Citation
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH ARMS PROJECT
January 1994
Vol. 6, Issue 1
ARMING RWANDA
The Arms Trade and Human Rights
Abuses in the Rwandan War
Contents
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
Map......................................................................................................................................................................................................
3
Map
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................................................4
Summary of Key Findings ........................................................................................................................................................ 5
Summary of Recommendations .......................................................................................................................................... 6
Historical Background to the War......................................................................................................................................
7
War
The Banyarwanda and Uganda .............................................................................................................................................. 7
Rwanda and the Habyarimana Regime ............................................................................................................................ 9
The Record on Human Rights..............................................................................................................................................
11
Rights
Violations by the Government.............................................................................................................................................. 11
Violations by the RPF ................................................................................................................................................................ 13
Arms Flows to the Government of Rwanda ................................................................................................................. 14
Expansion of the Rwandan Armed Forces..................................................................................................................... 14
Egypt.................................................................................................................................................................................................. 14
France .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 16
South Africa................................................................................................................................................................................... 16
United States.................................................................................................................................................................................17
Other Sources ...............................................................................................................................................................................17
Scope of the Arms Influx ........................................................................................................................................................ 18
Arms Flows to the RPF ............................................................................................................................................................. 19
Weapons from Uganda............................................................................................................................................................ 19
The Alleged Mass Defection and Invasion.............................................................................................................. 19
Ugandan Support Since the Invasion ........................................................................................................................20
Ugandan Responsibility.................................................................................................................................................... 21
Funds from the Diaspora to Buy Arms............................................................................................................................. 21
Captured Weapons from the Rwandan Army.............................................................................................................. 21
The Role of Foreign Troops..................................................................................................................................................23
Troops
France ..............................................................................................................................................................................................23
Zaire...................................................................................................................................................................................................24
Uganda and Rwanda ................................................................................................................................................................25
The Escalation of Firepower and the Civilian Toll..................................................................................................26
Toll
The Invasion and the February 1993 Offensive..........................................................................................................26
Government Distribution of Weapons............................................................................................................................ 27
Assassinations and Bombings ...........................................................................................................................................28
485 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Tel: (212) 972-8400
Fax: (212) 972-0905
1522 K Street, N.W., #910
Washington, DC 20005
Tel: (202) 371-6592
Fax: (202) 371-0124
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
XI.
Landmines....................................................................................................................................................................................
30
Landmines
Mine Types and Locations.................................................................................................................................................... 30
Indiscriminate Attacks .......................................................................................................................................................... 30
Mine Clearance........................................................................................................................................................................... 31
Human Rights Conditions on Arms Transfers ..........................................................................................................32
A One-Year Moratorium on Lethal Assistance ........................................................................................................... 33
Transparency in Arms Transfers
Transfers .....................................................................................................................................34
International Peacekeeping ............................................................................................................................................. 35
Recommendations...................................................................................................................................................................
37
Recommendations
Acknowledgements................................................................................................................................................................
38
Acknowledgements
About Human Rights Watch Arms Project..................................................................................................................
38
Project
Appendices
A. Rwanda's $6 Million Arms Purchase From Egypt.
1. Contract between the Government of the Rwandan Republic and the Government of the Arab
Republic of Egypt for Egypt's providing of Military Assistance credit, dated March 30, 1992. (English
translation attached.)
2. Unexecuted Form of Financial Guarantee to the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt,
represented by the Department of Arms of the Egyptian Ministry of Defense. (English translation
attached.)
3. Description of $6 million arms purchase, including item, quantity, unit price and total price.
4. Shipping schedule for purchased arms.
B. Rwanda's $5.9 Million Arms Purchase from South Africa.
Invoice number 147, dated October 19, 1992, from Conrad Kuhn, representative of Armscor, the
national South African arms corporation, to Major Cyprien Kayumba, Rwandan Ministry of National
Defense.
C. Government Distribution of Weapons to the Civilian Population
Order 0850/G2.1.0, August 26, 1991, from the Rwandan Minister of Defense, Subject "Self-Defense
of the Population," Status "SECRET." (English translation attached.)
D. Uganda's Response to the Arms Project
Letter from the Ugandan Ambassador to the United States S.T.K. Katenta-Apuli, dated August 26,
1993.
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INTRODUCTION
"The RPF had superior weapons. Whatever new equipment we
acquired, they had it before us."
James Gasana
Rwandan Minister of Defense.
"The country is flooded with weapons. Two beers will get you
one grenade."
A Western diplomat in Kigali.
Rwanda is one of Africa's poorest countries. Most of its 7.2 million people are, by tradition,
subsistence farmers or cattle herders. Smaller in size than Belgium, Rwanda does not have enough land
to go around. The country has almost no industry, few natural resources and has long been dependent
on foreign development aid.
In October 1990, the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) launched an invasion from neighboring
Uganda, aimed at overthrowing the Rwandan government. A peace agreement signed in August 1993
has brought the war to a halt, but it appears to be an uneasy peace. An estimated 4,500 people, both
combatants and noncombatants, died in the conflict. The fighting also uprooted nearly one million
civilians, or one out of every seven Rwandans.
In addition, approximately 2,000 civilians were killed as a result of human rights violations related to
the war but not directly part of the conflict. The Rwandan army killed many hundreds of civilians both in
support of communal violence against the minority Tutsi population and during combat operations
against the RPF. The Rwandan army also summarily executed civilians designated by civilian
authorities.
Civilian groups, composed of majority Hutu, committed widespread acts of ethnic violence
against Tutsi. These rampaging crowds were incited and led by local administrators and by militia
attached to Rwanda's long-time ruling political party, the National Republican Movement for Democracy
and Development (MRND). They destroyed crops, stole food, slaughtered cattle, burned homes and
attacked their neighbors using machetes, spears and clubs.
In a development with frightening implications, other civilian groups have been armed by
governing authorities with Kalashnikov rifles. These armed groups are increasingly involved with the
militias that have been responsible for many abuses.
The RPF also committed numerous human rights violations. Up to several hundred people were
extrajudicially executed by the RPF. The victims included government officials as well as civilians
thought to support the government. The RPF forcibly moved hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people
from Rwanda into Uganda in order to create free-fire zones. RPF forces also stole food, cattle and other
property from Rwanda's refugee population.
The influx of weapons from foreign sources to both sides contributed significantly to needless
and abusive civilian deaths and suffering. Sources from both sides told the Arms Project that as one
side received more weapons, and weapons of greater lethality, the other tried to match it. Foreign
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
governments and other suppliers were more than willing to fuel this arms race. This small,
impoverished nation, which was already unable to meet its own human needs, devoted its scarce
resources to an unprecedented accumulation of a wide variety of arms, including the introduction of
heavier, long-range weapon systems.
The origin of many of the weapons used in the Rwandan conflict has remained in question. The
government claims to have bought arms "with its own funds" legally on the open market. The RPF claims
to have stolen arms from the Ugandan military, with which it still enjoys warm relations, captured
additional arms from the Rwandan army, and bought others on the open market. Both sides' sources of
arms, the funds to buy them, and the human rights abuses resulting from the influx of weapons is the
focus of this report.
The Rwandan war formally ended with the signing of a peace agreement August 4, 1993, known
as the Arusha Peace Agreement. However, implementation of the peace agreement's accords is already
behind schedule.
The recent wave of violence in neighboring Burundi, which has left 10-50,000 dead and which
also pits Tutsi against Hutu, does not bode well for Rwanda. Indeed, many observers believe that there
is little chance that the peace accord, which calls for integration of the two armies, will be implemented.
The killings in Burundi have again inflamed the hatred and mistrust of Tutsi and Hutu in Rwanda. The
possibility of renewed fighting is very real.
Summary of Key Findings
1) The Arms Project has obtained confidential documents concerning a $6 million arms sale to
Rwanda by Egypt. The Arms Project has also received information that France's nationalized bank, Credit
Lyonnais, made the $6 million deal possible through provision of a bank guarantee. The terms of this
purchase, including the roles of Credit Lyonnais and France, had been secret. It included automatic
rifles, mortars, long-range artillery, shoulder-fired rocket launchers, munitions, landmines, and plastic
explosives. The Arms Project asked official representatives of France, Egypt and Credit Lyonnais about
this transaction. All declined comment. However, Rwandan Minister of Defense James Gasana
confirmed the existence of this transaction to the Arms Project.
2) The Arms Project has also obtained an invoice concerning a $5.9 million arms purchase from
South Africa. The Rwandan government obtained these arms in contravention of the United Nations
Security Council resolution opposing the importation of arms from South Africa. This purchase
included automatic rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers and munitions.
3) Rwanda has also purchased weapons from France, both before and after the war began in
October 1990. These include mortars, artillery, armoured cars and helicopters. These sales are not
disputed by France. France also deployed up to 680 troops in Rwanda during the war, in addition to
providing military advisors.
France denies that its forces played any direct role in the fighting. However, sources told the
Arms Project that French troops played a direct role in the conflict, including provision of infantry
support for Rwandan forces during the February 1993 offensive. This goes well beyond France's selfproclaimed mandate merely to protect the lives and ensure the evacuation of French expatriates and
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
other foreign nationals. Sources also told the Arms Project that French trainers advised Rwandan field
officers in tactical combat situations, going beyond France's other self-proclaimed mandate merely to
train Rwandan forces.
4) The Arms Project has obtained a secret Rwandan government document showing that the
government formed paramilitary "self-defense" groups in select communities, where human rights
violations took place.
5) Sources told the Arms Project that Uganda provided weapons, munitions and other military
supplies to the RPF. These included munitions, automatic rifles, mortars, artillery and Soviet-designed
Katyusha multiple rocket systems. Sources told the Arms Project that Uganda allowed the rebel
movement to use its territory as a sanctuary for the planning of attacks, stockpiling of weapons, raising
of funds and movement of troops. Official representatives of both Uganda and the RPF categorically
deny that Uganda provided any military assistance to the RPF.
Summary of Recommendations
The Arms Project calls upon the international community to impose an at least one year
moratorium on all lethal military assistance or sales to any party in the Rwandan war. All countries
which choose to sell arms or provide military assistance should legally and explicitly condition it upon
the human rights performance of the recipient. Weapons of increased lethality and technological
sophistication should not be introduced into Rwanda, given the appalling levels of human rights abuse
engaged in by all parties. All governments, including Egypt, France, South Africa, and Uganda, should
fully disclose the nature of their military assistance and arms transfers to the RPF and Rwandan
government.
