BBC News Online: Despatches

UN Human Rights Chief attacks Rwanda

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, has delivered a tough statement at the end of her three-day visit to Rwanda. As Amelia French reports from Kigali her message has not gone down well with the government.

Her trip, which was to assess the situation on the ground and to look at the activities of the UN human rights field operation, involved talks with the Rwandan leadership and with UN officials in the country.

Mary Robinson said the human rights situation in Rwanda was bleak and she turned her criticism on the government, on the international community and on the human rights operation. Efforts by all sides to improve the situation, she said, had been totally insufficient.

She spoke of an absence of any committed policy of reconciliation by the Rwandan authorities.

She highlighted what she described as a number of very serious human rights violations, listing arbitrary arrests, prolonged arbitrary detentions and serious overcrowding in prisons, leading to inhumane conditions of detention for those awaiting trial for genocide.

Describing herself as a friend of Rwanda, she said it was understandable that the government had been overwhelmed by the scale of problems in the country in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide and the mass repatriation of refugees over the past year.

The High Commissioner also pointed to the dramatic increase in violence by Hutu extremists in some parts of the country.

This had been accompanied by a substantial rise in the number of arbitrary killings linked to the Rwandan army. She also said political power and decision-making had become more and more concentrated.

The future of the human rights operation in Rwanda had been in question but she said she had persuaded the government that the operation should continue for a period, during which it should be radically restructured.

Her comments have been met with consternation on the part of the Rwandan government.

Speaking after her departure Rwandan government spokesman Emmanuel Gasana said Mrs Robinson's statement had come as a great surprise.

He described it as very unfair and shocking and said she had been badly briefed.

Mr Gasana made it clear that the future of the human rights operation here was still under discussion.

Summaries

In this section

Zimbabwe strike turns into rioting
Korea talks underway
Climate change plans outlined
Egyptian militants says they will end campaign against tourists
It's a dog's life for pet lovers in Shanghai
Sri Lankan army trained to fight legally
Still no victor in Serbian elections
UN food airlift to avert Afghan famine
Afghan falcons under threat
Turkey urged to drop Israel links
British farmers protest escalates
Goodbye Almaty, Hello Akmola