A leading British NGO, Aegis Trust, which campaigns to prevent Genocide world-wide, is pushing for the amendment of the UK Law which punishes Genocide suspects and suspects of crimes against humanity.

According to the group, there are two particular "impunity gaps” in UK law preventing prosecution for international crimes.

Firstly, the prevailing British law cannot punish those suspected of Genocide, crimes against humanity and most war crimes cannot be prosecuted in the UK if they were committed before 2001.

It also protects non-residents who include; students, tourists or asylum seekers, without residence status, who cannot be prosecuted if they committed such crimes after 2001.

According to Freddy Mutanguha, an official of Aegis Trust in Rwanda, his organization has proposed amendments which have been presented to the UK parliament.

The proposals aimed at closing the current loopholes, seek to strengthen current British legislation; including proposed amendments to the International Criminal Court Act that would close the loopholes currently benefiting war crimes suspects in the UK.

 "Aegis Trust is not happy with this law and that is why it has drafted this document in order to have it amended,” said Mutanguha on the phone, with The New Times, yesterday.

"This law has loopholes which allow Genocide fugitives to walk freely in the UK hence making the country a safe haven for people who have committed heinous crimes around the world.”

Mutanguha, further explains that among the fugitives who have been saved by the loopholes in the law, are Felicien Kabuga a mastermind of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

"In 1999, Kabuga traveled to almost three continents. He traveled through Madagascar, went to Belgium, proceeded to France and entered the UK where he came from and went back into Kenya,” he explained.

The Aegis Trust, report examines 18 cases, including those of suspected Genocidaires from Rwanda, alleged torturers from Zimbabwe, Iraq, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and alleged war criminals from Afghanistan, Sudan, Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka.

Mutanguha says that there is much hope that this law will be amended because most MP’s have shown support for the particular amendment.

"There is much hope that this law might be amended because a big number of MP’s are in support of it, however the United Kingdom government is reluctant on this issue but we hope that it will yield good results.”

In April this year, a UK court released four suspects of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, due to the loopholes in the UK law to prosecute them and it also overturned a ministerial extradition order out of alleged that fears they (suspects) would not get a fair trial in Rwanda.

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