The recent decision by the Kinshasa government to grant safe haven to individuals convicted of genocide by a UN court is a deeply troubling development that undermines the fragile peace in the Great Lakes region.
The group of six men who were either convicted and released after serving their sentences or acquitted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), had been stuck in Niger after they were controversially transferred there but were later expelled by the Sahel nation.
This act of defiance is not only a slap in the face to the victims of the 1994 Rwandan genocide but also a clear indication of Kinshasa's continued support for destabilizing forces in the region.
The asylum granted to these convicted genocidaires cannot be viewed in isolation. Many of them especially the former military officers among them, have maintained close ties with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a notorious extremist group operating in the DR Congo that has been implicated in numerous atrocities, including the rape of women and killing innocent civilians.
Kinshasa's decision to harbor these individuals is a blatant disregard for the ongoing process to deescalate tensions between Kinshasa and Kigali. It sends a dangerous message to other potential perpetrators of genocide that they can evade accountability for their crimes. Moreover, it threatens to reignite tensions between Rwanda and the DRC, jeopardizing the fragile peace that has been achieved in recent years.
The government of Rwanda has repeatedly called on Kinshasa to cooperate in the fight against the FDLR to ensure they are disarmed and repatriated to Rwanda and to extradite individuals who have been indicted for playing a role in the Genocide against the Tutsi.
By granting asylum to these convicted genocidaires, Kinshasa is not only undermining these efforts but also actively contributing to the destabilization of the region.
It is imperative that the international community condemn Kinshasa's actions and demand that it reconsider its decision because, for all intents and purposes, it is not on humanitarian grounds that they are being welcomed there, but to bolster FDLR which the Kinshasa regime has been openly supporting.
