TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 1. The refugee crisis in the Great Lakes region: background information ................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Numbers and locations ...................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Social and economic conditions ........................................................................................ 4 1.3 Returns of 1993 and 1994 refugees - and further flight in 1995 and 1996 ......................... 5 1.4 Return and resettlement of 1959 refugees ........................................................................... 6 1.5 The infrastructure for return: the transit camps ................................................................... 7 1.6 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 9 2. The principles .................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 International standards ........................................................................................................ 9 2.2 Amnesty International’s position ...................................................................................... 11 3. The risks of return to Rwanda ....................................................................................... 12 3.1 Overview of the human rights situation ............................................................................ 12 3.1.1 Unlawful detentions and deaths in custody as a substitute for justice .............................. 14 3.1.2 Political killings and “disappearances” ............................................................................. 16 3.1.3 The absence of justice ....................................................................................................... 20 3.1.4 Deliberate and arbitrary killings of civilians by armed opposition groups ....................... 21 3.2 The risks for returnees ....................................................................................................... 22 3.2.1 Personal vengeance / reprisals against returnees ............................................................... 24 3.2.2 Conflicts in the context of property disputes ..................................................................... 25 3.3 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 26 4. The risks of return to Burundi ....................................................................................... 27 4.1 Overview of the human rights situation ............................................................................ 27 4.2 The risks of return for refugees and internally displaced persons ..................................... 29 4.3 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 32 5. The role of Rwandese refugee leaders in the camps. .................................................. 32 5.1 Structure and political activity within the refugee camps ................................................. 32 5.2 Presence and activity of military elements in the refugee camps...................................... 34 5.3 Use of propaganda and intimidation to deter return .......................................................... 35 6. The role of the Rwandese Government: ........................................................................ 38 Initiatives by the government of Rwanda to safeguard the rights of returnees 2 7. The role of the Burundi Government: ......................................................................... 40 Initiatives by the government of Burundi to safeguard the rights of returnees 8. The role of host governments ......................................................................................... 41 8.1 The failure to provide protection ....................................................................................... 41 8.2 Refoulement from Zaire: the forced returns of 19-24 August 1995 .................................. 41 8.3 Refoulement from Tanzania ............................................................................................ 44 8.4 Refoulement from Burundi ................................................................................................ 46 8.5 Encouraging impunity ....................................................................................................... 46 9. The role of foreign governments and inter-governmental organizations .................. 48 9.1 The threat of further refoulement ..................................................................................... .48 9.2 Sharing responsibility ........................................................................................................ 50 9.2.1 The impact of the refugee populations on host countries .................................................. 51 9.2.2 The failure to share the burden .......................................................................................... 53 9.3 International presence as protection for returnees............................................................. 54 9.4 Regional peace initiatives .................................................................................................. 56 10. Recommendations ............................................................................................................ 56 10.1 Recommendations to the governments of Rwanda and Burundi ...................................... 57 10.2 Recommendations to leaders in refugee camps ................................................................ 59 10.3 Recommendations to host governments ............................................................................ 59 10.4 Recommendations to foreign governments and international organizations .................... 60 3 <headtxt> 3 RWANDA and BURUNDI The return home: rumours and realities INTRODUCTION In July 1994, around two million Rwandese fled their country in the aftermath of a genocide which had claimed as many as one million lives. Their plight caught the attention of the international media and their pictures were seen on television screens across the world. Humanitarian aid poured in. Governments who had turned a blind eye to signs of the impending genocide between 1990 and 1994 and had done nothing to prevent the massacres between April and July 1994 suddenly voiced concern at the situation in Rwanda and neighbouring countries. Most of these refugees were members of the majority Hutu ethnic group. They had fled their country following the victory by the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) over the army of the former government of Rwanda and the militia known as the interahamwe, who had been responsible for massacres on an unprecedented scale of members of the minority Tutsi ethnic group as well as many Hutu. Around 200,000 refugees from Burundi are also still living outside their country. A further 200,000 are internally displaced within Burundi. Tens of thousands of them were forced to leave their homes in late 1993 and 1994 to escape the widespread massacres which began in October 1993, following the assassination of President Melchior Ndadaye. More than 100,000 people are estimated to have died in Burundi since October 1993. Massacres of civilians by the army and by armed militia - both Tutsi and Hutu - are continuing to this day. Thousands more are being forced to flee their homes as a direct consequence. The flight of over two million people from Rwanda and Burundi and their prolonged exile constitutes one of the world’s largest refugee crises since the Second World War. The crisis has had many tragic consequences. This report concentrates on the human rights issues facing the refugees and provides an overview of the broader human rights situation in Rwanda and Burundi, as fear of human rights abuses is one of the factors which continues to deter most refugees from returning voluntarily. In the face of the daunting problem caused by the displacement of so many people, pressure has been mounting for a mass repatriation of the refugees (particularly the Rwandese refugees) to their homes. Increasingly, repatriation is put forward as the only possible “solution” to the crisis - despite the risks which caused the refugees to flee and which they might face on their return. Little attention has been paid to the search for longer-term solutions. A program for voluntary repatriation has been set up but has met with very little response from the refugees, the vast majority of whom have still not returned. They are waiting in camps in Zaire, Tanzania and Burundi, afraid and uncertain of their future. In September 1995, Amnesty International delegates visited Rwanda, Burundi and eastern Zaire to investigate the situation in the refugee camps and the risks which refugees might face on their return. They interviewed a wide range of people including refugees, returnees, government authorities and representatives of UN agencies and non-governmental organizations. Because of the urgency created Amnesty International February 1996 AI Index: AFR 02/01/96 4 4 Rwanda and Burundi: The return home at that time by Zaire's