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UN rights committee urges Rwanda to investigate post-genocide killings

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) on Friday called on the government of Rwanda to investigate reports of killings during and after the uprising by the Rwandan Patriotic Army to end the 1994 genocide. In its concluding observations after reviewing Rwanda's compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the committee praised the nation's abolition of the death penalty but called for an end to life sentences in solitary confinement. The UNHRC criticized Rwanda's prison conditions, while calling for greater availability of free legal defense and an end to arbitrary prosecutions of members of vulnerable groups. The committee claimed that even though Rwanda's constitution calls for gender equality, discriminatory statutes are still in place, and girls and boys do not have equal educational opportunities. The UNHRC also said Rwanda should ease restrictions on the media and allow human rights organizations to operate without interference. As it concluded its session in New York, the UNHRC also commented on problems with Australia's 2005 Anti-Terrorism Act and expressed concern over violence against women in Sweden. In March, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon pledged his ongoing support for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and stressed that the international community must continue to combat genocide. In July, a report released by Human Rights Watch said the Rwandan government had made substantial progress in reforming its justice system but fallen short in several key areas. In July 2007, HRW urged Rwanda to conduct an "independent and impartial" investigation into an increasing number of alleged extrajudicial killings, saying in a report that Rwanda National Police officers had killed at least 20 prisoners in seven months.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on April 05, 2009 (boomark / email).