United Nations peacekeeping forces should be put in place and brought up to full strength as
quickly as possible, consistent with U.N. resources and other peacekeeping demands, in order to
monitor compliance with the cease-fire and implementation of the peace accord, for the purpose of
reducing on-going human rights abuses. Their mission ought explicitly to include monitoring of human
rights abuses and arms acquisitions by all parties. Foreign armed forces which are not under the
command of international monitoring organizations should not be deployed in Rwanda, given the
involvement of foreign armed forces with abusive forces in the conflict up to this point. French, Zairian
and Ugandan troops should be barred from participation in any international peacekeeping efforts in
Rwanda because of their past association with abusive parties in this conflict. The Rwandan
government and the RPF should destroy weapons rendered unnecessary by the war's end under the
supervision of international monitors, because of the likelihood, in a war marked by such severe abuses
by all parties, that renewal of fighting with these weapons would result in further abuses.
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
I. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TO THE WAR
"What the Banyarwanda want is not necessarily to go back, but
to have a sense of national identity, to have citizenship, and the
protection of the Rwandan flag."
Toni, RPF military officer and former NRA
soldier
RPF Zone of Control, Rwanda.
"The involvement of Uganda in this conflict is evident. The
attack came from there, and also we know that it was conducted, led by
NRA military officers."
Colonel Deogratias Nsabimana
Chief of Staff, Rwandan Army
Kigali, Rwanda.
The Banyarwanda and Uganda
On October 1, 1990, the RPF invaded Rwanda from Uganda. Most of the people in this invasion
force were Banyarwanda, or refugees who have either left or fled Rwanda over the past four decades.
Most of them are also Tutsi, one of Rwanda's three social or ethnic groups.1
From the seventeenth century until the monarchy was overthrown in 1961, the Kingdom of
Rwanda was a highly organized and stratified state. Most noblemen, military commanders, local
officials and cattle herders were Tutsi. Most people among the remainder were Hutu, who were
predominately subsistence farmers. A small minority of hunters and potters were Twa. They made up
14, 85 and 1 percent of the population respectively. The system was based largely on class, as a rich
Hutu could become a Tutsi despite his Hutu past. Nonetheless, these social groups have ethnic
distinctions. To this day, all Rwandans are required to carry apartheid-like cards which identify their
specific social category.
Tutsi leaders dominated Rwanda as an elite ruling class, although most Tutsi, like Hutu, were
also poor. Tutsi leaders, however, were highly conscious of their distinctiveness, and considered their
group to be physically and intellectually superior. Colonialism only aggravated this division. Belgium
governed Rwanda as a protectorate from 1919 to its independence in 1962. Belgium allied itself with the
dominant Tutsi throughout most of this period, but switched to supporting the Hutu when they rose
against the Tutsi in 1959.
As Hutu moved into positions of power, they harassed and threatened Tutsi, and began removing
them from office and dismantling their long-standing privileges. This led to violent clashes between the
1
The information for this historical background was drawn from: Catharine Watson, U.S. Committee for Refugees Issue Paper,
"Exile from Rwanda: Background to an Invasion," February 1991; and, Africa Watch, News From Africa, Vol. 5, No. 7, "Beyond the
Rhetoric: Continuing Human Rights Abuses in Rwanda," June 1993.
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
two groups. By 1960, hundreds of Tutsi had been killed, and tens of thousands had been internally
displaced. Independence in 1962 only led to more violence. Tutsi began fleeing to other countries,
creating the initial Banyarwanda refugees.
The first Tutsi guerrilla group, known as the Inyenzi, was formed among Banyarwanda refugees
in 1961. They attacked Hutu targets in Rwanda from Uganda, Burundi, Zaire and Tanganyika (Tanzania).
Hutu leaders responded by lashing out against more Tutsi in Rwanda. The government executed some
20 prominent Tutsi leaders, while Hutu crowds killed as many as 20,000 others over the next several
years. By 1964, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that about
150,000 Banyarwanda had fled to Tanzania, Burundi, Zaire and Uganda. At present the number of
Banyarwanda refugees, which includes those who fled Rwanda as well as their descendants, is
estimated between 400,000 and 500,000.
Of these, about 200,000 have lived in Uganda. But most Banyarwanda there, as in other African
countries, remain refugees without statehood, legal citizenship or official residence. This has left them
vulnerable to deportation, displacement or harassment from host countries. The Ugandan
Banyarwanda suffered especially under President Milton Obote, later under President Idi Amin, and, in
the early 1980s, again under President Obote.
In 1981, Ugandan Minister of Defense Yoweri Museveni defected with a small group of army
supporters to form a guerrilla army to fight against the then-Ugandan government. After five years of
war, Museveni took power in Uganda with an army of 14,000 men. At least 2,000 of them were
Banyarwanda refugees from Rwanda who had suffered under previous Ugandan regimes and had joined
his movement.
Museveni and his army, reorganized as the National Resistance Army (NRA), have ruled Uganda
since 1986. But within two years of their victory, Banyarwanda leaders who had fought alongside
Museveni began to plan their own invasion of Rwanda. One of them was Major General Fred Rwigyema, a
senior NRA military commander. Another was Major Paul Kagame, head of the NRA's military intelligence
from November 1989 to June 1990. They had both been with Museveni from the beginning.
The October 1990 RPF invasion force was commanded by Rwigyema. Ugandan officials claim
that Rwigyema was removed from the NRA by a decision of the Ugandan National Resistance Council
prior to the invasion, and that he and other leaders were acting entirely on their own. (See Appendix D.)
About half of Rwigyema's initial invasion force of some 7,000 troops were NRA soldiers.
Hundreds of mid-ranking RPF officers were also officers in the NRA. Dozens of senior and top NRA
intelligence, logistics and operations commanders now hold top command positions in the RPF. These
soldiers brought with them their own personal weapons as well as heavier equipment. Most arms the
RPF used in the invasion came directly from the stocks of the NRA.
Ugandan President Museveni claims that neither he nor any of his officers who remained loyal
had any prior knowledge of the RPF's plans. President Museveni was on an official state visit to the
United States, when he says he received an urgent phone call: "I was asleep in my hotel in Washington.
My army commander rang and said: `There's a problem. The Banyarwanda boys are deserting'. We were
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
taken by surprise by the speed and the size of the desertions."2
RPF commander Rwigyema died on the second day of the invasion. He was eventually
succeeded by NRA Major Paul Kagame, who was in the United States on a joint Ugandan/American
military training program when Rwigyema died. Kagame returned to Kampala, the Ugandan capital,
traveled to southern Uganda, entered northern Rwanda, and by November became the RPF's top military
commander. It remains unclear on what date he resigned or deserted his post in the NRA.
Rwanda and the Habyarimana Regime
Hutu attacks against Tutsi diminished after 1966, although widespread discrimination
continued. In 1973, Hutu crowds B possibly orchestrated by the military B renewed attacks against Tutsi.
Then Minister of Defense Juvenal Habyarimana executed a military coup, invoking the need to
reestablish order.
Under the pretext of easing tensions, President Habyarimana established a policy of "balance"
to purportedly distribute resources and jobs equally between the two groups. But, the Habyarimana
regime over time came to discriminate against both, as most of the resources and key positions went to
his family, friends and associates from the region of his own birthplace in northwestern Rwanda. The
President and his National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND) have ruled
Rwanda as a one-party state. Until recently, the most important government posts were still controlled
by MRND ministers. Many are related by birth or marriage to the President.
In July 1990, in response to growing domestic opposition and pressure from foreign aid donors,
President Habyarimana began a process of political reform. It allowed for the establishment of other
political parties and the sharing of power. President Habyarimana announced that Rwanda would be a
democratic republic within two years.
These reforms had just begun when the RPF launched its invasion on October 1, 1990. Although
the invading forces remained isolated to northeastern regions of the country, forces loyal to the
Habyarimana regime simulated a firefight in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, on the night of October 4.3 This
alleged RPF attack was used as a pretext for a government crackdown against Tutsi civilians.
Fighting in northeastern Rwanda was heavy for several weeks, but the government successfully
repelled the RPF invasion force by November. At least 500 people died in the fighting, which created
350,000 refugees. The RPF retreated to Uganda, where its forces regrouped, retrained and rearmed with
new and heavier weapons. Using Uganda as a base, these forces launched a series of small excursions
into northern Rwanda throughout 1991 and 1992.
The ruling MRND party agreed to form a coalition government with four other parties in April
1992. Most of these parties' leaders are Hutu. They appear to have little connection or active sympathy
2
From "Exile from Rwanda," p.14.
3
See "The Report of the International Commission," p.32. The Arms Project interviewed former Rwandan government and military
officials, who confirmed that this alleged attack was staged by the government.
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for the RPF. The government was to hold power for a year, while it prepared to hold national elections.
Half the ministerial posts were allocated to opposition political parties. Executive power was formally
divided between the President and the Prime Minister, a leader of the Republican Democratic Movement
(MDR), the largest of the opposition parties.
After several unsuccessful diplomatic attempts to end the war, representatives of the Rwandan
government and the RPF signed a cease-fire at Arusha, Tanzania in July 1992. Negotiations led to several
further accords, notably the protocols on power-sharing which were signed on October 30, 1992 and
January 9, 1993. But President Habyarimana subsequently rejected the protocols, stating his
dissatisfaction with the distribution of ministerial posts among the political parties. Habyarimana's
party, the MRND, organized demonstrations, including one which shut down the capital on January 20,
1993.
On February 8, 1993, the RPF violated the cease-fire, opening combat along much of the northern
front in addition to new points of entry from Uganda. The RPF said that continuing abuse of human rights
by the Habyarimana regime including the massacre of more than 300 Tutsi in northwestern Rwanda in
January 1993 was one justification for its offensive. This fighting was the heaviest of the war. Hundreds
more civilians died, and another 650,000 people were displaced.
An agreement between the Rwandan Prime Minister and the RPF established a new cease-fire
on March 9, 1993. It stipulated that forces return to positions occupied prior to February 8, and that a
neutral force set up by the Organization of African Unity monitor the declared De-Militarized Zone
between the two armies. Nonetheless, in May 1993 the Arms Project observed fighting across the demilitarized zone. Witnesses and other sources told the Arms Project that the cease-fire had been
violated regularly by both sides.
