Rwanda: Background and Current Developments

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In 2003, Rwanda held its first multi-party presidential and parliamentary elections in decades.
President Paul Kagame of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) won 95% of the votes cast, while his
nearest rival, Faustin Twagiramungu, received 3.6 % of the votes cast. In the legislative elections,
the ruling RPF won 73% in the 80-seat National Assembly, while the remaining seats went to
RPF allies and former coalition partners. In September 2008, Rwanda held legislative elections,
and the RPF won a majority of the seats. Rwandese women are now the majority in the National
Assembly. In October 2008, the National Assembly elected Ms. Mukantabam Rose as the first
female Speaker of the Assembly. The next presidential elections are schedule for 2010.This report
will be updated as circumstances warrant.
In Rwanda, events of a prior decade is still fresh in the minds of many survivors and perpetrators.
In 1993, after several failed efforts, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and the government of
Rwanda reached an agreement in Tanzania, referred to as the Arusha Peace Accords. The RPF
joined the Rwandan government as called for in the agreement. In April 1994, the Presidents of
Rwanda and Burundi, along with several senior government officials, were killed when their
plane was shot down as it approached the capital of Rwanda, Kigali. Shortly after, the Rwandan
military and a Hutu militia known as the Interhamwe began to systematically massacre Tutsis and
moderate Hutu opposition members. In the first ten weeks of the Rwandan genocide, an estimated
1,000,000 people, mostly Tutsis, were slaughtered by government forces and the Interhamwe
militia. In July 1994, the RPF took over power and later formed a coalition government. This
report will be updated as circumstances warrant.

Rwanda: Background......................................................................................................................1
Political Conditions.........................................................................................................................1
Human Rights Conditions...............................................................................................................2
Economic Conditions......................................................................................................................3
Rwanda in Congo and Regional Issues...........................................................................................3
Recent Developments................................................................................................................4
U.S.-Rwanda Relations...................................................................................................................4
Author Contact Information............................................................................................................5

Rwanda, a landlocked nation the size of Maryland, is one of the poorest in sub-Saharan Africa.
The population is largely comprised of two ethnic groups, the Tutsis (about 14%), who had been
the dominant political and economic force until 1961, and the majority Hutu (about 85%), who
took power at independence. Shortly after independence, many Rwandese Tutsi left Rwanda and
became refugees in Uganda. For decades, Rwanda suffered from periodic ethnic clashes in which
hundreds of thousands died. In 1990, the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) launched a
military offensive from Uganda against government troops inside Rwanda. Government forces
were able to repel the RPF and forced it to retreat into the mountains. In 1993, after several failed
efforts, the RPF and the government of Rwanda reached an agreement in Tanzania, referred to as
the Arusha Peace Accords.
In April 1994, the Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi, along with several senior government
officials, were killed when their plane was shot down as it approached the capital of Rwanda,
Kigali. The Rwandan military and Hutu militia soon began to systematically massacre Tutsis and
moderate Hutu opposition members. In the first ten weeks of the Rwandan genocide, an estimated
1,000,000 people, mostly Tutsis, were slaughtered by government forces and the Interhamwe
militia. Millions of Hutu refugees fled to neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC-then
Zaire) after RPF troops took control in Kigali and ousted the Hutu government in July 1994. In
1996, most of the refugees returned home after RPF troops attacked militias and former Rwandan
government troops inside Congo.
The Rwandan intervention in Congo led to the ouster of the Zairean president, Mobutu Sese
Seko. Insurgent leader, Laurent Kabila, became president of the Congo with the help of the RPF-
led government of Rwanda and Uganda. However, violence related to the Rwandan upheaval
continued in Congo for much of the late 1990s. Rwanda is still very divided along ethnic lines,
and the 1994 genocide is fresh in the minds of many survivors and perpetrators. However,
resentment among the majority Hutu population toward the Tutsis appears to have decreased in
part due to reconciliation efforts by the government. In 2000, the Hutu president and a leading
figure of the ruling RPF, Pasteur Bizimungu, resigned in protest of “Tutsi domination” in
government. But Bizimungu was not able to garner support for his cause. In April 2000, one
month after President Bizimungu resigned, General Paul Kagame, who had served as defense
minister and vice president since July 1994, was elected by the Rwandan legislature to the post of
president.

