Africa-Press – Rwanda. Rwanda’s envoy to the United Nations Office in Geneva has urged the UN Human Rights Council to dismiss accusations made by DR Congo that Rwanda is committing genocide on its territory, saying such claims fall outside the definition of genocide under international law.
Speaking at the third meeting of the 60th session of the Human Rights Council on Tuesday, September 9, Ambassador Urujeni Bakuramutsa urged the Council to take responsibility and halt such unfounded allegations.
Kinshasa’s delegation repeatedly linked its genocide claims to a recent UN report alleging that the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) aided the AFC/M23 movement in the killing of 319 civilians and the injuring of 169 others across four villages in Rutshuru territory between July 9 and 21. Rwanda previously dismissed the allegations as baseless while calling for thorough investigations into the claims.
“This is a red line for Rwanda. Genocide is a matter guided by strict international legal criteria, and no such mechanism has called for that. We will not allow such an allegation to stand under the watch of this Council,” Bakuramutsa said.
She criticized the UN Fact-Finding Mission’s recent report, arguing that it relied on limited data and skewed the narrative.
“Attribution under international law requires concrete, reviewable proof. The report itself cites access constraints and a heavy reliance on remote, open-source material. That is not enough,” she said.
She also indicated that the reports minimised the threat posed by the FDLR militia on Rwanda’s security. The DR Congo-based militia was founded by remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
She pointed out the imbalance in the report’s focus, noting that M23 is mentioned 110 times, Rwanda/RDF 65 times, Congolese forces (FARDC) 42, Wazalendo 43, while the Rwandan genocidal militia FDLR appears only 15 times.
“This imbalance creates a precooked narrative and obscures the reality of more than 260 armed groups operating in eastern DR Congo, alongside foreign actors, mercenaries, and bilateral forces,” she said.
The envoy also noted that the report failed to adequately reflect the persistent hate speech and identity-based violence targeting Congolese Tutsi communities in eastern DR Congo.
“Such omissions inflame tensions instead of addressing them,” she warned.
Turning to MONUSCO, the UN’s peacekeeping mission in DR Congo, Bakuramutsa questioned its effectiveness.
“Twenty-five years have passed. Billions have been spent. Yet civilians remain unprotected, while DR Congo-backed FDLR continues to recruit and spread genocidal ideology with new arms, renewing mandates without review simply repeats failure,”
She called on the Council to adopt three urgent measures, including pausing new mandates and conducting a review to ensure effective protection of civilians; establish a single standard for all reports with prior notice to concerned states; and reject recommendations directed at Rwanda that are not based on verified evidence.
“It is very concerning that a point of order from my delegation was ignored when such grave allegations were made without proof,” she said. “Accountability must be based on objective and verified results, not selective reporting that prejudges member states like mine.”
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