On August 4, 1993, the two sides signed a peace agreement in Arusha, Tanzania formally ending
the war and establishing steps for reconciliation. It calls for: power-sharing through the establishment
of a new Broad-Based Transitional Government; the integration of both sides' armies into a single
National Army; the integration of troops from both sides's armies into a new National Gendarmerie; and
guarantee of the inalienable right of all Rwandan refugees, including those from past decades, to
repatriate.
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II. THE RECORD ON HUMAN RIGHTS4
Violations by the Government
The International Commission which investigated human rights violations in Rwanda at the
beginning of 1993 collected testimony from hundreds of witnesses in addition to excavating mass
graves. The Commission concluded that armed paramilitary groups working in collaboration with
Rwandan civilian officials, as well as government soldiers acting upon the orders of their superiors,
killed an estimated 2,000 noncombatant civilians since the war began in October 1990. Most of the
victims were Tutsi, and they were killed for the sole reason that they were Tutsi. The number of Hutu
killed, almost all of whom were members of opposition parties, rose sharply in the last year of the war. At
least 8,000 other civilians were imprisoned without being charged. Among them, hundreds were beaten,
tortured or raped. Dozens were extrajudicially executed by their captors. These crimes began
immediately after the RPF's October 1990 invasion, and wholesale violations continued as late as
January 1993. Authorities at the highest level, including the President of the Republic, consented to the
abuses.
The Rwandan army slaughtered hundreds of civilians in the course of its military operations
against the RPF. The army also killed civilians in support of the attacks by Hutu civilian crowds against
Tutsi. In a number of other cases, the army assassinated or summarily executed civilians singled out for
murder by local authorities. The army also killed RPF soldiers after they had surrendered and laid down
their arms.
In Kibilira in late 1990, in northwest Rwanda in early 1991, and in Bugesera in March 1992,
civilian groups composed of Hutu carried out massacres of Tutsi. These crowds were incited and led by
local administrators loyal to the Habyarimana regime. They destroyed crops, stole food, slaughtered
cattle, burned homes and attacked their neighbors using machetes, spears and clubs. In Bugesera, for
example, almost 300 people were killed, most of them hacked to death by machetes. One man said they
killed his wife and four children, throwing his wife's body into a latrine.5
In 1992, the MRND and its allied party, the CDR, formed militias, known as Interahamwe ("Those
Who Attack Together") and Impuzamugambi ("Those Who Have the Same Goal"), and began dispersing
them throughout the country. By late 1992, the militia had taken the lead in violence against Tutsi and
the political opposition. More than 300 Tutsi and members of opposition parties were massacred in
northwestern Rwanda in late January 1993 by these private militia at the direction of local and central
government authorities. In February and March, smaller scale attacks claimed the lives of at least thirty
others.6 In mid-March, after a flurry of domestic and international criticism about attacks by militia,
4
This section on human rights abuses is based on the investigation by Africa Watch and others in January 1993 that resulted in
"Report of The International Commission of Investigation on Human Rights Violations in Rwanda since October 1, 1990," (March
1993), which was prepared jointly by Africa Watch, the International Federation of Human Rights (Paris), the Inter-African Union of
Human Rights (Ouagadougou), and the International Center for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Montreal). This section
also draws from Africa Watch's News From Africa, Vol. 5, No. 7, "Beyond the Rhetoric: Continuing Human Rights Abuses in Rwanda,"
June 1993.
5
See "The Report of the International Commission," pp. 25-27.
6
Africa Watch, "Beyond the Rhetoric," p. 1.
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President Habyarimana temporarily banned demonstrations by political parties. Since then, the militia
have caused no major incidents, but they remain in place and ready to move when ordered.
Rwandan military and national police authorities also detained hundreds of people in
communities and military camps throughout Rwanda. Among these, dozens were beaten or tortured, and
an undetermined number were killed. Dozens of other civilians who were seen in police custody later
disappeared. For example, in Bugesera in October 1991 local authorities arrested 28 youths and brought
them to the Gako military camp. All were severely beaten and eight of them subsequently disappeared
or were known to have been killed in the base. Similar abuses took place in Bigogwe, Byumba, Gabiro
and Kigali. Rape was also common. The Commission reports that five young girls were raped and then
killed by soldiers in Cyera the week of January 4, 1993.
Major Pierre Ngira received 18 prisoners as commander of the Byumba military camp. The local
Burgomaster, Jean-Baptiste Gatete of Murambi, sent them to him on October 7, 1990. Major Pierre Ngira
provided first-hand testimony of his treatment of these prisoners to the International Commission. The
Commission reports: He ordered that they be put in a hole that had been dug for latrines, six meters by
three, and four meters deep. In the morning, those still alive were transferred to prison and the others
were buried. Major Ngira claimed that he was distracted by other duties and therefore was uncertain
whether victims were buried inside or outside the camp, although he believed it was in the Byumba
cemetery. According to other witnesses, however, Major Ngira himself ordered red hot coals dumped on
the prisoners in the hole, burning them to death.7
The largest detention of civilians took place in Kigali. On the night of October 4, 1990, three days
after the RPF invasion, the government simulated an RPF attack in the capital, at least forty kilometers
south of the real fighting. Authorities then used this alleged attack to detain at least 8,000 people,
mostly Tutsi, without charges. Many were beaten and tortured, and an unknown number of victims were
summarily executed.
Over one year later, government forces staged a second attack on the night of February 4, 1991 at
the military camp of Bigogwe in Mutura. The morning after the attack, soldiers organized Hutu crowds to
search out and attack Tutsi. More than 300 Tutsi and members of opposition political parties were
killed.
Beatings, killings and disappearances of civilians by the military increased after the February
1993 RPF offensive. Africa Watch reported that Rwandan soldiers killed at least 147 civilians, and beat,
raped or arrested hundreds more in the four months following the offensive.8
Soldiers rape and loot frequently and with impunity. So serious and numerous are the instances
of indiscipline that President Habyarimana himself has reproached the military for its behavior. But no
soldiers have been brought to trial for abuses of civilians.9
7
See "The Report of the International Commission," p.32.
8
Africa Watch, "Beyond the Rhetoric," June 1993, p. 8.
9
Africa Watch, "Beyond the Rhetoric," June 1993, p. 12.
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Violations by the RPF
The RPF has committed extrajudicial executions of up to several hundred civilians and military
prisoners. (Investigations to reach a more accurate estimate were only made possible recently by the
ending of the war, and are not yet complete.) The RPF has also forcibly moved hundreds, perhaps
thousands, of civilians from their homes, pillaged and destroyed their property, and recruited boys and
men against their will to serve the RPF as porters and cattleherders. This abuse began with the RPF
invasion in October 1990. Although it continued on a lesser scale throughout the war, the abuse
increased sharply again with the RPF offensive in February 1993.
Refugees at camps near Ngarama and Byumba told the International Commission of dozens of
cases of abuse. A woman from Muvumba said that in October 1990: "They took all the cattle that they
could find, ours and those of other families. They took all our property and they even took people. They
killed several persons. They took people from the houses and led them away just like that."10
A man at a refugee camp near Ngarama told the International Commission of abuse by the RPF in
December 1992: "The father, Kwigamba, had stayed [instead of fleeing like other men] because he was
sick. They took him and told his wife to stay in the house. They took two other men and they killed them,
just like that, for the sake of killing. Kwigamba was killed with a bayonet after the [RPF forces] told the
women and children to go home."11
In the wake of the RPF's February 1993 offensive, the RPF extrajudicially executed at least 100
civilians in and near Ruhengeri in northwestern Rwanda. Independent Rwandan human rights groups
saw the bodies of several victims and collected testimony of dozens of survivors. Local clergy from
Catholic parishes in Gahanga and other communities near Ruhengeri estimate that up to 200 civilians
were extrajudicially executed by the RPF in their areas alone. Until recently, continued unrest in this
area has made investigation of these crimes not possible. However, although the exact figures remain
in dispute, that the RPF is responsible for wholesale human rights violations in and around Ruhengeri is
clear.
10
See "The Report of the International Commission," p.37.
11
See "The Report of the International Commission," p.38.
Arming Rwanda
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
III. ARMS FLOWS TO THE GOVERNMENT OF RWANDA
"Our efforts are not partisan for either side."
Colonel Cussac
French Military Attache and
Head of the French Military
Assistance Mission to Rwanda
Kigali, Rwanda.
"Cussac is a man in favor of a military solution."
A European Diplomat
Kigali, Rwanda.
Expansion of the Rwandan Armed Forces
When the war began in October 1990, Rwanda had an army of only 5,000 men. They were
equipped with light arms including Belgian-made FAL, German-made G-3, and Kalashnikov automatic
rifles manufactured by China or countries of the former Eastern Bloc. The Army's most significant
weaponry included eight 81mm mortars, six 57mm antitank guns, French 83mm Blindicide rocket
launchers, 12 French AML-60 armored cars, and 16 French M-3 armored personnel carriers.12
By the war's end, the Rwanda armed forces had expanded to at least 30,000 men, armed with a
wide range of light arms, heavier guns, grenade launchers, landmines, and mid- and long-range artillery.
The flood of light weapons and the introduction of heavier weapons systems contributed to thousands
of civilian casualties and the displacement of hundreds of thousands more.
France, Egypt and South Africa supplied the vast majority of weapons to arm this expansion.
Through its investigations, the Arms Project has identified Egypt as a key arms supplier, has uncovered
new information regarding Rwandan purchases from South Africa, and has discovered new evidence
confirming the role of France as Rwanda's main military patron.
Egypt
The Arms Project has obtained documents showing Egypt sold $6 million in arms to Rwanda in
March 1992. The deal was apparently made possible by a $6 million bank guarantee from France's
nationalized bank, Credit Lyonnais, according to information received by the Arms Project. In an
interview with the Arms Project in Kigali on June 2, 1993, Rwanda's Minister of Defense James Gasana
confirmed the existence of this transaction.
Others, however, seemed determined to keep this arms deal and its specific terms B particularly
Credit Lyonnais' role B secret. Attache Saliman M. Osman from the Egyptian Embassy in Kigali and
Ambassador Ahmed Maher El Sayed from the Egyptian Embassy in Washington, D.C. declined comment to
the Arms Project. Likewise, France's Ambassador to Rwanda declined comment. Director of
12
See International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Military Balance 1990-1991, London, 1990, p. 140.
