Statement of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Mission to Rwanda

Kigali, Rwanda, 7 December 1997


I came to Rwanda as a friend of the country, having visited three times since the genocide of 1994. As a friend, I have spoken honestly in my meetings with the President, Vice President and Ministers and they have been prepared to listen and to respond honestly. I have appreciated their candour and their preparedness to continue working with my Office.

It is evident that the present human rights situation is bleak and that the methods employed by the international community as a whole and by the Human Rights Field Operation in Rwanda (HRFOR) have been wholly insufficient to facilitate improvement. This is not in any way the fault of the staff of HRFOR who face a difficult task in almost impossible circumstances and with an inadequate staffing structure.

The past has not been dealt with by the Rwandan Government in a sustainable fashion. Understandably, it has been overwhelmed by the scale of problems following the genocide of 1994 and the return of refugees over the past 13 months. There appears to be an absence of a committed policy of reconciliation and there are a number of very serious human rights violations such as arbitrary arrests, prolonged arbitrary detentions and serious overcrowding resulting in inhumane conditions of detention.

The scale of violence by Hutu extremists resulting in large numbers of killings in certain prefectures is increasing dramatically. Further arbitrary killings linked to the RPA have risen substantially in recent months. Participation, political power and decision making have become more and more concentrated.

My visit was necessary following the assessment of the human rights field mission in October and my contacts with other UN agencies.

I was aware of the vulnerability of the continued existence of HRFOR and spent two lengthy meetings persuading the Government that it is more necessary than ever that HRFOR remains for a period during which it should be radically restructured. The government welcomes the role HRFOR has in capacity building and accepts its monitoring and reporting role for a further, transitional period.

I will undertake in whatever way possible and using whatever resources available the necessary restructuring of the field mission. My priorities will be the appointment of a chief of the mission and specialist staff to develop local capacity building in the promotion and protection of human rights. I will draw on expertise in the international NGO and academic communities as well as from within the UN itself.

I will be reporting back to the Executive Committee on Humanitarian Affairs (ECHA) on the gravity of the situation, on the extent of coordination among UN agencies at the local level through the establishment of thematic groups, such as the group on Justice and Security, and on the need for a more concentrated strategy of prevention of conflict through integrating a human rights approach to issues of development, tackling poverty, education and gender issues which are so important in a society recovering from genocide.