(This report covers the period January-December 1997)

Thousands of unarmed civilians were deliberately killed; some were extrajudicially executed by government soldiers, others were deliberately and arbitrarily killed by armed opposition groups. Critics of the government were arrested and harassed, or killed in circumstances suggesting extrajudicial executions. More than 130,000 people were detained, most in connection with the 1994 genocide. Most were held without trial. Many of the trials that were held were unfair. Most were held in conditions amounting to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; many died as a result. Torture or ill-treatment of detainees, leading to scores of deaths, were reported. Scores of people “disappeared”. At least 111 people were sentenced to death, but no executions were reported. The government forcibly returned hundreds of refugees to Burundi.

The government of President Pasteur Bizimungu faced intensified armed conflict, particularly in the northwest. Government soldiers of the Rwandese Patriotic Army (RPA) fought against armed opposition groups believed to include members of the former Rwandese armed forces and interahamwe militia responsible for many massacres during the 1994 genocide. Both sides committed gross human rights abuses.

Growing insecurity forced the UN Human Rights Field Operation for Rwanda (UNHRFOR) to withdraw staff from western areas. Five of its members were deliberately killed (see below). Other agencies, including the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, were also forced to reduce their programs.

Despite reports from UNHRFOR on the significant increase in killings of unarmed civilians, little action was taken by the international community to address the deteriorating human rights situation.

The UN Commission on Human Rights replaced the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Rwanda with that of Special Representative, who visited Rwanda in July.

Following a visit to Rwanda in December, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a statement highlighting the gravity of the human rights situation, in particular the substantial increase in killings by armed opposition groups and by the RPA, arbitrary arrests and inhumane conditions of detention.

In December the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution reaffirming the need to complete a case file for every detainee in Rwanda and to improve conditions of detention.

The third report of a UN commission of inquiry into transfers of arms and matériel to the former Rwandese government forces (see Amnesty International Report 1996), which had been submitted in October 1996, was finally made public in December. It included a series of recommendations on preventing further arms transfers to these forces and recommended that the UN Security Council urge Rwanda to take all possible measures to create a climate conducive to the harmonious reintegration of refugees in order to encourage their return in safety and dignity. The UN Security Council did not follow up on the work of the commission of inquiry or implement its recommendations.

Thousands of people were extrajudicially executed by government soldiers. Unarmed civilians, including young children and elderly people, were often killed by RPA soldiers in reprisal for armed opposition attacks, especially in the northwest. In January, 28 unarmed local residents were killed by RPA soldiers during a military search operation in Nyamugali, Ruhengeri. Twenty-four reportedly died after being herded into a building into which soldiers threw a grenade.

Between 9 and 11 May, at least 1,430 unarmed civilians, including more than 90 children, were reportedly killed by RPA soldiers in Nkuli, Ruhengeri, after clashes between soldiers and armed opposition fighters. Around the same period, 423 people were reportedly killed in neighbouring Nyamutera, 123 of whom allegedly burned to death in houses which were deliberately set on fire. In late October many unarmed civilians, estimated to number several thousand, were reportedly killed by RPA soldiers in a large cave at Nyakimana, in Kanama, Gisenyi. The total number of victims could not be confirmed as there were no independent investigations at the site.

Scores of unarmed civilians were killed in churches. In June RPA soldiers reportedly killed at least 120 people inside a Protestant church in Karago, Gisenyi. They went on to attack the houses of two community leaders and reportedly killed a further 38 people in their homes, including an 85-year-old man and a 90-year-old woman.

Many of those killed were former refugees who had been forcibly returned from the former Zaire and Tanzania in late 1996. They included soldiers of the former Rwandese army and their families. Jean de Dieu Bizabarimana, a major in the former Rwandese army, his wife , their children and several neighbours _ 16 people in all _ were killed in their home in Nyarutovu, Ruhengeri, in January.

Scores of detainees were killed by members of the security forces, who often claimed the victims had been shot while trying to escape. In several incidents witnesses reported that soldiers took detainees away and shot them dead. At least 95 detainees at Rubavu detention centre in Gisenyi were reportedly killed by the security forces in August.

Two men accused of murdering a local official were publicly and summarily executed by RPA soldiers in Karengera, Cyangugu, in January.