Arming Rwanda
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
Communications for Credit Lyonnais Valerie Sehet in Paris also declined comment, on the grounds that
Credit Lyonnais is obligated to respect the confidentiality of its clients.
According to the terms of the executed, secret agreement between Rwanda and Egypt (see
Appendix A-1), Rwanda was to pay $1 million cash within six months of the signing of the contract.
Another $1 million was to be paid by the delivery of 615 tons of Rwandan tea by the end of 1992. The
remaining $4 million was scheduled to be repaid in annual installments from February 1993 through
February 1996.
The agreement was conditioned on Rwanda obtaining a bank guarantee for the transaction from
a "first-rate, international bank approved by [Egypt]." The Arms Project has obtained an unexecuted form
of the required bank guarantee. (See Appendix A-2.) Rwandan officials, speaking not for attribution, and
other Rwandan and French sources told the Arms Project that Credit Lyonnais provided the guarantee.
Although the Arms Project has not been able to obtain final documentary confirmation, it believes that
Credit Lyonnais did in fact provide the guarantee, and calls on the governments of France, Rwanda, and
Egypt to acknowledge openly this arrangement and to clarify its implications.
In addition to the delivery of $1 million of Rwandan tea to Egypt as partial payment for the arms,
Rwanda pledged its future tea harvests from the Mulindi tea plantation to Credit Lyonnais as collateral
for the guarantee, according to Western diplomats. However, in February 1993 the Mulindi tea
plantation was taken over by the RPF. The Arms Project visited this plantation in May and June 1993
while it was under RPF control; its crop had already spoiled. Given this situation with the tea crop, and
the Rwandan government's dire financial straits, its ability to make continuing payments to Egypt is
questionable. Which of the parties to the transaction may bear losses is not clear.
The $6 million deal included a wide range of light arms, infantry support weapons and
ammunition:
$ fifty 60mm and twenty 82mm mortars, with ten thousand high-explosive mortar shells;
$ six 122mm D-30 long-range artillery guns, with three thousand high-explosive artillery shells;
$ over six thousand high-explosive shells for 120mm mortars;
$ two thousand RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenades;
$ two thousand MAT-79 antipersonnel landmines;
$ two hundred kilograms of plastic explosives;
$ at least four hundred and fifty Egyptian-made Kalashnikov automatic rifles;13
$ more than three million rounds of ammunition.
(See Appendix A-3 and A-4.)
France
France, in particular, has played a large, but still not completely defined role, in arming and
supporting Rwanda's military. France has either supplied or kept operational most of the heavy guns,
13
These Kalashnikov automatic rifles are Egyptian-made AKMs, commonly referred to as the AK-47. The two weapons are nearly
identical, with the AKM being a second generation modification of the original AK-47. In this report, the term Kalashnikov is meant to
denote either, although the Arms Project observed only AKMs in Rwanda.
Arming Rwanda
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
artillery, assault vehicles and helicopters used by Rwanda in the war.
After the initial October 1990 invasion, France supplied 60mm, 81mm, and 120mm mortars, as
well as 105mm LG1 light artillery guns. The 120mm mortars and the 105mm guns require a wheeled
carriage, and have a range of over 5,700 meters and 11,500 meters respectively. France also provided
the spare parts and technical assistance to maintain dozens of French-made armored vehicles,
including Panhard Light Armoured Cars, models AML 60/7 and AML 90. Both are equipped with turretmounted cannons and 7.62mm machine guns. France also kept operational French-made Panhard M3
Armoured Personnel Carriers, as well as six French-made Gazelle helicopters.
South Africa
The Arms Project has obtained a document dated October 19, 1992 that shows that South Africa
has supplied Rwanda with a wide range of light arms, machine guns and ammunition. (See Appendix B.)
The Arms Project also observed South African weapons, including R-4 automatic rifles, in use by
Rwandan troops, and photographed a variety of South African weapons in use by RPF troops, which the
RPF claims to have captured from the Rwandan army.
About 3,000 Rwandan army troops are now equipped with South African-made 5.56mm R-4
automatic rifles. The R-4 can also launch rifle grenades, and the October 1992 Rwandan purchase from
South Africa includes twenty thousand high-explosive grenades, and over 1.5 million rounds of
ammunition. In addition, South Africa provided 7.62mm SS-77 machine guns, as well as heavier 12.7mm
(.50 caliber) Browning machine guns, and over one million rounds of ammunition. South Africa also sold
seventy hand-held 40mm MGL grenade launchers with ten thousand grenades, and one hundred 60mm
M1 mortars. This purchase also includes ten thousand M26 fragmentation grenades.
This arms deal with South Africa is in contravention of a United Nations Security Council
resolution opposing importation of weapons from South Africa. However, the import prohibition is
voluntary, unlike the U.N. ban on arms exports to South Africa, which is mandatory. U.N. Security Council
Resolution 558, adopted unanimously by the Security Council on December 13, 1984, "Requests all
States to refrain from importing arms, ammunition of all types and military vehicles produced in South
Africa."14
United States
United States military sales and aid to Rwanda have been limited. U.S. military sales to Rwanda
totalled $2.3 million from fiscal years 1981 through 1992. These sales were financed by a $1.5 million
military loan in FY 1981 and a $750,000 military grant in FY 1986. Another $600,000 in military sales are
estimated for FY 1993. In addition, the U.S. provides grant aid for Rwandan military personnel to
participate in the U.S. International Military Education and Training Program (IMET). From FY 1980
through FY 1992, the U.S. provided $769,000 through IMET to train 35 Rwandan officers and
noncommissioned officers at U.S. military schools, with an emphasis on teaching basic infantry and
engineering skills. IMET for Rwanda is estimated at $120,000 for both FY 1993 and FY 1994.15
14
UN Security Council Resolution 558 of 13 December 1984, S/RES/558 (1984), Adopted unanimously at the 2564th meeting.
15
U.S. Defense Security Assistance Agency, Fiscal Year Series, As Of September 30, 1992, (1993), pp. 298-299; and, U.S. Department
of Defense and Department of State, Congressional Presentation for Security Assistance Programs, Fiscal Year 1994, (1993), pp. 32,
35, 301.
Arming Rwanda
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
It is worth noting, however, that although the level of U.S. military assistance is small, the U.S.
has generally been very supportive of the Rwandan government and Rwandan armed forces. In fact, in
its 1992 annual report to Congress justifying military aid programs, the Bush Administration stated that
"(r)elations with the U.S. are excellent," and that "there is no evidence of any systematic human rights
abuses by the military or any other element of the Government of Rwanda."16
Other Sources
Rwanda has also purchased weapons from both other governments and independent arms
dealers, but apart from sources already named above, most other purchases by Rwanda appear to be
small. Rwandan military officers and government officials involved in weapons transfers, including
Minister of Defense James Gasana, said that Rwanda makes purchasing decisions according to market
conditions. Rwandan authorities said they turned to South Africa as a supplier because it offered quality
weapons at a better price than Egypt. In June 1993, various officers and officials told the Arms Project
that Rwanda was trying to develop new sources in Russia for the same reason.
Western diplomats told the Arms Project that a variety of African countries have sold Rwanda
small quantities of arms. Many sources told the Arms Project that they suspected or "had heard" that
Libya had provided Rwanda with weapons. The Arms Project was unable to confirm this allegation.
Purchases from independent arms dealers probably include Kalashnikov automatic rifles, which are
widely available throughout Africa, and Chinese stick grenades, also easily obtainable on the open
market.
Scope of the Weapons Influx
To Americans and others who are used to hearing about $300 billion military budgets and multibillion dollar arms sales to Saudi Arabia, Rwanda's arms deals cited above may seem trivial and no
cause for concern. However, these are in fact very significant for a small, impoverished nation like
Rwanda.
To put the $6 million Egyptian sale and $5.9 million South African sale into perspective, one has
to recognize that, according to the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, Rwanda's arms imports
from all nations from 1981 through 1988 totalled just $5 million.17
President Habyarimana recently recognized the widespread negative impact of Rwanda's arms
imports:
Our economy was already ailing in 1990, and of course the war
has not resolved anything. We signed agreements with the IMF and the
16
U.S. Department of Defense and Department of State, Congressional Presentation for Security Assistance Programs, Fiscal Year
1993, (1992), p. 291.
17
U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers 1990, U.S. Government Printing
Office, Washington, D.C., 1991, p. 121. This document also lists $20 million in military imports from China in 1989, but the Arms
Project's investigation did not reveal significant amounts of Chinese weaponry in Rwanda.
Arming Rwanda
17
Human Rights Watch Arms Project
World Bank, which we have of course been unable to honor, because we
have had to purchase weapons and supplies. Now we want to improve
our macroeconomic outlook, but we have a serious shortage of
currency.18
18
Foreign Broadcast Information Service, FBIS-AFR-93-193, October 7, 1993, p. 2.
Arming Rwanda
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
IV. ARMS FLOWS TO THE RPF
"We just took off and left. They didn't even know it until we had
already crossed the border."
RPF Commander Frank Mugambage, Second
Lieutenant in the Ugandan NRA prior to
the
invasion.
RPF Zone of Control, Rwanda.
"The NRA is committed, we are committed to the RPF. If they
didn't have our support, they wouldn't be as successful as they are."
NRA Operations Officer
Kampala, Uganda.
The most important source of weapons to the RPF has been Uganda and its National Resistance
Army (NRA). The RPF has also received substantial funds to buy arms from Banyarwanda exiles,
especially in North America and Europe. The RPF also captured weapons and ammunition from the
Rwandan army.
Weapons from Uganda
The thousands of NRA members who allegedly defected en masse to the RPF brought their
uniforms and personal weapons, most of which were Romanian and other ex-Eastern bloc Kalashnikov
automatic rifles, as well as ammunition. RPF forces also took other weaponry including landmines,
rocket-propelled grenades, 60mm mortars and recoilless cannons. RPF commanders Jean Birasa and
James Rucibira in Kigali on May 26, 1993 and commanders Frank Mugambage, David Byarugaba and
Frank Rusagara in Mulindi on May 30, 1993 told the Arms Project that they left Uganda with at least two
Soviet-made Katyusha multiple rocket launcher systems. The Katyusha is a long-range system which
can cover an area wider and longer than a soccer field with a concentration of incoming fire.
RPF commanders maintain that they "stole" all of these weapons. Both RPF commanders and
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni deny that the NRA has provided any direct support to the RPF. (See
Appendix D.)
