RWANDA: INITIATIVES TO COUNTER TORTURE

UNCLAS KIGALI 000428 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR DRL/MLGA KRISTEN MCGEENY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM RW SUBJECT: RWANDA: INITIATIVES TO COUNTER TORTURE REF: STATE 070129 ¶1. (SBU) Responding to reftel, in years past allegations of abuse and torture centered on Rwandan prisons and police stations. As recorded in our recent Human Rights Reports for Rwanda, the Rwandan prison service and Rwanda National Police (RNP) have made great strides in eliminating mistreatment of prisoners and detainees. Local human rights organizations such as FACT Rwanda have worked with the police and the prisons on abuse cases, and offered extensive training on torture and abuse issues. The local ICRC office gives both institutions high marks for professionalizing its treatment of those under custody, and for greatly reducing the incidence of mistreatment. The Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) maintain a much smaller prison and military justice detention system; it, too, has greatly improved and professionalized its treatment of those in custody. All infantry battalions deployed to UNAMID in Darfur undergo USG ACOTA-supervised training programs, which include components on the law of war and international humanitarian law. The ICRC has its own program on international humanitarian law which it conducts with RDF peace-keeping battalions. The National Human Rights Commission has general responsibility within the government to monitor the implementation and observance of various human rights obligations under the Rwandan constitution as well as international treaties and conventions. ¶2. (SBU) There is as yet no specific anti-torture mechanism in place, as required by the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Rwanda has also been somewhat dilatory in meeting its reporting requirements under the CAT. As Rwanda ratified the CAT on December 15, 2008, it has until next December 15 to put such a mechanism in place. SYMINGTON