On August 30, 2024, the Coordination of the Observatory of Human Rights in Rwanda (ODHR), led by Laurent Munyandilikirwa in Paris, issued a declaration titled, “Rwanda: In Memory of the Disappeared, Let Us Combat the Systemic Use of Forced Disappearances as a Tool of Governance.”
The world commemorates the International Day of the Disappeared on August 30 each year. On this day, the focus is on the families of those who have gone missing under unclear circumstances. These families are not only seeking the truth about the disappearances of their loved ones but also demanding justice and reparations. States have an obligation to provide this truth in order to break the cycle of impunity.
However, Rwanda has consistently refused to adhere to and ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. This refusal is set against a backdrop where international human rights organizations regularly condemn the use of enforced disappearances in Rwanda. Despite these denunciations, political parties and civil society in Rwanda have remained largely silent, allowing the practice to persist with impunity since the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) came to power in 1994.
Enforced disappearances in Rwanda manifest in various forms: summonses, abductions within the country, and even cross-border operations targeting critics and political opponents. Families of the disappeared often go from one government office to another in vain attempts to find their loved ones, only to receive vague or no answers at all.
Over the past 30 years, countless Rwandans have been victims of enforced disappearances. During the 1994 war and the subsequent years, thousands of individuals were arrested and never seen again. Although this practice has become less intense and more covert over time, it remains a tool of repression under the RPF, now a political party governing the country. The families of the victims often choose silence out of fear for their own safety, unwilling to even discuss their loss for fear of reprisals.
The ODHR’s declaration calls on everyone to combat these practices and the fear they instill. It demands that the Rwandan state provide truth, justice, and reparations for the victims of enforced disappearances, specifically naming prominent cases such as the disappearance of Dr. Leonard Hitimana, a parliamentarian who vanished in April 2003, and Boniface Twagirimana, a political opposition member who disappeared in prison on October 8, 2018. Other victims include Eugene Ndereyimana, who disappeared on July 15, 2019, and Illuminée Iragena, who disappeared on March 26, 2016. The list of the missing is extensive and spans decades, with disappearances occurring as recently as 2024.
The declaration also highlights the need to remember other influential figures in Rwandan society who have disappeared due to their opinions or activism. These include individuals like Colonel Augustin Cyiza, who disappeared in April 2003, and Cassien Ntamuhanga, a journalist and refugee who vanished on May 23, 2021.
The ODHR extends its solidarity to all victims and their families. The organization urges the Rwandan state to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and to take responsibility by providing the truth and reparations to the families of the victims. Furthermore, the ODHR calls for the prosecution of those responsible for these severe human rights violations as part of the fight against impunity.
Finally, the ODHR calls on UN member states, the African Union, national and international human rights organizations, and international institutions to pressure the Rwandan government to reveal the truth, provide reparations, and prosecute the perpetrators of these inhumane acts.
