Don't abolish rights group, advocacy group urges

The advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) asked the government of Rwanda on Friday to reject a request to dissolve a leading human rights group in the country, which a parliamentary commission had accused of harbouring genocidal ideas.

The plea from the New York-based body follows a recommendation on Wednesday by the parliament for the government to dissolve the League for the Promotion and Defence of Human Rights, known by its French acronym LIPRODOR, along with four other local civil society organisations.

LIPRODOR is a human rights monitoring body, which has in the past been critical of the government’s record in the promotion and protection of human rights.

"Dissolving LIPRODOR would call into question the Rwandan government’s commitment to such basic human rights as freedom of expression and association," Alison Des Forges, a senior adviser to the Africa Division of HRW, said.

The parliament had also recommended the banning of four civil society organisations: the Forum des ONGs rurales, Bureau d’appui aux initiatives rurales, Souvenir des parents and Service de developpement agricole.

In a statement, HRW said the parliamentary commission interpreted "genocidal ideas" prohibited by law in Rwanda so broadly as to include even dissent from government plans for consolidating land holdings.

"Under such a broad interpretation, any opposition to the government can be labelled ‘a genocide ideology’ and its proponents can be severely punished," Des Forges said.

LIPRODOR officials in the capital, Kigali, opposed the commission's recommendation, accusing it of denying them an opportunity to respond to its accusations.

"We were not called at any one point to respond to these accusations," Emmanuel Nsengiyumva, the LIPRODOR president, said. "We strongly condemn the decision and call upon government not to hurriedly ban our organisation."

However, a senior parliamentary official criticised HRW, saying its statement was biased.

"We cannot hide behind freedom of expression to give legitimacy to genocide ideas," Denis Polisi, the vice-president of the Rwandan parliament, said. "There’s enough evidence to prove our findings, and we condemn HRW for undermining the independence of our parliament."

The parliamentary commission also called for action against several international NGOs operating in Rwanda. These include CARE International, Trocaire, Belgium’s 11.11.11 and Norwegian People’s Aid, which, the commission alleged, were supporting local groups it had labelled as having a "genocide ideology".

In 2003, Rwanda's main opposition political party, the Democratic Republican Movement, was banned following a recommendation by a parliamentary commission, ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections that were won by President Paul Kagame's Rwanda Patriotic Front.