[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 11150-11151]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                 RWANDA

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Madam President, rising from the ashes of the 1994 
genocide, the Rwandan people can be proud of the progress their country 
has made over the past two decades. Through reconciliation and 
resilience, Rwanda has entered a new phase of economic growth and is 
working to protect civilians in other countries through its vital 
contributions to global peacekeeping missions. The world has cheered 
these successes, but today we have cause for concern.
  To cement its legacy as a world leader and model for development, 
there is in Rwanda today a clear need to ensure space for a thriving 
civil society--a hallmark of any democracy. I am deeply troubled by 
reports of shrinking space for dissenting voices. Rwanda's domestic 
human rights movement has been profoundly constrained by a combination 
of intimidation and stigmatization, threats, harassment, arbitrary 
arrests and detentions, infiltration, and administrative obstacles. The 
government's actions to censor domestic and international human rights 
groups appear to be part of a broader pattern of intolerance of 
criticism.
  In 2013, the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Nations 
Human Rights Council, Amnesty International, and Freedom House all 
expressed concern over the interference of the Rwandan Government in 
determining the leadership of the Rwandan League for the Promotion and 
Defense of Human Rights, one of the last remaining independent advocacy 
organizations in the country. This has effectively curtailed domestic 
civil society initiatives to monitor human rights abuses.
  In June of this year, the U.S. State Department cited its deep 
concern over the arrest and disappearance of dozens of Rwandan citizens 
over a period of 2 months, citing incommunicado detention and a lack of 
due process, as well as the threatening of journalists.
  Also in June, Human Rights Watch, HRW, an organization that has 
worked on Rwanda for more than 20 years and documented the 1994 
genocide, was accused by the Ministry of Justice of political bias and 
collaboration with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, 
FDLR, some of whose members participated in the genocide and committed 
horrific human rights abuses in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, 
DRC. These accusations come in the wake of a May HRW critique of the 
Rwandan Government's actions, including forced disappearances, and 
discount HRW's constant critique of the FDLR's egregious human rights 
record in the DRC. HRW, the last independent international organization 
based in Kigali speaking out against human rights abuses, appears at 
increasing risk of not being able to do its job, and perhaps even of 
being shut down.
  Rwanda's past should not be used as an excuse to suppress free speech 
and independent reporting in Rwanda today. Dissent is an important tool 
for citizens in holding their elected leaders accountable. Peaceful, 
law-abiding individuals and organizations should not be labeled as 
conspirators or enemies of state because they question the government. 
Freedom of expression and due process are rights that should extend to 
all Rwandans and its visitors--including journalists, human rights 
advocates, opposition members, and everyday citizens alike.

[[Page 11151]]

  Rwanda has made great strides, but there is still work to do. As 
Rwanda faces its newest challenges, the United States stands with its 
people and remains committed to their success.

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