Situation of human rights in Rwanda
Sub-Commission resolution 1996/3
The Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities,
Guided by the principles contained in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights and other relevant human rights instruments,
Recalling its resolution 1995/5 of 18 August 1995, and taking note of Commission on Human Rights resolution 1996/76 of 23 April 1996,
Welcoming the cooperation established by the Government of Rwanda with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur of the Commission appointed to investigate the human rights situation in Rwanda,
Noting with dismay that, more than two years after genocide on an enormous scale, no judgement condemning those guilty has been delivered either by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of Rwanda and Rwandan Citizens Responsible for Genocide and Other Such Violations Committed in the Territory of Neighbouring States, between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 1994, or by Rwandan or foreign courts,
Concerned that persons responsible for acts of genocide are infiltrating Rwanda with the purpose of eliminating the witnesses of the genocide,
1. Commends Mr. René. Degni-Ségui, Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights appointed to investigate the human rights situation in Rwanda, for the reports he has submitted on the genocide of the Tutsis and the political assassinations of moderate Hutus which followed the attack committed on 6 April 1994 against the aeroplane transporting the Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi, as well as on the current human rights situation in Rwanda;
2. Requests the Secretary-General to provide the Special Rapporteur with any assistance he may need in the performance of his mandate, as well as any information and documents which may be of use to him;
3. Once again calls upon the Secretary-General to arrange for the necessary inquiries to be carried out to establish responsibility for that attack, which was the starting point of genocide and other massacres that cost the lives of 800,000 to 1 million persons, including 10 soldiers on a peace-keeping mission for the United Nations;
4. Appeals to the international community to provide the International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of Rwanda and Rwandan Citizens Responsible for Genocide and Other Such Violations Committed in the Territory of Neighbouring States, between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 1994, and the Government of Rwanda with the necessary means to enable them to prosecute and try those guilty of such genocide and massacres;
5. Calls upon the Government of Rwanda to intensify its efforts to ensure that those persons who remain incarcerated, among whom are very probably innocent persons, are brought to trial;
6. Urges all States in whose territory there are persons allegedly responsible for acts of genocide to arrest those persons so that they can be tried by their own competent courts or extradited at the request of the International Criminal Tribunal or the Rwandan authorities;
7. Demands an immediate end to all action, carried out with the complicity of certain States, aimed at arming and training the militias and extremist elements in the refugee camps for the resumption of the war in Rwanda;
8. Encourages the voluntary return of Rwandan refugees to the country and their social reintegration, calling for the safety of all vulnerable groups in all the communes to be ensured;
9. Calls upon all States providing assistance to Rwanda to give particular attention to the needs of those who escaped the genocide, and in particular widows and orphans, so as to enable them to overcome the traumas from which they are suffering;
10. Calls upon the Government of Rwanda to devote particular attention to the situation of the Twa, in conformity with the rights guaranteed by the International Covenants on Human Rights and by the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights;
11. Commends the courageous work of the Rwandan human rights organizations which are devoting themselves under difficult conditions to promoting respect for human rights, drawing attention to any shortcomings that might occur;
12. Also commends the work of the human rights observers serving in Rwanda, on the initiative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to investigate the genocide and to promote respect for human rights;
13. Decides to continue its consideration of the human rights situation in Rwanda at its forty-ninth session.
19th meeting
19 August 1996
[Adopted without a vote]