaranteed by the constitution and by international instruments to which Rwanda is party. He added that a law was promulgated on 30 August 1996 to prevent any massacre from taking place in the future.

THEODOOR VAN BOVEN, the Committee expert who served as country rapporteur for the situation of Rwanda, the effective actions to prevent further violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms should be a central and integral element of Rwanda. In addition, the strengthening of human rights components was indispensable to national reconciliations and reconstructions in Rwanda.

Mr. van Boven said that the continuing concern of the security situation in the country was closely linked with the whole situation of the region. The establishment of the rule of law was difficult because of the sentiments of ethnic and racial motives. The lack of competent and adequate human and material resources were also other problems.

Mr. van Boven further said that in its previous recommendations, the Committee had welcomed the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission in Rwanda and had called for the nomination to include from a broad cross-section of society. He also recalled that the Committee had expressed its concern about the slow pace of national genocide trials and the legal deficiencies, including significant due process concerns. Mr. van Boven added that the Rwandan authorities were reluctant to accept international monitory.

In conclusion, Mr. van Boven thanked the Rwandan representative for coming to the meeting and answering some of the experts' queries. However, he said that regular submission of periodic reports were essential to facilitate the work of the Committee. He stressed that the situation in Rwanda was still of great concern.

Other Committee members also raised questions on such issues as slowness of the administration of justice, the situation of crowed prison population, and conflict surrounding the country. One expert recalled that in August 1998, the Committee had already requested the Government of Rwanda to rectify the Hutu under-representation in the major political and social institutions. The expert also queried the delegate concerning the relationship that existed between the Rwandan judicial authorities and the International Criminal Court for Rwanda, recalling that the Committee had already invited Rwanda to cooperate with the Court. The expert further queried the delegate on the functioning of the National Human Rights Commission and the condition of persons detained in relation with the crime of genocide.

Discussion on the Situation in the Congo

SHANTI SADIQ ALI, Committee expert who served as country rapporteur for the situation in the Congo, said that despite several cease-fire and draft agreements put forward by an international mediation committee, negotiations failed because here was no agreement on whether or not the actual President of Congo's mandate, due to end in August, should be extended. She said that the fighting ended in October 1997 when Denis Sassou Nguesso took power as President, with the help of Angolan troops who intervened in Brazzaville, and who also occupied the port city of Pointe Noire.

Mrs. Sadiq Ali said that according to the Congolese Human Rights Observatory Post, since the arrival of the new authorities, more than a hundred summary executions had been carried out, several arrests and detention took place beyond all legal and judicial limits. In addition, minority Pygmies faced severe discrimination in employment, health services and education. Citizens sometimes resorted to vigilante justice, killing those presumed to be thieves and "sorcerers".

Mrs. Sadiq Ali further said that since August 1998, hundreds of unarmed civilians were reported to have been killed in the context of fighting between the "Ninjas faction" and Government forces in the Pool region of southern Congo as well as in Brazzaville. Thousands of people had been forced to flee their homes into forests in the Pool region and as many as 15,000 were reported to have fled to neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo. Quoting Amnesty International, Mrs. Sadiq Ali said that no one had been brought to justice for the abuses of human rights and no independent and impartial investigation was ordered into the human rights abuses committed in the country.

In absence of any report from the Government of the Congo, the Committee decided to issue concluding observations and recommendations on the situation of the Congo.