Rwanda’s Ministry of Justice stopped responding to questions from Human Rights Watch in 2017 after at least seven Rwandans who the organisation claimed had been "summarily executed” for stealing goats and fruit, turned up at a press conference in Kigali puzzled and very much alive.
Perhaps Human Rights Watch’s oversize name plus the consistent lack of scrutiny on what is reported about African countries may have given them the confidence that they could get away with such deceit. Since then, there has been no Human Rights Watch staff presence in Rwanda and their regular reports are teleported from various offices around the world.
The highly political report released this week adds to Human Rights Watch’s record of presenting a distorted picture of Rwanda that exists only in their imagination. The timing shows a clear intent to derail the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with the United Kingdom by influencing the outcome of the ongoing appeal before the UK Supreme Court.
Any balanced assessment of Rwanda’s record in advancing the rights of Rwandans over the past 29 years would recognize remarkable, transformational progress. After ending the genocide, our administration has focused relentlessly on restoring hope and delivering improvements in the wellbeing of citizens, as well as restoring dignity, unity, and pride in the country. We have in fact advanced the most critical right of all, the right to life, with Rwanda’s life expectancy having more than doubled in the last 27 years: from 26.2 to 69.4 years.
We’re not surprised that Human Rights Watch wilfully ignores the facts. They’ve spent three decades skilfully and relentlessly driving an anti-Rwanda agenda that has nothing to do with protecting the rights of Rwandans.
Instead of reporting the reality, they focus on unfounded claims of discredited sources including perpetrators of the Genocide against the Tutsi, and cite cases of convicted terrorists who have killed and maimed Rwandans including women and children. In their choice of ‘‘sources’’, the organisation lays bare their intent to amplify the claims of anyone who can further their agenda, regardless of their background and credibility.
In an investigation titled "The Travesty of Human Rights Watch on Rwanda,” retired American diplomat Richard Johnson documented Human Rights Watch’s pattern of siding with anyone who advances their anti-Rwanda agenda: "Human Rights Watch’s advocacy efforts concerning the international community’s treatment of Rwandan genocide suspects outside Rwanda has been consistent with their radically negative view of Rwandan governance and justice," the publication read in part.
Mr Johnson observed that Human Rights Watch was active in providing support to genocide suspects residing in the UK trying to avoid extradition to face justice in Rwandan courts. The report also found that "Human Rights Watch’s discourse on Rwanda over the past 20 years has been viscerally hostile to the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which defeated the genocidal Hutu Power regime in 1994, and systematically biased in favour of letting unrepentant Hutu Power political forces back into Rwandan political life.”
Summing up, Richard Johnson aptly stated "Indeed, Human Rights Watch reports on Rwanda serve as a propaganda tool meant to demonise the Rwandan leadership, and the governing party of RPF [Rwandan Patriotic Front] in an effort to create a moral equivalence with génocidaire outfits like FDLR [Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda] and allied groups." Although the report was written ten years ago, his assessment of Human Rights Watch’s motivations still holds true.
It is also galling when Human Rights Watch and others question the motivation behind Rwanda’s collaboration with other countries to further peace, safety, and rights. Our government is rightly contributing to making life better for others, including by cooperating with partner states to tackle insecurity and terrorism that destroys communities and stalls much-needed development.
At a time when much of the world is challenged by conflict and terrorism, any country that contributes to tackling insecurity can only be applauded, and supported. It shouldn’t be the case that an organisation purporting to advance rights across the world consistently show themselves to be incapable of objectively assessing the policy choices or actions of the Rwandan government, even when the humanitarian motivations are obvious and backed up by the lived reality of those communities we’ve helped.
No country is perfect. But Rwanda is determined to continue working for the rights and welfare of all our citizens, and collaborating where we can, and when we are called upon, to advancing the security and progress of communities on our continent, and working with partners to solve the biggest global challenges. We will not be deterred from this work by bad-faith actors advancing a politicized agenda.
The author is the Spokesperson of the Government of Rwanda