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14 March 2000
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14 March 2000
Afternoon
Rwanda Holds 120,000 Prisoners, Administration of Justice Slow, Official Says
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this afternoon started its consideration of a report from the Government of Rwanda on how that country was implementing the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Introducing his country's report, Canisius Kananura, Charge d'Affaires at the Permanent Mission of Rwanda to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that there were 120,000 persons still being held in prisons and communal cells. The Government had problems in dealing with the high number of prisoners in terms of accommodation and because of the slowness of justice in the country. The Government believed that there were persons in prison who should not be there, he added.
Peter Nobel, the Committee expert who served as country rapporteur to the report of Rwanda, said that according to the Commission on Human Rights’ Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, there had been serious problems in Rwanda with regard to the administration of justice. It was alleged that there had been violations of the independence of judges and lawyers in relation to the genocide trials. The judicial officers had been dismissed or forced to leave the country in fear of their lives because of interference by the military and the Government in their duties.
Among other experts who took the floor, an expert suggested that the Security Council should take disarmament measures in Rwanda similar to those in Kosovo. The expert also proposed that in order to solve the problem in Rwanda, the Government of Rwanda should grant amnesty to all, saying that "forgiveness is not forgetting".
Also participating in the discussion were Committee experts Luis Valencia Rodriguez, Gay McDougall, Francois Lonseny Fall, Agha Shahi, Raghavan Vasudevan Pillai, Regis de Gouttes, Deci Zou and Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr.
Rwanda is among the 155 States parties to the Convention and as such it is obligated to submit summaries of the efforts made to implement the terms of the treaty.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 15 March, it will hear a statement by Mary Robinson, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, before continuing its consideration of the report of Rwanda.
Report of Rwanda
The twelfth periodic report of Rwanda (document CERD/C/335/Add.1) reviews the measures adopted by the Government since the genocide took place in the country. It enumerates the measures taken to implement the provisions of the Convention on an article-by-article basis, particularly articles 1 to 7. It says Rwanda has just emerged from war and from the genocide and massacres of 1994.
The report says that Rwanda is continuing to make tireless efforts to implement the provisions of the Convention. Because the country has experienced genocide against one of the ethnic groups which make up its population, the principal challenge facing the broad-based transitional Government is to reconcile the country's three ethnic groups and to promote harmony between them. The Government is endeavouring to end the culture of impunity which gave rise to the genocide.
In addition, the report enumerates the achievements made by the Government in education, employment and the economy since the transitional Government was set up in 1994.
Presentation of Report
CANISIUS KANANURA, Charge d'Affaires at the Permanent Mission of Rwanda to the United Nations office at Geneva, said that his country had not yet totally healed from the tragic genocide in which around one million Rwandese perished. Following the genocide, the Government of National Unity, which was set up in July 1994, had to reconstruct the country and had to put in place all the social fabrics which were necessary to implement the rule of law.
Mr. Kananura said the Government of National Unity had established the rule of law which had enabled it to implement relative international instruments and other national measures, including that of the Arusha Agreement, which was designed to bring about national reconciliation. The seats of the nation's parliament had been divided among the eight political parties. Other measures had also been taken to translate Government measures into concrete realities.
Further, the Government had set up a number of commissions on national unity and reconciliation and legal and constitutional issues, Mr. Kananura said. The national unity and reconciliation commission had endeavoured to construct the country following the genocide tragedy while the legal and constitutional commission was working to determine appropriate legislative measures to be implemented.
The five-year term of the Government had ended last July, Mr. Kananura said, adding that it had been extended for another four years as a Government in transition. When an electoral commission would be established next year, the Government would prepare all the grounds for free election within the next few years.
Turning to the situation of prisoners in the country, Mr. Kananura said there were 120,000 persons still being held in prisons and communal cells. Since the justice system had been destroyed by the genocide, it now needed profound reform and reconstruction. The Government had been disturbed by the volume of the prison population and the delays in the justice system. It believed that there were persons in prison who should not be there. The Government had vested hope that the international community would assist it in overcoming the problem in that regard.