Hundreds of unarmed civilians were deliberately and arbitrarily killed by armed opposition groups. In January a group of armed men reportedly killed at least 24 Tutsi civilians in Kinigi, Ruhengeri. Most of the victims were reportedly killed in their homes. They included a 70-year-old man and at least five children. In April a group of armed men attacked several educational institutions in Satinsyi, Gisenyi, killing 22 people; 16 were female students shot dead in a school dormitory. In August at least 130 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) were killed during an attack by members of an armed opposition group on Mudende camp, in Mutura, Gisenyi; the victims included young children who were killed as they slept. Most were killed with machetes and clubs. Around 300 refugees were killed in a second attack on Mudende camp in December.

In many other cases, those responsible for killing unarmed civilians remained unidentified. In February four men, including Vincent Nkezabaganwa, President of the Council of State and Vice-President of the Supreme Court, were killed by armed men in military uniform in Kigali, the capital.

    Several government critics were killed in circumstances suggesting that they may have been extrajudicially executed; others were arrested and harassed. In January Evariste Burakali, a National Assembly member for the Parti libéral, Liberal Party, was shot by soldiers in Rutare, Byumba; he died from his injuries the same night. In April Appollos Hakizimana, a journalist working for an independent newspaper, Intego, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Nyamirambo, in Kigali. He had previously been arrested, ill-treated and threatened on several occasions because of the critical views he had expressed as a journalist (see Amnesty International Report 1997). Amiel Nkuriza, director of Intego, was arrested a few days after the murder of Appollos Hakizimana. He was held in prison in Kigali awaiting trial at the end of the year. He had been arrested and threatened with death on several previous occasions (see Amnesty International Report 1997).

    Several employees of international organizations were killed. In January three Spanish employees of the non-governmental organization Médicos del Mundo (Doctors without borders) were shot dead at their home in Ruhengeri. In February five members of UNHRFOR were ambushed and killed by armed men in Karengera, Cyangugu. In June two employees of the World Food Program (WFP), Jean de Dieu Murwanashyaka and Didace Nkezagera, and Didace Nkezagera's wife, young child and another relative were killed in Ruhengeri. Circumstances suggested that they had been killed by RPA soldiers. Didace Nkezagera had reportedly been questioned by soldiers about the WFP's work in the region on three consecutive days prior to his death. Jean de Dieu Murwanashyaka was taken by soldiers to an unknown destination; his mutilated body was found four days later.

    In September four RPA officers were sentenced to 28 months' imprisonment by a military court for their role in the massacre of at least 110 civilians in Kanama, Gisenyi, in September 1995 (see Amnesty International Report 1996). In November, four RPA soldiers were sentenced to life imprisonment for their role in the assassination in October of Captain Théoneste Hategekimana, a member of the former Rwandese armed forces who had been integrated into the RPA. In December six RPA officers were given sentences ranging from 44 months to five years' imprisonment for their role in the killing of several hundred people during a military operation in Kigombe, Ruhengeri, in March.

    More than 130,000 people, most accused of participating in the 1994 genocide, were held in civilian prisons and detention centres throughout the country; an unknown number were held in military detention centres, to which human rights and humanitarian organizations were usually denied access. Many were held without charge and most without trial. Many of those arrested were returned refugees. Among them were around 97 former Rwandese soldiers forcibly returned from Gabon in August, who were held in military custody at an undisclosed location and denied access to humanitarian organizations. Some people appeared to have been arrested because their relatives had served in the former government or army; others were held in the context of property disputes. In many cases, accusations that detainees had been involved in the genocide remained unsubstantiated. Many arrests appeared to be arbitrary and many detainees did not have case files. More than 2,000 prisoners were reportedly released following the government's announcements that it would release minors, the elderly and the sick.

    Trials of people accused of participating in the 1994 genocide continued (see Amnesty International Report 1997). At least 320 people were tried of whom at least 111 were sentenced to death. Many of the earlier trials were grossly unfair; some defendants were denied defence lawyers and many were denied adequate time to prepare their defence. The conduct of trials improved in some respects during the year; a greater number of defendants had access to lawyers, requests for adjournments were granted more frequently, and witnesses began appearing in the courts. However, in at least one trial a defence witness failed to return to court after being threatened following her initial appearance. Other defence witnesses asked to submit their testimonies in writing as they were afraid of appearing in court, but their requests were rejected. Most defendants in trials in the western regions did not have access to legal counsel as widespread insecurity prevented lawyers from travelling there.