In March 2001, Rwanda held its first local elections in over 30 years. The turnout was estimated
at about 90%, and the elections were monitored by 200 international observers. The United
Nations Special Representative for Human Rights in Rwanda, Michel Moussali, called the
elections a success despite some “technical problems.” Human Rights Watch criticized the
elections, arguing that people were forced to vote and that the elections were not transparent.
Between May and August 2002, the government of Rwanda organized hundreds of meetings
throughout the country to seek the input of the people of Rwanda for the draft constitution. A
referendum on the draft constitution was passed in May 2003.

In August 2003, Rwanda held its first multi-party presidential and parliamentary elections in
decades. President Kagame won 95% of the votes cast, while his nearest rival, Faustin
Twagiramungu, received 3.6 % of the votes cast. In the legislative elections, the ruling RPF won
73% in the 80-seat National Assembly, while the remaining seats went to RPF allies and former
coalition partners. Twagiramungu charged that the elections were flawed and that government
officials intimidated his supporters.
The European Union Observer Mission also charged that there had been election irregularities
and that intimidation of opposition candidates was widespread. However, support for President ¹
Kagame and the RPF was widespread and cut across ethnic lines. Analysts note that the RPF was
well organized and financed and that none of the opposition candidates had a political party base
or a clear slogan. President Kagame also benefitted from key endorsements, including from all of
the Hutu-dominated political parties and one of the presidential candidates, who withdrew several
days before the elections. In September 2008, Rwanda held elections for the National Assembly.
The RPF won the majority of the seats. Rwandese women took the majority (56.2%) of the seats
and the Assembly elected the first female Speaker of Parliament in October 2008. The next
presidential election is set for 2010.
The ruling RPF remains the dominant political force in the country, although there are a number
of opposition parties. President Kagame remains a strong leader within the RPF, and no one has
emerged within the party to challenge his leadership. A number of independents and individuals
from other political parties hold key positions in government, including the posts of prime
minister, internal security minister, and justice minister. Rwanda also has the largest percentage of
women in parliament in the world. Women also hold key ministerial positions, including the
Minister of Foreign Affairs. In March 2008, President Kagame implemented a major cabinet ²
reshuffle. Three senior minsters were reportedly demoted, several other minsters were moved to
other positions, five ministries were disbanded, and three new ministries were created. In early
2008, President Kagame ordered the confiscation of land owned by senior military officers for
redistribution to peasants.

Human rights conditions in Rwanda are poor, according to human rights groups and Rwanda
experts. According to the State Department’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in
2007, “significant human rights abuses occurred, although there were important improvements in
some areas. Citizens’ right to change their government was restricted, and extrajudicial killings ³
by Security forces increased.” In 2001, the Government of Rwanda began to implement a local
justice system known as Gacaca in order to deal with the large backlog of cases from the 1994
Rwandan genocide. Tens of thousands of suspects have been released under the Gacaca system,
and the Gacaca courts are expected to complete their work by the end of 2008. In March 2008,
the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) signed an agreement with the government

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of Rwanda to transfer some of the genocide suspects to Rwanda. In June 2008, a British court
agreed to Rwanda’s request for the extradition of four Rwandese accused of genocide.
On November 4, 2008, German authorities released the Secretary General of the Democratic
Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), Callixte Mbarushimana, who was arrested in
Frankfurt in July 2008. The FDLR is a group led by former Rwandan military officers and militia
leaders who are accused of being the masterminds of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The State
Department criticized the release of the FDLR official and blamed the group as the “root cause of ⁴
instability in eastern Congo.” A week after the release of the FDLR official, German authorities
arrested a senior Rwandese government official, Rose Kabuye. She was arrested because a French
judge had issued an arrest warrant for nine senior Rwandese leaders he accused of shooting down
the plane that carried the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi in 1994. Rose Kabuye was a
liberation fighter with the RPF, the group that ended the 1994 genocide, and served in different
government positions over the past decade, including as mayor of Kigali and personal secretary ⁵
of President Kagame. The Government of Rwanda condemned the arrest and later expelled the
German ambassador to Rwanda. On November 19, 2008, Kabuye was transferred to France to
stand trial.