The Alleged Mass Defection and Invasion
At face value, this suggests that a conspiracy involving thousands of rank-and-file troops and
hundreds of non-commissioned and ranking officers took place without either the NRA's blessing or
even knowledge. The Arms Project finds this claim not credible. Many journalists, diplomats and other
observers told the Arms Project that the fact of the invasion was common knowledge in Kampala and
other locations throughout Uganda, as thousands of soon-to-be departing NRA members bid farewell to
relatives and friends.
Moreover, while military intelligence may have been under the control of the alleged
Arming Rwanda
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
conspirators, Uganda has a separate Internal Security Organization (ISO) with several thousand agents
that was created precisely to prevent renegade or conspiratorial activity within the NRA. That the ISO
could have been entirely uninformed of both the conspiracy and its execution is not credible.
Finally, movements in preparation for the invasion were efficient, but not especially rapid.
Diplomats and western military observers say that troops, trucks and weapons left Kampala to gather in
the local football stadium in Kabale, 300 kilometers southwest of Kampala and 20 kilometers north of
the Rwandan border. This movement began September 29, 1990, two days prior to the October 1 invasion.
There is no evidence that any NRA or other Ugandan authorities challenged this alleged mass defection
of troops.
Ugandan Support Since the Invasion
On the day of the invasion, Ugandan officials say they declared the defecting NRA troops to be in
violation of the law. According to Ugandan Ambassador to the United States S.T.K. Katenta-Apuli: "The
Ugandan government declared all Rwandese who had left the NRA to attack Rwanda as Deserters under
the Operational Code of Conduct. That means, on conviction by a Court Martial, they would be punishable
by death. This is no incentive for them to cross back into Uganda." (See Appendix D.)
However, RPF officers who led and organized the conspiracy, including the former head of NRA
military intelligence and now top RPF commander Paul Kagame, traveled frequently and openly to
Kampala to meet with foreign diplomats, reporters and RPF supporters within the NRA. These visits and
meetings in Kampala took place throughout the three year war, as late as 1993. Rather than arrest the
organizers of this alleged act of high treason, Ugandan authorities greeted them repeatedly.
Journalists, diplomats and international military observers say that Uganda had been a steady
source of light arms, ammunition, uniforms, batteries, food and gasoline from October 1990 to as late as
May 1993, when a western observer interviewed by the Arms Project reported seeing uniformed soldiers
openly unload two crates of about thirty Kalashnikovs in southern Uganda near the Rwandan border.
During the February 1993 RPF offensive, Rwandan authorities confiscated a Mercedes-Benz
truck with a Ugandan license plate, number UWT-868, in Rwanda between Ruhengeri and the Ugandan
border. RPF commander Frank Mugambage confirmed to the Arms Project that this vehicle was in use by
RPF forces, but said: "That was a civilian vehicle given to us by one of the supporters. It had nothing to do
with the [Ugandan] government." However, Rwandan authorities found a document inside the vehicle
with a general order from the NRA's Military Police Headquarters. The order identifies the truck by its
license plate, and reads: "It is on special duties. Assist them where necessary." Dated November 21,
1991, the order indicates that the truck had been, 15 months before the offensive, operating under
official NRA authorization. Whether the truck was still under NRA authorization in February 1993, when it
was discovered in Rwanda, remains unclear. The Arms Project has a copy of the order and a photograph
of the truck.
On several occasions throughout the war, journalists, diplomats and international military
observers say that wholesale numbers of RPF troops operating in organized units have crossed back
into Uganda, and have camped in border areas for months. Despite their claims that ex-NRA soldiers in
the RPF would face charges "punishable by death," Ugandan authorities made no effort to arrest, deter
or otherwise control these RPF forces.
Arming Rwanda
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
A senior NRA operations officer told the Arms Project that Uganda has supported the RPF
throughout the conflict. The officer said that after the failure of the RPF's October 1990 invasion, the NRA
provided even heavier weaponry including artillery. The officer said that throughout the conflict, the
NRA provided a steady stream of ammunition, food and logistical supplies, and that the two armies
shared intelligence information.
Ugandan Responsibility
There is no evidence that NRA troops who remained under Ugandan command ever directly
participated in the fighting or entered Rwandan territory. Nor is there evidence that the RPF, as it has
been organized, has been in any way a proxy of or under the command of Uganda.
Nonetheless, the Arms Projects finds a high degree of institutional complicity between the NRA
and the RPF. At the very least, Uganda and its leaders are responsible for allowing military renegades to
plan and execute the invasion of a sovereign state with Ugandan weapons, launched from Uganda. The
Arms Project also believes that there is credible evidence that the Ugandan government allowed the RPF
to move arms, logistical supplies and troops across Ugandan soil, and provided direct military support
to the RPF in the form of arms, ammunition, and military equipment.
Funds from the Diaspora to Buy Arms
The RPF has received considerable funds from Rwandan exiles, known as Banyarwanda, living in
North America, Europe and elsewhere. With this money, the RPF has bought weapons, ammunition and
other equipment. In the RPF zone of control in May 1993, the Arms Project observed Kalashnikov
automatic rifles manufactured by Romania and other countries of the former Eastern bloc, as well as
East German rain pattern camouflage uniforms. These weapons and other material appear to have been
purchased through independent arms dealers in both Africa and Western Europe.
Western diplomats, Rwandan authorities and journalists also told the Arms Project that both
Libya and Iraq may be sources of weapons for the RPF. But the Arms Project found no evidence of any
direct governmental arms transfers to the RPF apart from Uganda.
Captured Weapons from the Rwandan Army
The RPF claims to have captured most its weapons from the Rwandan army. To demonstrate, the
RPF allowed the Arms Project to inspect a training camp inside its zone of control, and to photograph
weapons at random. The Arms Project was able to positively identify various weapons common among
Rwandan army stocks.
The photographed weapons which appear to have been captured by the RPF from the Rwandan
army include:
1) 5.56mm R-4 automatic rifles manufactured by South Africa.
2) 7.62mm SS-77 machine guns manufactured by South Africa.
3) 40mm Armscor MGL grenade launchers manufactured by South Africa. This
includes grenades with stock number M848A1, and a 1992 year of manufacture.
Arming Rwanda
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
4) M-791 Antipersonnel rifle grenades manufactured by South
Africa for both 5.56mm and 7.62mm automatic rifles.
5) 9mm Browning High-powered pistols manufactured in Belgium
under license, and common among pre-war stocks of the Rwandan army.
6) 7.62mm FN FAL automatic rifles manufactured by Belgium and common among
pre-war stocks of the Rwandan army.
7) 7.62mm FN MAG machine guns manufactured by Belgium and
common among pre-war stocks of the Rwandan army.
However, at least 80 percent of the weapons observed by the Arms Project were Kalashnikov
automatic rifles, mostly of ex-Eastern bloc manufacture. The Kalashnikov is common among the
Rwandan army. But it is more common among the Ugandan NRA, and it is readily available on the market
throughout Africa.
Arming Rwanda
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
V. THE ROLE OF FOREIGN TROOPS
"French military troops are here in Rwanda to protect French
citizens and other foreigners. They have never been given a mission
against the RPF."
Colonel Cussac
French Military Attache and
Head of the French Military
Assistance Mission to Rwanda
Kigali, Rwanda.
"I don't expect the Rwandan army to suppress the RPF by itself."
French Ambassador Marlaud
Kigali, Rwanda.
France
Belgium was traditionally Rwanda's main provider of military assistance and training. But after
the war began in October 1990, Belgium cut off all lethal assistance. France, in contrast, rapidly
expanded its military role, becoming Rwanda's primary military partner. France has provided Rwanda
with weapons, munitions and advisors, and has deployed troops in Rwanda for the stated purpose of
protecting French nationals living there. However, the monetary value and exact nature of French
military assistance to Rwanda remain secret, even in peacetime.
At the beginning of the war, France sent 300 soldiers to Rwanda, drawn from its force stationed
in the Central African Republic. According to a French Foreign Affairs Ministry official, the mission was
"to protect French nationals from unrest." The same official noted that French troops did not use
weapons and "were not directly committed, but their presence...helped to restore order."19 Part of the
force was withdrawn, but 170 soldiers remained stationed in Rwanda.
Immediately after the RPF launched its offensive on February 8, 1993, the number of French
soldiers swelled to at least 680 B four companies, including paratroopers. Two of these companies were
deployed on main roads north of the capital. The remainder were deployed in strategic positions in
Kigali, including the airport. French officials including Colonel Cussac, the military attache for the
French Embassy and the head of the French Military Assistance Mission, told the Arms Project: "French
military troops are here in Rwanda to protect French citizens and other foreigners. They have never been
given a mission against the RPF." As part of this mission, French troops were deployed along the road to
Ruhengeri and further north to ensure the safe evacuation of French nationals and other western
expatriates living there.
However, the Arms Project witnessed first hand French military activities that, at the least, were
tantamount to direct participation in the war. In addition, sources including non-French Western
diplomats in country told the Arms Project that French soldiers provided artillery support for Rwandan
19
Ambassador Francois de La Gorce, "Security in Africa: A Link With France," United Nations Disarmament Topical Papers 12:
Disarmament and Security in Africa, United Nations, New York, 1992, p. 33.
Arming Rwanda
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
infantry troops both before and during the February 1993 offensive. French soldiers were deployed at
least 40 kilometers north of the capital on the road to Byumba, just south of the RPF's recognized zone of
control. No French citizens or other western expatriates are known to be living there.
The Arms Project observed French soldiers manning checkpoints just north of Kigali on the
roads to Ruhengeri and Byumba. They were armed with 5.56mm FAMAS automatic rifles, as well as Wasp
58 assault rocket launchers and other infantry support weapons. Like Rwandan army troops, French
troops demanded identification from passing civilians. All Rwandans are required to carry cards, which
identify both their name and the specific social category, Hutu, Tutsi or Twa, to which they belong.
In addition to the combat troops, France has sent military advisors to provide training, including
combat skills and commando operations, to Rwandan troops. French military advisors and consultants
also provide technical assistance to the Rwandan Gendarmerie or national police, to facilitate the
investigation of violent crimes. This assistance is part of a Franco/Rwandan agreement signed in 1974,
which predates the deployment of French troops during the war.