Among recent measures adopted by the Government was the elimination of the prejudice against women in matters of inheritance, Mr. Kananura said. The new law on matrimonial rights enabled women to enjoy equal right with men in matters of inheritance. About 56 per cent of the Rwandese population was composed of women and most households were made up of small children, he added.
PETER NOBEL, the Committee expert who served as rapporteur to the report of Rwanda, said that it was of the greatest importance that the State party had resumed its dialogue with the members of the Committee. The report was the first after the genocide and the unspeakable horrors that had struck the people in 1994.
Mr. Nobel said that according to the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, there were serious problems in Rwanda with regard to the administration of justice. It was alleged that there had been violations of the independence of judges and lawyers in relation to the genocide trials. The judicial officers had been dismissed or were forced to leave the country in fear for their lives because of the interference by the military and the Government in their duties.
Mr. Nobel said that about 120,000 prisoners were still being held following the genocide of 1994. He said that, an estimated 3,000 persons had died in prison in 1998 and 1,000 had died in 1999. Most of the deaths were attributed to mistreatment and bad prison conditions. Relief organizations had difficulties in helping prisoners with food and other necessities.
Other Committee experts also raised a number of questions. Many of them deplored the genocide and regretted that the Government was not speeding up the trial process involving the alleged perpetrators of the tragedy. The presence of 120,000 suspected perpetrators of the crime and the lack of effective administration of justice was also criticized by many experts.
The prison conditions in which prisoners were held were a topic on which the experts expressed their views, urging the Government to do all it could to improve the situation. The presence of about 4,500 minors among the adult prisoners was also commented on by the experts.
Many experts expressed differing views on the perpetuation of the popular justice system "Gacaca", under which elderly persons judged individuals.
An expert took the floor to suggest that the Security Council should take disarmament measures in Rwanda similar to those in Kosovo. The expert also proposed that in order to solve the problem in the country, the Government of Rwanda should grant amnesty to all. The expert said, "forgiveness is not forgetting".
* *** *
Afternoon
Rwanda Holds 120,000 Prisoners, Administration of Justice Slow, Official Says
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this afternoon started its consideration of a report from the Government of Rwanda on how that country was implementing the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Introducing his country's report, Canisius Kananura, Charge d'Affaires at the Permanent Mission of Rwanda to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that there were 120,000 persons still being held in prisons and communal cells. The Government had problems in dealing with the high number of prisoners in terms of accommodation and because of the slowness of justice in the country. The Government believed that there were persons in prison who should not be there, he added.
Peter Nobel, the Committee expert who served as country rapporteur to the report of Rwanda, said that according to the Commission on Human Rights’ Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, there had been serious problems in Rwanda with regard to the administration of justice. It was alleged that there had been violations of the independence of judges and lawyers in relation to the genocide trials. The judicial officers had been dismissed or forced to leave the country in fear of their lives because of interference by the military and the Government in their duties.
Among other experts who took the floor, an expert suggested that the Security Council should take disarmament measures in Rwanda similar to those in Kosovo. The expert also proposed that in order to solve the problem in Rwanda, the Government of Rwanda should grant amnesty to all, saying that "forgiveness is not forgetting".
Also participating in the discussion were Committee experts Luis Valencia Rodriguez, Gay McDougall, Francois Lonseny Fall, Agha Shahi, Raghavan Vasudevan Pillai, Regis de Gouttes, Deci Zou and Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr.
Rwanda is among the 155 States parties to the Convention and as such it is obligated to submit summaries of the efforts made to implement the terms of the treaty.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 15 March, it will hear a statement by Mary Robinson, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, before continuing its consideration of the report of Rwanda.
Report of Rwanda
The twelfth periodic report of Rwanda (document CERD/C/335/Add.1) reviews the measures adopted by the Government since the genocide took place in the country. It enumerates the measures taken to implement the provisions of the Convention on an article-by-article basis, particularly articles 1 to 7. It says Rwanda has just emerged from war and from the genocide and massacres of 1994.