    The trials of four individuals accused of participating in the genocide began at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania. By the end of the year the ICTR had issued 22 indictments against 35 individuals and was holding 23 detainees at its detention centre in Arusha, but no trials had been completed. Despite some changes in personnel, there were continued concerns about delays in proceedings, weaknesses in the protection of witnesses and lack of experienced staff. The first ever charges relating to sexual violence were laid against a defendant at the ICTR. The UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women visited Rwanda and Arusha in October to study gender issues relating to the ICTR.

    Detainees in Rwanda were frequently beaten with sticks during arrest or soon after while held in detention centres. Scores of deaths in detention as a result of torture or ill-treatment were reported. In February, 12 detainees died in Rusumo detention centre, Kibungo; they had allegedly been beaten and then denied water and medical care. Many detention centres and prisons were seriously overcrowded and lacked basic hygiene and medical facilities. Many deaths in custody as a result of conditions which amounted to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment were reported.

    Scores of people were reported to have “disappeared”. In January around 20 people, including refugees who had returned from Tanzania, “disappeared” in Rusumo, Kibungo, after being arrested by a local government official. Innocent Murengezi, a lawyer, “disappeared” in Kigali in January. He had reportedly been threatened several times because of his work defending some of those accused in genocide trials. His whereabouts were unknown at the end of the year and he was feared dead. Many refugees who had returned from the former Zaire in late 1996 were reported “disappeared” or missing.

    At least 111 people were sentenced to death. The Court of Appeal rejected several appeals, including those of Deogratias Bizimana and Egide Gatanazi, the first two people to be tried for participating in the genocide (see Amnesty International Report 1997); their sentences were confirmed. No judicial executions were carried out.

    Hundreds of refugees returned to Burundi, where their lives were at grave risk. Many appeared to have returned under duress. Refugees in Musange transit centre in Butare were reportedly threatened by Rwandese security officials to make them leave. Many of the more than 1,700 refugees in Kigeme, Gikongoro, who returned to Burundi in late August and early September were reportedly coerced into returning.

    Throughout the year, Amnesty International appealed to the authorities to ensure respect for human rights. In January Amnesty International published Rwanda: Human rights overlooked in mass repatriation, which called for long-term monitoring of the human rights situation in Rwanda and an end to forcible repatriations until the country was safe.

    In April it published a report analysing the genocide trials, Rwanda: Unfair trials _ justice denied, to which the Ministry of Justice issued a public response. Amnesty International published Rwanda: Ending the silence, documenting the escalation of killings and other human rights abuses, and appealing for action by the Rwandese authorities, armed opposition groups, foreign governments and the international community, in September; and Rwanda: civilians trapped in armed conflict, which documented the further increase in killings of unarmed civilians, in December.

    Amnesty International delegates undertook research in Rwanda and observed trials of those accused of participation in the genocide.

    In July Amnesty International called on the South African Government not to resume the supply of light weapons and related military equipment to Rwanda, as such equipment would be likely to contribute to further human rights abuses.     Amnesty International repeatedly appealed to the Rwandese Government not to forcibly return refugees to Burundi where their lives would be at grave risk.

Annual Report UPDATE:
From January to June 1998

The public execution of 22 people in Rwanda on 24 April has further damaged hopes of peace and reconciliation in the country. Instead of eradicating the culture of violence, the government is perpetuating it.

Among those executed in front of large crowds were several people whose trials were grossly unfair. Déogratias Bizimana and Egide Gatanazi, the two first people to be tried for participation in the genocide in Rwanda, did not even have access to a defence lawyer. They were executed in Kibungo. Silas Munyagishali, former assistant prosecutor, and Virginie Mukankusi, the first woman to be tried for participation in the genocide, were executed in Kigali.

Amnesty International appealed again to leaders around the world to intervene to save the lives of more than 100 other people already sentenced to death -- and possibly thousands of others across Rwanda who could face the same fate.

The organization continues to campaign for those responsible for the deaths of as many as one million people during the genocide in 1994 to be brought to justice. It is also calling on the international community to assist Rwanda in providing trials which are prompt and fair and which exclude inhuman punishments.

Amnesty International delegates who returned from a visit to Rwanda reported a steep rise in the number of “disappearances” across the country, including in the capital, Kigali.

The first few months of 1998 were also marked by continuing massacres of unarmed civilians by soldiers of the Rwandese Patriotic Army (RPA) and armed opposition groups, in the context of the escalating armed conflict in the northwest. Hundreds of unarmed civilians were killed in January and February alone.

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