Commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the massacres in Kibeho

On 22 April 1995, an internally displaced people's camp in Kibeho, Rwanda, populated by around 100,000 Rwandan Hutu, was surrounded by soldiers of the Rwandan Patriotic Army, the armed wing of the RPF, who opened fire with automatic weapons, rocket launchers and grenades.

Nearly 8,000 children, women and men became victims of one of the most despicable acts experienced by humanity. Yet this tragedy provoked no significant reaction by the international community, and this event has ended up being forgotten.

A semblance of justice was set up by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, led by the current President of Rwanda Paul Kagame: Commander Fred Ibingira was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his involvement in the massacres. Meanwhile, he was promoted to Chief of Staff of the reserve forces of the Rwandan army.

As human rights campaigning organisations, we want to raise awareness about the fact that 20 years after the Kibeho massacre, its victims have not received justice, and worse, that the massacre has been forgotten by the Rwandan government and the international community.

We call upon all Rwandans and the international community to commemorate all those forgotten victims.

Furthermore, we urge the international community to investigate all those responsible for the Kibeho massacres and bring them to an independent and impartial justice.

We also urge the Rwandan government to dismiss Fred Ibingira from all his functions, as victims can never feel safe if their executioner holds one of the most important places in the Rwandan army.

Finally, we call upon the United Nations to set up a day of reflection on the massacres in Kibeho, in order to learn important lessons that would help avoid the killing of refugees in the camps where they were supposed to find refuge.

Jambo ASBL

Global Campaign for Rwandans' Human Rights