French information officer William Bunel told the Arms Project that French advisors are
prohibited from entering combat areas, and may only advise Rwandan troops in fixed training centers.
But western observers, diplomats and Rwandan military officers said that French advisors had been
observed in tactical combat situations with Rwandan troops during the February 1993 offensive. When
confronted with this statement, French Ambassador Marlaud told the Arms Project: "When you are
supposed to advise, you must advise however it is necessary."
In December 1993, following deployment of U.N. forces, all remaining French troops were
apparently withdrawn.20
Zaire
When the war started in October 1990, the government of Zaire sent about 500 troops to help
Rwandan forces repel the RPF invasion. A Rwandan army field commander told the Arms Project that the
Zairian troops brought their own weapons, but that munitions were provided by Rwanda. Several weeks
after their arrival, the soldiers were withdrawn in the midst of charges that they had lacked discipline
and had abused Rwandan civilians. The Arms Project found no evidence that Zairian troops had been redeployed in Rwanda.
Uganda and Rwanda
Although more than half of the initial RPF invasion force came from the Ugandan NRA, and many
RPF commanders are former Ugandan military officers, the Arms Project found no evidence that NRA
troops, still under Ugandan command, ever directly entered the conflict. But Rwandan officials claim
that NRA troops shelled Rwandan positions from Ugandan soil.
20
See chapter IX, International Peacekeeping.
Arming Rwanda
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
There is also no evidence that Rwandan troops ever crossed into Uganda. But international
military observers told the Arms Project that Rwandan troops fighting the RPF on occasion shelled
territory in southern Uganda.
Arming Rwanda
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
VI. THE ESCALATION OF FIREPOWER AND THE CIVILIAN
TOLL
"People in Kigali provided the support. The order was to destroy
everything in the zone."
A Rwandan Army Field Commander
Kigali, Rwanda.
"Civilians were killed as in any war."
Colonel Cussac
French Military Attache and
Head of the French Military
Assistance Mission to Rwanda
Kigali, Rwanda.
The proliferation of weapons in Rwanda B among the government armed forces, the RPF, and
throughout society B over the past three years has contributed to the loss of thousands of civilian lives,
as a result of human rights violations and violations of the laws of war. While the government and RPF
are primarily responsible for the abuses, the Arms Project believes that France, Egypt, South Africa,
Uganda and other nations that provided arms and other forms of military support to the combatants
while knowing their general disrespect for the laws of war also bear responsibility for abusive civilian
deaths.
The Invasion and the February 1993 Offensive
Throughout the war, but particularly during the initial invasion and the February 1993 RPF
offensive, both the Rwandan army and the RPF engaged in frequent incidents of indiscriminate attacks
in known civilian areas as well as direct attacks on civilians. Such attacks violate internationally
recognized laws of warfare.21
After the RPF invaded Rwanda on October 1, 1990, the fighting which ensued was conventional in
nature, with direct engagement between large numbers of units in the northeastern region of Mutara
between Byumba and the Parc National de L'Akagera. A Rwandan field commander told the Arms Project
that authorities in Kigali declared the invasion area a "red" or free-fire zone, ordering the Rwandan army
"to destroy everything in the zone." It was populated by subsistence farmers and cattle herders. Apart
from combatants, at least 500 civilians were killed. Another 350,000 Rwandans were displaced by the
fighting.
The RPF also attacked targets that were clearly civilian. On December 1, 1991, they attacked a
camp sheltering 6,000 displaced people at Rwebare. They stormed the camp from three sides in the
middle of the night, killing 19 people and wounding 34. A week later, the RPF attacked the small hospital
21
See Article 51(4) and (5) of 1977 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, prohibiting indiscriminate attacks.
Article 51(2) of Protocol I prohibits direct attacks on civilians. Although Protocol I applies to international wars, whereas the
Rwandan war is an internal armed conflict, these rules in Article 51 codify customary international law of war applicable in all armed
conflicts, international or non-international.
Arming Rwanda
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
of Nyarurema for the third time since the war began, killing 6 nurses and patients. Other civilian targets
included schools, markets and homes.
The war's most intense fighting took place during the RPF's February 1993 offensive through the
Parc National des Volcans and the town of Ruhengeri. Military and diplomatic sources sympathetic to
both sides told the Arms Project that this battle involved the use of heavier weaponry, including 120mm
mortars by the RPF, and French-made Gazelle helicopters by the Rwandan army. Hundreds of civilians
were killed and another 650,000 Rwandans were displaced, creating most of the war's refugees.
Government Distribution of Weapons to Civilians
As new weapons, particularly automatic rifles, were obtained from new sources, the
government was able to distribute hundreds of Kalashnikov automatic rifles from existing stocks to
civilian groups loyal to the Habyarimana regime. In 1991 the Rwandan government began a program of
arming civilians to create "self-defense" forces. This was separate from the formation of the party
militia that engaged in massive human rights abuses B using machetes and spears B in late 1992 and
early 1993.
The Arms Project has obtained a Rwandan government document marked SECRET, dated
September 29, 1991, from Colonel Deogratias Nsabimana to the Defense Minister, proposing to provide a
gun for every administrative unit of ten households. (See Appendix C.) It specifically calls for 1,760 guns
to be distributed in four "communes" (Muvumba, Ngarama, Muhura, and Bwisige).
Dr. Augustin Iyamuremye, General Secretary of the Central Information Service (secret police),
told the Arms Project that, as part of this activity, the government distributed up to 500 Kalashnikov
automatic rifles to local civilian authorities. Although the 1991 document calls for the national police to
organize and train the civilians participating in the program, it appears only the army has performed
this function.
These forces served as a sort of border guard during 1992, and were not involved in the human
rights abuses committed by the Rwandan army, party militia, and civilian crowds. By February 1993,
however, the program had been extended from border communes to interior communes, and there was
increasing interaction and overlapping of these forces and the abusive militia. Dr. Iyamuremye
admitted to the Arms Project that in areas where there were "existing political conflicts" some local
MRND militia members did incite and execute violence against unarmed civilians.
It is impossible to exaggerate the danger of providing automatic rifles to civilians, particularly
in regions where residents, either encouraged or instructed by authorities, have slaughtered their
neighbors. In light of the widespread and horrific abuses committed by Hutu civilian crowds and party
militia armed primarily with machetes and spears, it is frightening to ponder the potential for abuses by
large numbers of ill-trained civilians equipped with assault rifles.
C. Assassinations and Bombings
"I don't think we have to call an International Commission to
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
investigate something which we can investigate here."
Dr. Charles Nzabagerageza
Rwandan Minister of Transportation
and Communication, and member of
the so-called Akazu.
Kigali, Rwanda.
"Shadow groups are behind the violence. But nobody can
provide concrete evidence [against them]. Take the example of the
mafia. Their chief may recruit from churches, the government or private
companies which allow him to conduct criminal activities without
being seen. Here, the shadow groups are able to build connections to
carry out criminal activities with impunity."
Dr. Dismas Nsengiyaremye
Ex-Prime Minister of Rwanda
Kigali, Rwanda.
Since the war began, Rwanda has been plagued by bombings and other terrorist attacks, which
have killed or wounded dozens, and menaced many more. These include the bombing of hotels and
nightclubs which cater to wealthier Rwandans and foreigners, the bombing of busy markets which cater
to poorer Rwandans, and assassinations of opposition political party leaders.
In May, two grenades were thrown into the house of Stanislas Mbonampeka, a former Minister of
Justice and member of the political opposition, injuring a child. In March, Catherine Mujawayezu, a
nurse and human rights activist, was killed by a grenade thrown in her house.
The problem is exacerbated by the increasing proliferation of weaponry in Rwanda. Hand
grenades and other small arms have been available in local fruit and vegetable markets as military
supplies have increased. A single grenade can be bought for as little as 400 Rwandan francs or U.S. $3.
They have become the weapon of choice for thieves and other street criminals in Kigali and elsewhere.
No group has ever claimed responsibility for these attacks. However, the assassinations and
bombings have been carried out quickly and professionally, sometimes by uniformed men, suggesting
the attackers are disciplined and trained. The facts suggest that a well organized group of individuals
with access to substantial funds and resources is behind terrorism in Rwanda. But, there is no
consensus on which group is responsible.
Rwandan and French authorities told the Arms Project that they had proof linking these acts to
the RPF and associated individuals. Rwandan and French authorities have made the same case to
members of the diplomatic corps. But no evidence has ever been presented. French officials claim that
the Soviet timing devices and detonators used in the bombings are of the same type and design used by
the RPF. However, French officials also told the Arms Project that Soviet demolition material is widely
available throughout Africa.
In direct contrast to the position of French and Rwandan officials, a persuasive number of nonFrench Western diplomats, Rwandan military officers, and civilians with a long standing personal
relationship with Rwandan President Habyarimana told the Arms Project that they suspect members of
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
the regime, and in particular the first circle or so-called "little house" around the President, which
translates from the Kinyarwandan word "Akazu," to be responsible for these terrorist attacks. These
people told the Arms Project that powerful elements within the Akazu, who have largely ruled Rwanda
since 1973, opposed both the negotiations to end the war and the opening to opposition political parties.
Nonetheless, there is no proof at this time.
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
VII. LANDMINES
According to a recent report by the U.S. State Department, "As a result of the civil conflict that
began in 1990, Rwanda is now faced with a sizeable uncleared landmine problem," and "the need for
demining in Rwanda is critical."22 The exact number of landmines buried on Rwandan soil is not known,
but the government estimates that it runs into the hundreds.
A. Mine Types and Locations
Both the government and the RPF have used landmines. They range from World War II-vintage
mines to modern, nonmetallic antipersonnel and antitank types. The manufacturer and supplier of
mines used by the RPF is unknown. Documents obtained by the Arms Project show that Egypt has
provided the government with MAT-79 antipersonnel landmines; however, other mine types deployed by
the government also remain unknown.
The heaviest concentration of mines is between the de-militarized zone and the Ugandan
border; it is an area of land about 120 kilometers long and, on average, 10 kilometers wide. It includes
Rwanda's Parc National des Volcans, the habitat of the mountain gorilla, creating a hazard for this
endangered species. Mines are also planted south of the de-militarized zone in an area of about 1,200
square kilometers. At least six confirmed mine incidents have occurred there since March 18, 1993.
