Press Release: Belgian Court Investigation Breaks Through Rwanda's Culture of Impunity

A Landmark Moment

The Global Campaign for Rwandans' Human Rights welcomes the decision by a Belgian court to open an investigation into a Rwandan official over torture allegations as a landmark moment in the pursuit of accountability for an oppressive regime's crimes.

This investigation demonstrates that the impunity the Rwandan regime has enjoyed for decades is not absolute. Universal jurisdiction - the principle that certain crimes are so serious that they can be prosecuted regardless of where they were committed - offers a path to justice that Rwanda's compromised domestic system cannot provide.

Why This Matters

Rwanda's government is an oppressive regime that commits severe human rights abuses with total impunity. Inside Rwanda, there is no mechanism for accountability: - The judiciary is controlled by the executive and delivers predetermined verdicts in political cases - Torture in military intelligence facilities goes unpunished - Enforced disappearances are never investigated - Assassinations of critics - at home and abroad - go unprosecuted - The genocide ideology law is used to criminalise all criticism, making even documenting abuses a crime

When a state's own institutions are instruments of repression, international mechanisms become the only path to justice. The Belgian investigation proves that path exists.

The Pattern of Abuse

The torture allegations under investigation are not an isolated incident. They reflect a systematic pattern of abuse by an oppressive regime that: - Tortures detainees to extract confessions that are then used in politically motivated trials - Imprisons opposition figures, journalists and human rights defenders on fabricated charges - Silences journalists through imprisonment, exile and assassination - Hunts critics across international borders - Uses the 1994 genocide as a weapon to silence all criticism and label opponents as criminals

The Genocide Card

The regime has long exploited international guilt over the 1994 genocide to shield itself from accountability. Western governments have been reluctant to criticise or investigate a regime that presents itself as the guarantor of stability and the protector against a return to violence. This investigation signals that the era of automatic immunity may be ending.

The cynical exploitation of genocide memory to silence criticism must not continue to protect torturers from accountability. The victims of 1994 deserve genuine justice - not the exploitation of their memory to shield an oppressive regime from scrutiny.

The Path Forward

The Global Campaign calls on other European governments to follow Belgium's example: - Open investigations under universal jurisdiction against Rwandan officials credibly accused of torture and crimes against humanity - Provide protection and support to victims and witnesses who come forward - Refuse to allow the regime's exploitation of genocide memory to shield officials from accountability - Implement targeted sanctions against officials responsible for torture, disappearances and assassinations

This Belgian investigation is a landmark - but it must be the beginning, not the end. An oppressive regime that tortures, disappears and assassinates with impunity must face consequences. Universal jurisdiction is one of the most powerful tools available to ensure that it does.