Written Answers - Rwandan Refugees.
Michael P. Kitt
Ceist:
49
Mr. M. Kitt
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs
the current position on the voluntary repatriation of over two million Rwandan refugees from Zaire, Tanzania and Burundi; whether the international community is addressing the justice system within Rwanda; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[2305/96]
Dan Wallace
Ceist:
53
Mr. D. Wallace
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs
the estimated number of victims to date in the Rwandan civil war; and the number of people who have been convicted of war crimes.
[2411/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 49 and 53 together.
As I indicated in my reply of 7 December 1995 to another question on this issue, the Government considers the voluntary and organised return of refugees to be central to a solution of the political and humanitarian crisis in the Great Lakes region. On that occasion I set out in some detail the importance of refugee return both from the perspective of stability in the Great Lakes region as a whole and that of reconciliation and recovery in Rwanda itself.
The most recent estimate of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees is that there are 1.9 million Rwandan refugees in Zaire, Tanzania and Burundi. The registered refugee population by country of asylum is one million in Zaire, 600,000 in Tanzania and 180,000 in Burundi. Since September the rate of return of refugees to Rwanda has been 2,000 per day.
In 1995, the UNHCR established a formal mechanism for consultation with all the regional parties concerned with voluntary return of refugees. As a consequence, in addition to daily contacts at field level, regular meetings take place in the framework of what are known as Tripartite Commissions which bring together the UNHCR, the Rwandan Government and the government of the host country. Since December, meetings of these Tripartite Commissions have been held with the Government of Zaire and the Government of Burundi. A meeting with the Government of Tanzania is scheduled in the next two weeks. All the Governments concerned agree on the need to take concerted measures to give a new impetus to repatriation and also on the importance of taking steps against intimidators in refugee camps.
I understand that within the camps in Zaire tension and uncertainty remain about the intentions of the Zairian authorities concerning voluntary repatriation. From our contacts with UNHCR in Geneva we understand that Zaire has mentioned the despatch of 250 gendarmes to supervise camp closures. Our position on this matter is clear; we will not condone forced repatriation and we will remain in close contact with UNHCR and the aid agencies on this issue. Within Rwanda itself, planning is at an advanced stage to prepare for increased numbers of returning refugees. This planning involves close co-operation between the Government of Rwanda, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, international aid agencies and the UN human rights field operation for Rwanda.
The Government considers that the restoration of a functioning and independent system of justice is essential to the process of national reconciliation. Bilaterally and with our EU partners, we have confirmed our prepardeness to assist in the restoration of such a system. We continue to encourage the Government of Rwanda to take steps to that end and we look forward to an improvement in this regard over the coming months.
The Government strongly supported the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda which was set up under Security Council Resolution 988 of 8 November 1994 to prosecute persons responsible for genocide and other serious violations of international humanitarian law in Rwanda. It is estimated that up to one million people were killed during the appalling genocide which took place in 1994 and thousands have died in violence since that time. Investigations by the international tribunal, which held its first plenary session last June, have been focused on approximately 400 identified suspects. On 12 December the tribunal announced its first indictments of eight people in connection with massacres at four locations in the Kibuye region. The tribunal prosecutor, Justice Richard J. Goldstone, hopes to begin full trial hearings before the end of March.
The Government has disbursed a total of £6.9 million for emergency relief and rehabilitation efforts in the Rwandan region since 1994. Last year the Government spent over £1.35 million on the justice sector and on human rights initiatives in Rwanda, including support for the International Committee of the Red Cross to ease the humanitarian crisis in Rwanda's prisons. Assistance was provided for communal police training and to restore legal structures in the Ministries of Justice and the Interior. The Government also allocated grants to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the UN human rights field operation and for the UN High Commission for Human Rights programme to rehabilitate the system on justice in Rwanda. Finally Ireland co-sponsored the Genocide Summit in Kigali last November, with the US Government.
