Can Canada help in Ending Impunity in Rwanda?

In 1994 a genocide happened in Rwanda. For hundred consecutive days, between April and July 1994, one million Tutsi men, women and children were brutally and systematically slaughtered by the government military, militia men and citizens who had been provided with machetes. The aim was to wipe out all ethnic Tutsis in Rwanda.

Fortunately, some people managed to escape and some of them sought refuge in Canada. However, these refugees, especially the Genocide survivors, become traumatised and all the bad memories and horrible nightmares come back whenever they see or hear about those who planned the genocide or pronounced hate speeches that led to genocide, like Mr. Leon Mugesera, who lives freely in Canada.

They feel betrayed because during the 1994 Genocide, the whole world watched the situation deteriorating in Rwanda, the militiamen, live on television, cutting Tutsis into pieces, using machetes distributed by the government officials. Despite the modern high technology that allows an expeditious intervention to save human lives, nothing was done! This huge irresponsibility was later acknowledged in Carlsson Report on the independent Inquiry into Actions of the United Nations published in December 1999. This report underlined that  the failure by the United Nations to prevent, and subsequently to stop the genocide in Rwanda was a failure by the United Nations system as a whole.

Ashamed by the fact that they failed to prevent one of the most inhuman killings of our modern times, two western leaders, the USA President and the Belgian Prime Minister, apologised publicly to the people of Rwanda, especially the genocide survivors, for their failure to help them . This was a good sign but it is not enough.

The survivors and all Rwandan Genocide victims in general were expecting that the international community, including Canada, would make sure that the organisers of those crimes against humanity were brought to justice. But the pace has been very slow and as we know, justice delayed is justice denied.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda established in November 1994 by the Security Council has so far arrested around forty Rwandan Genocide suspects. These suspects were arrested and sent to Arusha, in Tanzania, from Switzerland, USA, Denmark, Kenya, Zambia, Cameroon, England, Belgium and other countries. None from Canada. Does this mean that there are no suspects in this country? For instance, in 1988, the appeal board ruling on Mr. Leon Mugesera’s case asserted that he gave a speech before 1,000 people in Rwanda in 1992 which incited violence against Tutsis and political opponents. The speech also advocated genocide, the ruling said (National Post, November 11, 1998)". However, Mr. Leon Mugesera is still living peacefully in Quebec.

I am not going to outline any recommendations because I have confidence in Canadian government. But I would like to beg the same government to check and double check the identities of Rwandan refugees who come to Canada, especially those who arrive from different camps located in Rwanda’s neighbouring countries. And also to use its highly respected image in international community so that anyone who committed genocide in 1994 appear before the court to face the justice, not only for the sake of survivors peace of mind, but also for the purpose of reminding the people all over the world that planning and putting into execution a genocide has negative effects on victims and on the planners as well. When this message will be well understood we can expect that horrible scenes such as those witnessed on televisions worldwide in 1994 in Rwanda will never happen again. As a Swiss Information Agency, La Fondation Hirondelle put it: Justice, Human Rights Respect and Ending Impunity are essential elements to Conflicts Resolution.

Thank you.

Innocent Kabenga
Email: Kabenga@yahoo.com