B. Indiscriminate Attacks
Of particular concern is the indiscriminate placing of landmines on civilian roads up to 150
kilometers from the front. Such use of landmines is in clear violation of international law.23 French
officials told the Arms Project (as well as representatives of other Western missions in Kigali) that they
positively identified some of the landmines used in these attacks as being of Belgian manufacture. By
tracing the serial numbers, they claimed to have determined that Belgium sold these landmines, at an
unspecified date, to Libya, which in turn sold them to the RPF. French officials said that Belgian
landmines of the same type and serial number were discovered in the hands of RPF members in Rwanda.
French officials said these weapons had been transported through Zaire and Tanzania.
Belgian officials in Kigali, including Colonel Vincent, the head of the Belgian/Rwandan Military
Technical Cooperation mission, and Ambassador Johan Swinnen, declined comment on this matter,
referring the Arms Project to the Belgian Foreign Ministry in Brussels. There, Foreign Ministry
spokesman Mr. D'Hoop told the Arms Project that Belgium has sold no weapons to Libya since a United
Nations embargo against arms sales was imposed. Belgian officials, who asked not to be identified, told
the Arms Project they had no knowledge of any Belgian landmines being linked to the RPF through Libya.
Many of the people who blamed the Akazu for other terrorist attacks believe it is they rather than
22
U.S. Department of State, Hidden Killers: the Global Problem with Uncleared Landmines, July 1993, pp. 32, 148.
23
See the Arms Project of Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights, Landmines: A Deadly Legacy (1993), Chapter 8,
"International Law Governing Landmines," pp. 261-318.
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
the RPF who are responsible for this use of landmines against civilians. The evidence on this issue is
inconclusive.
C. Mine Clearance
Now that a peace agreement has been signed, refugees and displaced persons will be returning
to their homes and fields in large numbers. The U.S. State Department has said, "Demining assistance
must be provided urgently, either by military forces or commercial contract, to enable the displaced to
return to the buffer zone."24 Indeed, some returning refugees have already lost limbs to landmines.
Some planning for mine clearance in Rwanda is underway. The United Nations' top demining
expert, Patrick Blagden, has visited Rwanda to assess its needs. The Rwandan Army has competent
combat engineers, who have been trained by both Belgium and the United States. They have three
operable mine detectors. The United States and France are both providing demining equipment and
technical advice to Rwanda.
The RPF has offered to provide maps, when available, of the areas that it has mined. But maps of
the newer minefields in the mountainous border area near and in the Parc National des Volcans
apparently do not exist.
24
DOS, Hidden Killers, p. 32.
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VIII. HUMAN RIGHTS CONDITIONS ON ARMS TRANSFERS
"France will link its entire contribution effort to efforts made to
move in the direction of greater freedom."
President Francois Mitterrand
La Baule, France (June 1990).
"We are in a country which is at war, and despite the war, they
have been able to pursue democratization. It's not perfect, but the trend
is toward democratization."
French Ambassador Marlaud
Kigali, Rwanda (June 1993).
"Are you saying that the providing of military assistance is a
human rights violation?"
Colonel Cussac
French Military Attache and
Head of the French Military
Assistance Mission to Rwanda
Kigali, Rwanda.
The Arms Project recognizes the right of France, Egypt and others to sell weapons or provide
military assistance to countries. However, the Arms Project believes that human rights considerations
should be a paramount concern when governments make decisions about arms sales B whether to
provide arms, and of what type, quantity, and restrictions. Further, the Arms Project believes that if a
government decides to provide weapons or other military assistance to a recipient with a questionable
human rights record, all such arms transfers or other military assistance should be conditioned upon
the human rights performance of the recipient. It is abundantly clear in the Rwandan situation that
increased arms transfers facilitated increased human rights abuses by both the government and the
RPF. With the exception of Belgium, it does not appear that any military suppliers took human rights
considerations into account.
Belgium has a prohibition on selling or donating lethal military equipment to a country at war.
Shortly after hostilities began in Rwanda, Belgium cut off all transfers of lethal military equipment. But
Belgium still provided Rwanda with 88 million Belgian francs (U.S. $2.75 million) in military assistance
in 1992. It included the training of Rwandan officers, commando units, and medical personnel, and the
delivery of non-lethal military equipment including boots and uniforms.
Following the release of the International Commission's human rights report on March 8, 1993,
Ambassador Johan Swinnen was recalled to Brussels for two weeks of consultation. The Ambassador
told the Arms Project: "When I returned we put pressure on all parties, the President and the Prime
Minister, and on the RPF, to react to the report, because the future of the country and the democratic
process depends on it." Ambassador Swinnen said that Belgium's providing of non-lethal military aid
was explicitly linked to respect for human rights, negotiations to end the war, and the process of greater
democratization.
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
France provides Rwanda with both lethal and non-lethal military equipment. Ambassador
Marlaud told the Arms Project that France's policy toward Rwanda and other countries in Africa is based
upon the guidelines established at the Franco/African summit at La Baule in June 1990. At this summit,
French President Francois Mitterrand announced: "France will link its entire contribution effort to
efforts made to move in the direction of greater freedom." However, President Mitterrand made no
explicit reference to respect for human rights in his statement.
Ambassador Marlaud told the Arms Project that France denounces human rights violations in
Rwanda, and supports the process of democratization. However, neither French policy nor French law
includes any explicit conditioning of military assistance or sales based on the human rights
performance of the recipient.
Egypt provides Rwanda with both lethal and non-lethal military equipment. Egyptian Embassy
attache Soliman M. Osman told the Arms Project: "Our general policy is not to encourage aggression. But
we can provide defensive weapons to a regime to defend itself." The Arms Project is unaware of any
explicit conditioning of Egyptian arms sales or military assistance related to human rights issues.
Uganda has provided the RPF with both lethal and non-lethal military equipment. The Arms
Project is unaware of any policy by Uganda to attach human rights conditions to its arms transfers to
other countries or parties.
South Africa has been an apartheid state which, during the Rwandan war, was still in open
violation of accepted international norms and law. South Africa has sold arms unconditionally to buyers.
However, all Rwandan arms purchases from South Africa have been in contravention of United Nations
Security Council Resolution 558, adopted on December 13, 1984, which asks nations to refrain from
importing arms, ammunition, and military vehicles produced in South Africa.25
A. A OneOne-Year Moratorium on Lethal Assistance
Given the human rights record of the Habyarimana regime and the RPF, the Arms Project
believes that the international community should impose an at least one-year moratorium on all lethal
military assistance or sales to any party in Rwanda.
Moreover, the Arms Project believes that any country which chooses to sell arms or provide
military assistance in the future should legally and explicitly condition such transfers upon the human
rights performance of the recipient. The Arms Project believes that weapons of increased lethality and
technological sophistication should not be introduced into Rwanda, given the evidence of the
proclivities of its armed parties to abuse.
25
U.N. Security Council Resolution 558 of 13 December 1984, S/RES/558 (1984), Adopted unanimously at the 2564th meeting.
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
XIII. TRANSPARENCY IN ARMS TRANSFERS
"I can't give you figures on military aid."
Ambassador Marlaud
Kigali, Rwanda.
The governments of France and Egypt did not respond to requests from the Arms Project to
provide information about their arms transfers to the government of Rwanda. The government of South
Africa does not release any information on its arms sales. The government of Uganda denied the
provision of arms or assistance to the RPF, despite evidence to the contrary. (See Appendix D.)
That France sells Rwanda arms and provides it with additional military assistance is a fact in the
public domain. Yet, even though the war is formally over, the monetary value and details on numbers and
types of weapons and equipment remain secret. Furthermore, France's role in financing Rwandan arms
purchases from third parties, including the $6 million purchase from Egypt, remains unclear.
The Arms Project believes that states should be willing to provide details about their weapons
transfers and other military assistance to other countries. As a rule, if a country believes it is in its
national interest to make a particular arms sale, it should be willing to divulge the details of the sale and
provide its justification. This is particularly true in the case of arms transfers to human rights violators,
when the possibility of misuse of weaponry is high.
Recognition of the need for disclosure, or "transparency" as it is called in the international
security community, is what led to the establishment of the United Nations Conventional Arms Register
in December 1991. The register was created to promote "transparency so as to encourage prudent
restraint by states in their arms export and arms import policies and to reduce the risks of
misunderstanding, suspicion or tension resulting from a lack of information."26 Nations are requested
to voluntarily submit data on their arms imports and arms exports, but only for seven categories of
major weapons systems: tanks, armored vehicles, large caliber artillery systems, combat aircraft,
attack helicopters, warships, and missiles and missile launchers. Small arms and light weapons are
presently not part of the Register.
The year 1993 was the first year nations were requested to submit data (for calender year 1992).
Rwanda did not make a submission. South Africa also declined to participate, citing the U.N. arms
embargo against it. France's submission did not list any exports to Rwanda. Egypt's submission listed
the transfer of six 122mm howitzers to Rwanda.27
The Arms Project urges that France, Egypt, South Africa and others publicly disclose the full
nature of all their arms transfers and military assistance to Rwanda. Likewise, the Arms Project urges
Uganda and other nations to disclose the full nature of all arms transfers and other military assistance
26
Study on ways and means of promoting transparency in international transfers of conventional arms: Report of the SecretaryGeneral, U.N. Doc. A/46/301 (9 September 1991), p. 11.
27
United Nations Document A/48/344, pp. 33, 34, 39, 99.
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
to the RPF since 1990.
The Arms Project strongly believes that the U.N. Register should be expanded to include lessthan-major weapons systems. As has been seen in Rwanda, these weapons also contribute to regional
and internal instability, and, in fact, often cause the greatest devastation to civilians.
IX. INTERNATIONAL PEACEKEEPING
In mid-1992, the Rwandan government and the RPF asked the Organization of African Unity (OAU)
to establish a military observer group to monitor the cease-fire as well as steps toward ending the war.
The 50-member group (known as the Neutral Military Observer Group or NMOG) has operated effectively
since the fall of 1992, although it became clear after the RPF offensive in February 1993 that additional
peacekeeping support was necessary.
In July 1993, at the request of the governments of Rwanda and Uganda, the United Nations
deployed a contingent of peacekeeping personnel in southern Uganda along the Rwanda border (known
as the United Nations Observer Mission Uganda-Rwanda or UNOMUR), with a mandate to monitor the flow
of arms or other supplies into Rwanda.
