Reports of Abductions of Children in Rwanda Are Worrying and Distressing

The Global Campaign for Rwandans' Human Rights is concerned about increasing reports about children and young people as young as 12 years old that are disappearing in Rwanda.

This has been happening for the past two months, particularly in the western district of Rubavu. Local parents whose children are missing are concerned that their children might have been forcibly taken to Congo to assist the M23 rebel group. Parents who spoke to us unanimously, for safety reasons, informed us that in addition to the anxiety caused by their children missing, they are also fearful of going to the police to report their children missing, due to a lack of confidence in the authorities' willingness to assist, and a belief that some level of the authorities are implicated in their children's abductions.

While we were investigating these reports, the Congolese government army showed to the media members of the M23 rebel group that they had captured. Among them were children and young people who confirmed that they were Rwandans and that they had been abducted and brought to the Democratic Republic of Congo to assist the rebellion. These children include 12-year-old Emmanuel Ntirenganya and 16-year-old Claude Rugamba (pictured).

We urge the Rwandan government to take the following actions:

• To stop immediately the abduction of children from Rwandan streets.
• To liaise with the Congolese government in order to ensure the quick release of Rwandan children and young people arrested while assisting the M23 rebellion.
• To assist parents and relatives of children and young people who have gone missing in their quest to find out where their children are.
• To liaise with the M23 rebel group based in the Democratic Republic of Congo so that all children and young people assisting them are given the freedom to return to Rwanda to rejoin their families.
• To assure parents, particularly in the western province, that the government will ensure their children are free from the risk of being abducted by rebel groups' recruiters.

Secretariat - London