Rwanda’s economy is market-based and primarily driven by the agricultural sector. More than

85% of the labor force is engaged in subsistence agriculture. In 2007, agriculture accounted ⁶

36.2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 40.2% of exports. In 2008, GDP growth was
6%, and the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) forecasts a 6.3% growth for 2009 and 6.5% for
2010. The inflation rate for 2009 is expected to reach 9%. In February 2008, Rwanda’s economic
performance was given IMF’s approval under the poverty reduction and growth facility (PRGF).
The government of Rwanda has carried out a number of economic reform programs in the past
several years, especially in privatization and banking. A number of government-owned companies
were sold to the private sector, including Rwanda’s mobile phone company.

Insecurity in the Great Lakes region has been a major concern since the mid-1990s, although in
the past year conditions have improved significantly. Relations between Rwanda and the DRC
have improved in recent years, and the two countries cooperate on a wide range of issues,
including on security matters. Rwanda helped facilitate dialogue between the Kabila government
and some political groups in the DRC on issues related to the 2006 elections. In November 2007,
the governments of the DRC and Rwanda signed an agreement in Kenya “on a common approach
to end the threat posed to peace and stability” in the Great Lakes region. The parties agreed to end
political and material support to armed groups in the region. The government of the DRC agreed
to disarm the ex-FAR (former Rwandan Armed Forces) and Interhamwe militia and to hand over
those individuals wanted by the government of Rwanda and ICTR. According to the agreement,

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those who do not wish to return to Rwanda will be placed in a camp away from the border until a
solution is found.
In October 2008, the forces of the National Congress for the Defense of the Congolese People
(CNDP), under the command of General Laurent Nkunda, launched a major offensive against the
Democratic Republic of Congo Armed Forces (FARDC) in eastern Congo. General Nkunda is
considered an ally of Rwanda, and argues he is there to protect his community against the FDLR
and Congolese forces. Within days, the CNDP captured a number of small towns and Congolese
forces retreated in large numbers. The U.N. Mission in Congo (MONUC) also withdrew from
some areas and pulled most of its forces into Goma. In late October, General Nkunda declared a
unilateral cease-fire and ordered his forces to remain outside Goma. The cease-fire has been
violated in recent weeks by both sides, although fighting has not spread to other parts of Congo.
The DRC government initially accused Rwanda of supporting General Nkunda, although a few
days later the government seemed to back off from that position. Rwanda has consistently argued
that its forces, while deployed along the Rwanda-DRC border, have not crossed into Congolese ⁷
territory, a position supported by U.S. and United Nations officials. In late October, at the height
of the crisis, the Congolese foreign minister paid a visit to Kigali and met with President Paul
Kagame and other Rwandese leaders. At that meeting, the minister did not raise the issue of ⁸
Rwanda’s alleged involvement in support of Nkunda. A few days later, the Rwandese foreign
minister visited Kinshasa and met with Congolese officials as well as other foreign leaders.

Relations between Rwanda and the United States are considered warm. In October 2007, in her
testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi
Frazer stated that “Rwanda has become a very reliable partner in the promotion of economic ⁹
growth in Central Africa and an important contributor to African peacekeeping.” In February

2008, President Bush visited Rwanda and opened the new U.S. Embassy in Kigali. In his speech,

President Bush stated that “In many nations, women have exercised the right to vote and run for
office. Rwanda now has the highest percentage of female legislators in the world.” President
Bush praised Rwanda’s peacekeeping efforts in Darfur. Rwanda also is seen as an important
partner in the war against terror. The Bush Administration credits Rwanda for taking a number of
measures, including combating terrorist financing.
The United States provides significant assistance to Rwanda, especially in the health care sector.
The United States provided $140.4 million to Rwanda in 2007, and an estimated $152.7 million
for fiscal year 2008. The Bush Administration requested $161.6 million for fiscal year 2009.
Rwanda receives assistance under the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). Rwanda is also a focus
country of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). In November 2006,
Rwanda was named eligible for Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Threshold Program. In

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October 2008, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) signed a $24.7 million Threshold ¹⁰
Program with Rwanda. The Threshold Program is expected to focus on political rights, civil
liberties, and support ongoing Rwandan reform efforts.
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