At the time of the August 4, 1993 Arusha Peace Agreement, both the Rwandan government and
the RPF called for the deployment of United Nations peacekeepers to assist in the implementation of the
peace agreement. On October 5, 1993, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved the creation of a
peacekeeping mission known as the U.N. Assistance Mission to Rwanda (UNAMIR). U.N. Security Council
Resolution 872 authorizes the deployment of 800 troops for an initial six-month period, at an estimated
cost of $62.6 million. It is envisioned that UNAMIR will grow to about 2,500 troops during 1994, making it
the third largest U.N. peacekeeping force in Africa, after those in Somalia and Mozambique.28 The first
elements of UNAMIR took up positions in northern Rwanda on November 1, 1993.
According to the United Nations, UNAMIR is authorized to monitor observance of the cease-fire
agreement, which includes: the establishment of cantonment and assembly zones and the demarcation
of the new demilitarized zone; monitoring the security situation during the final period of the
transitional government; and investigating non-compliance with the provisions of the agreement
relating to the integration of the armed forces.
UNAMIR's mandate also includes: contributing to the security of the city of Kigali within a weapons
secure area established by the parties in and around the city; investigating and reporting on the
activities of the gendarmerie and police; monitoring the repatriation of Rwandese refugees and the
resettlement of displaced persons; and assisting with mine clearing and coordination of humanitarian
activities.29 The U.N. resolution also approves the integration of UNOMUR and the OAU's NMOG into
UNAMIR.
28
United Nations Security Council, 3288th Meeting, Night Summary, "Security Council Establishes United Nations Assistance
Mission to Rwanda," SC/5713, October 5, 1993, p. 1. Also, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, FBIS-AFR-93-193, October 7, 1993, pp.
1-2.
29
United Nations Security Council, 3288th Meeting, Night Summary, "Security Council Establishes United Nations Assistance
Mission to Rwanda," SC/5713, October 5, 1993, p. 1.
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
While the peace agreement formally ends the war, it is at present a fragile peace. The Arusha
Peace Agreement does not guarantee an end to either the fighting or human rights violations. There
have been sporadic charges and counter-charges of cease-fire violations and human rights abuses
since August. Even more disturbing, the appalling outbreak of violence between Hutu and Tutsi in
neighboring Burundi, which has left an estimated 10-50,000 dead, could well spark renewed fighting in
Rwanda.
To help guard against rights abuses, the Arms Project supports the presence of the U.N. forces in
Rwanda, and urges that their mission explicitly include monitoring the flow of weapons to both sides, as
well as any human rights abuses commited by any side.30 The peacekeeping forces should be put in
place and brought up to full strength as soon as possible, consistent with U.N. resources and global
peacekeeping commitments.
The Arms Project believes that foreign troops which are not under the direct command of
international peacekeeping organizations should not be deployed in Rwanda because of the close
association of foreign troops with abusive forces in the conflict. Moreover, the Arms Project urges that
French, Zairian and Ugandan troops, because of their past association with this conflict and its abusive
parties, be barred from participation in any international peacekeeping efforts in Rwanda. The day after
the U.N. approved peacekeepers for Rwanda, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Richard Duque stated,
"We will pull the two French companies out of Kigali as soon as the neutral international force deploys...
We will not be among the contingents making up this force."31 It appears that all French troops did
subsequently depart Rwanda in mid-December, following the arrival of additional U.N. forces.32
The Arusha Peace Agreement calls for the integration of the armed forces of the government of
Rwanda and the RPF into an army of reduced size. The Arms Project believes that an important element
of the merging and downsizing of the armed forces should be the destruction of excess weaponry, given
the role that such weaponry has already played in human rights abuse. This destruction should be
carefully supervised by international monitors. The U.N. Security Council Resolution already calls for
the establishment of a weapons-secure area in and around Kigali within which military units would be
required to store their arms. There is the danger that the large quantities of small arms and light
weaponry, as well as heavier systems, that flooded Rwanda during the war could be secretly stockpiled
by the government and the RPF for use against each other or against civilians in the future. There is also
the danger that such weaponry will be dispersed to militias, or sold elsewhere in Africa where it can be
misused.
XI. RECOMMENDATIONS
30
See, Human Rights Watch, The Lost Agenda: Human Rights and U.N. Field Operations, June 1993, for a detailed examination of the
human rights component of various U.N. missions around the world, and for recommendations on how the U.N. can apply human
rights standards more vigorously in its field operations.
31
Reuters, "French Troops to Leave Rwanda When U.N. Arrives," Paris, October 6, 1993.
32
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, Dec. 13, 1993; interview with French official, Dec. 16, 1993; interview with U.S. State
Department official, Dec. 17, 1993.
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
1) The Arms Project calls upon the international community to impose an at least one year
moratorium on all lethal military assistance or sales to any party in the Rwandan war.
2) The Arms Project calls for all countries which choose to sell arms or provide military
assistance in the future to legally and explicitly condition such transfers upon the human rights
performance of the recipient. The Arms Project believes that weapons of increased lethality and
technological sophistication should not be introduced into Rwanda given the existing evidence of the
parties' willingness to abuse human rights.
3) The Arms Project also urges governments, including Egypt, France, South Africa, and Uganda,
fully to disclose the nature of their military assistance and arms transfers to the RPF and Rwandan
government.
4) The Arms Project supports the deployment of United Nations troops to Rwanda to monitor
compliance with the cease-fire and believes that their mission ought explicitly to include monitoring
human rights violations and arms acquisitions by any party. These forces should be put in place and
brought up to full strength as quickly as possible, consistent with U.N. resources and global
peacekeeping responsibilities.
5) The Arms Project believes that foreign troops which are not under the direct command of
international monitoring organizations should not be deployed in Rwanda, and urges that French, Zairian
and Ugandan troops, because of their past association with this conflict, be barred from participation in
any international peacekeeping efforts in Rwanda.
6) The Arms Project urges both the Rwandan government and the RPF to destroy weapons
rendered unnecessary by the war's end, and so prominent in past human rights abuses, under the
supervision of international monitors. The Arms Project urges both sides to fully comply with the terms
of the August 4, 1993 peace agreement.
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This report is based upon a visit to Rwanda and Uganda in May and June 1993 by Frank Smyth, a
journalist and consultant to the Arms Project. Additional material has been taken from a visit to Rwanda
in January 1993 by Alison DesForges, a member of Africa Watch's Advisory Committee who was
participating in an international commission investigating human rights abuses.
The report was written by Mr. Smyth and edited by Stephen Goose, Washington director of the
Arms Project. It was reviewed by Kenneth Anderson, director of the Arms Project, Holly Burkhalter,
Washington director of Human Rights Watch, and Alison DesForges. Arms consultant Michael J. Limatola
identified weapons and ammunition in both photographs taken and invoices obtained by the Arms
Project. Bruce Rabb, a New York lawyer and member of the Executive Committee of Human Rights Watch,
reviewed contracts and other financial documents obtained by the Arms Project.
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH ARMS PROJECT
The Arms Project of Human Rights Watch was formed in 1992 with a grant from the Rockefeller
Foundation for the purposes of monitoring and seeking to prevent arms transfers to governments or
organizations that either grossly violate internationally recognized human rights or grossly violate the
laws of war. It also seeks to promote freedom of information and expression about arms transfers
worldwide. The Arms Project takes a special interest in weapons that are prominent in human rights
abuse and the abuse of non-combatants. The director of the Arms Project is Kenneth Anderson and its
Washington director is Stephen D. Goose. Barbara Baker and Cesar Bolanos are New York staff
associates, and Kathleen Bleakley is the Washington staff associate. Monica Schurtman is of counsel.
Members of the international advisory committee of the Arms Project are: Morton Abramowitz,
Nicole Ball, Frank Blackaby, Frederick C. Cuny, Ahmed H. Esa, Jo Husbands, Frederick J. Knecht, Andrew J.
Pierre, Gustavo Gorriti, Di Hua, Edward J. Laurance, Vincent McGee, Aryeh Neier, Janne E. Nolan, David Rieff,
Kumar Rupesinghe, John Ryle, Mohamed Sahnoun, Gary Sick and Tom Winship.
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Human Rights Watch conducts regular, systematic investigations of human rights abuses in some
seventy countries around the world. It addresses the human rights practices of governments of all
political stripes, of all geopolitical alignments, and of all ethnic and religious persuasions. In internal wars
it documents violations by both governments and rebel groups. Human Rights Watch defends freedom of
thought and expression, due process and equal protection of the law; it documents and denounces
murders, disappearances, torture, arbitrary imprisonment, exile, censorship and other abuses of
internationally recognized human rights.
Human Rights Watch began in 1978 with the founding of its Helsinki division. Today, it includes five
divisions covering Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, as well as the signatories of the Helsinki
accords. It also includes four collaborative projects on Arms, Free Expression, Prisoners' Rights, and
Womens Rights. It now maintains offices in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, London, Moscow, Belgrade,
Zagreb and Hong Kong. Human Rights Watch is an independent, nongovernmental organization, supported
by contributions from private individuals and foundations. It accepts no government funds, directly or
indirectly.
The board includes Robert L. Bernstein, chair; Adrian W. DeWind, vice chair; Roland Algrant, Lisa
Anderson, Peter D. Bell, Alice L. Brown, William Carmichael, Dorothy Cullman, Irene Diamond, Jonathan
Fanton, Alan Finberg, Jack Greenberg, Alice H. Henkin, Stephen L. Kass, Marina Pinto Kaufman, Alexander
MacGregor, Peter Osnos, Kathleen Peratis, Bruce Rabb, Orville Schell, Gary G. Sick, and Malcolm Smith.
The staff includes Kenneth Roth, executive director; Holly J. Burkhalter, Washington director; Gara
LaMarche, associate director; Susan Osnos, press director; Ellen Lutz, California director; Jemera Rone,
counsel; Richard Dicker, associate counsel; Stephanie Steele, operations director; Michal Longfelder,
development director; Rachel Weintraub, special events director; Allyson Collins, research associate; and
Ham Fish, senior advisor.
The regional directors of Human Rights Watch are Abdullahi An-Na'im, Africa; Juan E. Méndez,
Americas; Sidney Jones, Asia; Jeri Laber, Helsinki; and Andrew Whitley, Middle East. The project directors
are Kenneth Anderson, Arms; Gara LaMarche, Free Expression; Joanna Weschler, Prisoners' Rights; and
Dorothy Q. Thomas, Women's Rights.
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Human Rights Watch Arms Project
