In what is described as an attempt to tackle delinquent behaviour, the Rwandan government has violated fundamental rights set out in the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, by detaining homeless children for months. During this time, the children are denied access to a lawyer, guardian, or members of their family.
CONVENTION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
The Rights of the Child are fundamental human rights which should not be undermined. According to article 9 of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, any detention of children should be utilised as a measure of last resort and that when the detention is necessary, the child should be treated with the basic levels of respect, dignity, and humanity.
Moreover, article 37 states that in cases of deprivation of liberty, every child shall have the right to prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance. Despite ratifying the Convention in 1991, the Rwandan government has denied the Rwandan street children access to these rights, subjecting them to violence, abuse, and isolation on illegitimate grounds in terms of international law.
ERADICATING DELINQUENCY AT THE EXPENSE OF DIGNITY AND RESPECT
The international community has congratulated Rwanda on its efforts to uphold human rights and promote economic progress and international integration post the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. It is far from controversial, however, to cast a doubt on whether this praise is deserved upon considering the internal workings of the Rwandan detention centres which hold children against their will for up to 6 months. One of these centres is the Gikondo Transit Centre in Kigali. It has been open since 2005 and has held almost 50% of the street children in Rwanda according to a report published in May 2019 by the National Commission for Children, a government body tied to the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion mandated to promote children’s rights. Out of these children, 44% of boys and 36% of girls say that they have experienced violence during their time in the centres. Even the most basic of rights such as going to the toilet or having access to drinking water were deemed too much for the Rwandan children, with the detainees being beaten if they failed to adhere to a toilet schedule.
Despite these findings, however, Rwandan Minister of Justice Johnston Busingye insists that the centres are legitimate and beneficial due to their role in “educating and providing skills training” for delinquent street children.
CONCERNS AROUND DETENTION CENTRES NOTHING NEW
This situation is not new, however. In 2013, the Committee on the Rights of the Child urged the Government to permanently shut down this inhumane centre, in which Rwandan street children are being arbitrarily detained without any official judicial proceedings. Instead of committing themselves to tackle such abhorrent actions, the Rwandan Government has attempted to legitimise their illegitimate behaviour through the introduction of a new law in 2017, which officially defines Gikondo as a rehabilitation centre for people, including minors who exhibit “deviant” behaviour. In doing so, the Rwandan government claims to be acting licitly, combatting the social problem of delinquency. The reality is that the Rwandan government is hiding behind a veil of legitimacy, committing abhorrent acts which irrefutably infringe upon the nation’s international legal obligations.
Even if the assumption is made that the Rwandan government’s justification is true, in its intention at the very least, there still remains undeniable grey areas. Former detainees have reported that if they were caught returning to the streets after being released, they would be rearrested. They were given no financial or logistical support to return to their families, however, thus rendering the whole scheme problematic and inefficient.
What is more is that homelessness is not a choice but an unfortunate reality of the unjust world we live in. It is the duty of the Rwandan government, therefore, to seek to legitimately, and within the constraints of international law, work towards reducing the cases of homelessness in a way which does not infringe upon the most basic rights of the child. Lauding the government for its actions post 1994 genocide is largely unwarranted- Rwanda still has a long way to go. As long as the children of Rwanda are subjected to this kind of treatment, the international community must speak out.
Sarah is a second year undergraduate student studying BSc Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University College London. She has a keen interest in human rights - with a particular interest in Middle Eastern Affairs due to her Syrian origins.