Kigali: The Rwandan envoy in London has furiously dismissed the contested report of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) which among many concerns, says Rwanda is not a good neighbour to live with, an in-depth review of the report suggests.
Rwanda does not meet the requirements of the 1991 Harare Declaration which expresses the Commonwealth’s interest in international understanding, co-operation and world peace, according to the 26-page document.
As an association of both governments and people, the 53 members considered at the meet in October 1991 that the issue of inter-state relations should have considerable significance for the Commonwealth.
“It would seem that for a variety of reasons the Rwanda government, which maintains a large army, has made military incursions abroad, particularly into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)”, wrote Kenyan constitutional expert Professor Yash Pal Ghai, on page 12.
“Rwanda’s intervention has been a major source of instability in the DRC, and has caused great suffering to communities living there, particularly the eastern part”, he adds.
Professor Yash also writes that the “Rwanda government also refused to co-operate with countries where prosecuting authorities have issued warrants against its senior party or military officials for crimes against humanity”.
Rwanda’s UK Ambassador Mr. Claver Gatete who is currently in Kigali lashed out on Wednesday at the author saying he ignores crucial and wide ranging developments in his country.
On the laws against genocide ideology which the Commonwealth expert described as wanting, the Rwanda envoy says they are actually much more lenient compared to British laws against holocaust negation.
However, an official with the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative revealed to RNA Wednesday that the report obtained by the Guardian newspaper is not the final version. “We will be publishing the report, with some additions, in the coming week”, she said in an email message.
The preliminary report which RNA also obtained was apparently presented to the UK House of Lords on July 20.
It also claims that “many of what used to be independent non-government organizations are now essentially government organized non-government organizations (or GONGOs)”.
“Those remaining independent organizations often, like the media, practice self-censorship in order to be able to continue working and receiving foreign funding”, it adds on page 12.
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