A historical timeline of Belgium's divisive politics in Rwanda

The Rwandan government decided to sever diplomatic relations with Belgium on Monday, March 17, after the European country “consistently undermined Rwanda, both well before and during the ongoing conflict” in DR Congo, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said in a statement. ALSO READ: Rwanda cuts diplomatic ties with Belgium Below is a historical timeline of Belgium’s divisive policies and politics in Rwanda and across the region, starting in the colonial period. 1884-1885 Rwanda had never experienced massacres between its inhabitants before the German, and then Belgian colonization, which, following the Berlin Conference from November 1884 to February 1885, led to the signing of the General Act for the Partition of Africa among Western powers. Rwanda was assigned to the German zone. Then, Germany, England, and Belgium agreed to reduce Rwanda’s borders, annexing Rwandan territories to the Belgian Congo and Uganda. 1916 In 1916, Germany was defeated militarily by Belgium over the control of Rwanda. From 1917, Belgium initiated a deep reform of Rwanda’s customary institutions. The changes introduced labor legislation including severe corporal punishments (whipping, beating,...), the categorization of Rwandans into different identity groups, the dismissal of Hutu and Twa chiefs and sub-chiefs, the introduction of identity cards with ethnic designation, the deposition of King Musinga, forcibly sent to the Belgian Congo where he died (his body has never been recovered to this day), the enthronement of his son Rudahigwa and his eventual poisoning in July 1959 when he began demanding the Rwanda’s independence, the creation of a racist party PARMEHUTU and its rise to power through an organized massacre targeting the Tutsi from November 2, 1959. 1924-1946 In 1924, then in 1946, the League of Nations and the United Nations officially assigned Belgium a trusteeship over Rwanda with obligations to “promote the political, economic, and social progress of the populations, ensure equal treatment in these areas, develop their education towards self-governance or independence, respect human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of race, sex, language, or religion.” Belgium established in Rwanda a divisionism-based political system contrary to these legal provisions. 1959-1963 To establish PARMEHUTU in power, Belgium deployed Colonel Guy Logiest to Rwanda with the status of Special Military Resident, and granted him full administrative powers in 1959. Once assured that this party monopolized the political scene, Belgium granted Rwanda independence in July 1962, which brought neither peace nor stability. The country had experienced four years (1959-1962) of unpunished massacres, including that of more than 2,000 Tutsi in Byumba Prefecture in March 1962. In December 1963, a real genocide targeting the Tutsi of Rwanda was organized with Belgium’s support. Some diplomats, missionaries, international cooperation staff, the French, Belgian, and British press, as well as the Vatican, described these killings as genocide: “Real Genocide in Rwanda” (Tribune de Lausanne, February 12, 1964) “Are We Complicit in Genocide?” (Pourquoi Pas, February 7, 1964) “‘Genocide’ Charge in Rwanda – U.N. Plans to Assist Refugees” (The Times, February 3, 1964) “Rwanda Policy of Genocide Alleged” (The Times, February 16, 1964) “Batutsi: Are They Victims of Genocide?” (The Washington Post, Times Herald, February 16, 1964), etc. 1964 On February 7, 1964, the Belgian government acknowledged the liquidation of the Tutsi and was concerned that its soldiers present in Rwanda, often at massacre sites, risked being accused of “participation in genocide.” The Rwandan army, exclusively Hutu, created by Belgium and carrying out these massacres, was supervised by Belgian military officers under the command of Major Turpin. In 1973, with the rise of General Juvenal Habyarimana to power, Belgian cooperation intensified despite the hardening of this regime on important human rights issues, including the critical problem of Rwandan refugees excluded from returning to their country. 1990-1994 In October 1990, Belgium sent a contingent of 500 soldiers in support of the Rwandan regime, alongside France and Zaire. In 1993, after the signing of the Arusha Peace Accords, Belgium contributed 450 troops to the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR). From January to April 1994, Belgium, through its intelligence service within UNAMIR and its embassy in Kigali, possessed key information on the preparations for the genocide. Belgian political parties continued to display their support for the MRND between 1990 and 1994. This support continued in refugee camps in Zaire and in Belgium after the genocide. On April 7, 1994, Belgium decided not only to withdraw its troops, thus paralyzing UNAMIR, but also conducted a very active diplomatic campaign, similar to the one it is conducting today in 2025 against Rwanda, aiming for the total withdrawal of the Mission. On April 11, Belgian troops abandoned more than 2,000 refugees at ETO Kicukiro, who were slaughtered by government soldiers and Interahamwe militiamen. Under Belgian pressure, on April 21, the Security Council decided to withdraw UNAMIR, leaving a symbolic military presence of 270 men in Rwanda. 1997-2000 In 1997, a Belgian Senate Commission acknowledged Belgium's responsibility in abandoning civilians. On April 7, 2000, Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt issued a public apology on behalf of the Belgian state during the genocide commemoration in Kigali. Rwanda believed in Belgium’s goodwill and initiated cooperation in several fields, while remaining aware of Belgium's ties with the former Rwandan regime. Resolution 2150 (2014) adopted by the UN Security Council on April 16, 2014, instructs Member States: “to learn lessons from the genocide perpetrated in 1994 against the Tutsi in Rwanda”; “Unequivocally condemns any denial of this genocide and calls on Member States to establish educational programs to engrave in the minds of future generations the lessons of the genocide, with the aim of preventing others in the future”; “Requests states to investigate, arrest, prosecute, or extradite, in execution of their international obligations in this matter, all other fugitives accused of genocide who reside on their territory, including the leaders of the FDLR.” Belgium does not respect this resolution. It is currently the main European state financing denialist networks with public budgetary support. Belgium has tried some genocide suspects. However, it continues to pursue an unacceptable policy of hostility against Rwanda, a clear partiality and adherence to the propaganda of the DR Congo Government, and deliberate indifference to the genocidal project of the FDLR, a terrorist group threatening peace and security in Rwanda and the Great Lakes region. 2025 In 2025, Belgium engages in a campaign targeting Rwanda over the accusation of involvement in the conflict in eastern DR Congo. Belgium clearly took sides in a regional conflict and continued to systematically mobilize against Rwanda in different forums, using lies and manipulation to secure an unjustified hostile opinion of Rwanda, in an attempt to destabilize both Rwanda and the region.

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A historical timeline of Belgium's divisive politics in Rwanda