The report says that Rwanda is continuing to make tireless efforts to implement the provisions of the Convention. Because the country has experienced genocide against one of the ethnic groups which make up its population, the principal challenge facing the broad-based transitional Government is to reconcile the country's three ethnic groups and to promote harmony between them. The Government is endeavouring to end the culture of impunity which gave rise to the genocide.
In addition, the report enumerates the achievements made by the Government in education, employment and the economy since the transitional Government was set up in 1994.
Presentation of Report
CANISIUS KANANURA, Charge d'Affaires at the Permanent Mission of Rwanda to the United Nations office at Geneva, said that his country had not yet totally healed from the tragic genocide in which around one million Rwandese perished. Following the genocide, the Government of National Unity, which was set up in July 1994, had to reconstruct the country and had to put in place all the social fabrics which were necessary to implement the rule of law.
Mr. Kananura said the Government of National Unity had established the rule of law which had enabled it to implement relative international instruments and other national measures, including that of the Arusha Agreement, which was designed to bring about national reconciliation. The seats of the nation's parliament had been divided among the eight political parties. Other measures had also been taken to translate Government measures into concrete realities.
Further, the Government had set up a number of commissions on national unity and reconciliation and legal and constitutional issues, Mr. Kananura said. The national unity and reconciliation commission had endeavoured to construct the country following the genocide tragedy while the legal and constitutional commission was working to determine appropriate legislative measures to be implemented.
The five-year term of the Government had ended last July, Mr. Kananura said, adding that it had been extended for another four years as a Government in transition. When an electoral commission would be established next year, the Government would prepare all the grounds for free election within the next few years.
Turning to the situation of prisoners in the country, Mr. Kananura said there were 120,000 persons still being held in prisons and communal cells. Since the justice system had been destroyed by the genocide, it now needed profound reform and reconstruction. The Government had been disturbed by the volume of the prison population and the delays in the justice system. It believed that there were persons in prison who should not be there. The Government had vested hope that the international community would assist it in overcoming the problem in that regard.
Among recent measures adopted by the Government was the elimination of the prejudice against women in matters of inheritance, Mr. Kananura said. The new law on matrimonial rights enabled women to enjoy equal right with men in matters of inheritance. About 56 per cent of the Rwandese population was composed of women and most households were made up of small children, he added.
PETER NOBEL, the Committee expert who served as rapporteur to the report of Rwanda, said that it was of the greatest importance that the State party had resumed its dialogue with the members of the Committee. The report was the first after the genocide and the unspeakable horrors that had struck the people in 1994.
Mr. Nobel said that according to the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, there were serious problems in Rwanda with regard to the administration of justice. It was alleged that there had been violations of the independence of judges and lawyers in relation to the genocide trials. The judicial officers had been dismissed or were forced to leave the country in fear for their lives because of the interference by the military and the Government in their duties.
Mr. Nobel said that about 120,000 prisoners were still being held following the genocide of 1994. He said that, an estimated 3,000 persons had died in prison in 1998 and 1,000 had died in 1999. Most of the deaths were attributed to mistreatment and bad prison conditions. Relief organizations had difficulties in helping prisoners with food and other necessities.
Other Committee experts also raised a number of questions. Many of them deplored the genocide and regretted that the Government was not speeding up the trial process involving the alleged perpetrators of the tragedy. The presence of 120,000 suspected perpetrators of the crime and the lack of effective administration of justice was also criticized by many experts.
The prison conditions in which prisoners were held were a topic on which the experts expressed their views, urging the Government to do all it could to improve the situation. The presence of about 4,500 minors among the adult prisoners was also commented on by the experts.
Many experts expressed differing views on the perpetuation of the popular justice system "Gacaca", under which elderly persons judged individuals.
An expert took the floor to suggest that the Security Council should take disarmament measures in Rwanda similar to those in Kosovo. The expert also proposed that in order to solve the problem in the country, the Government of Rwanda should grant amnesty to all. The expert said, "forgiveness is not forgetting".
* *** *