US accuses Rwanda of rights abuse

By Wesley Spartan

The US government has again accused Rwanda of violating human rights in a 2014 report released by the Department of State.

The annual report released at the end of June alleges that several government institutions were behind human-rights violations in 2014, including disappearances, harassment, arrests, and abuse of political opponents and human-rights advocates.

The lengthy report also accuses Rwandan security forces and the judiciary of disregard for the rule of law and restrictions on civil liberties.

Due to restrictions on the registration and operation of opposition parties and non-transparent vote-counting practices, citizens did not have the ability to change their government through free and fair elections,” the report partly reads.

Other major human-rights problems included arbitrary or unlawful killings, torture, harsh conditions in prisons and detention centres, arbitrary arrests, prolonged pre-trial detention, and government infringement on citizens’ privacy rights,” the report further adds.

Rwanda has dismissed the report as baseless and unfounded but sources say it could be one of the avenues Washington wants to use to put pressure on the government ahead of 2017 presidential election.

The government in many cases took steps to prosecute or punish officials who committed abuses, whether in the security services or elsewhere, but impunity involving civilian officials and the security forces was a problem,” the report adds.

The US government also recognised that Kigali did not provide support to armed groups in neighbouring countries.

Efforts to reach the Minister of Foreign Affairs Louise Mushikiwabo to comment on the report were futile.

But officials in government institutions accused of committing arbitrary or unlawful killings have come out to dismiss the report, stating that the accusations are not credible.