‘One Rwanda For All Rwandans’: (Un)covering the Twa in Post-Genocide Rwanda

Abstract

The leading academic literature on Rwanda tends to focus on the Hutu-Tutsi dichotomy, either directly or indirectly, thus resigning the historical narratives of the Twa to a footnote, permanently buried in history. Based on interviews and focus groups, as well as personal testimony provided by three Twa civil society leaders, this chapter explores Twa perceptions and experiences of national unity and reconciliation during the post-genocide period. As a component of this, our chapter examines popular perceptions of the Historically Marginalized Peoples (HMP) label, a quasi-legal category generally associated with the Twa, within the broader framework of the government's unity-building and reconciliation campaign. This snapshot of Twa interactions with government policy and practice shows that Twa often feel excluded from efforts to foster national pride, unity and reconciliation. Equally, the majority of Twa object to the use of the HMP label, and many emphasize the continued relevance of Twa identity and culture at a community level.

A re-conceptualisation of the Batwa's right to recognition as a minority and indigenous people in Rwanda: A human rights-based approach

“…The 2020 Report of the Committee on the Convention on the Rights of the Child also recommended that the Government of Rwanda should ratify the 1989 International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention number 169 (C-169) on indigenous and tribal peoples as a strategy to curb the challenge of school dropouts at all levels of education, shared among the children of the Batwa [ 17 ]. Similarly, in the framework of the AU, the lack of recognition of the Batwa's self-identity was viewed as having a causal relationship with their marginalisation and vulnerability [ 12 , 13 ]. Subsequently, the local Batwa communities perceive all initiatives from local governments with suspicion, given that they are top-down driven, and Batwa's consent is ignored [ 12 ].…”

“…Additionally, the attempt to maintain the identities of the indigenous and minority groups through the inclusion of vulnerable groups within Rwandan society can be seen as a means of promoting democracy. This attempt has been articulated in the literature not only emanating from scholarly studies [ 1 , [8] , [9] , [10] , [11] , [12] , [13] ] but also from organisations such as the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU), and other international non-governmental organisations such as the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) [ 14 ], and Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) [ 15 ]. Local NGOs in Rwanda, such as the Cooperative of Potters in Rwanda (COPORWA), have also supported this attempt to protect vulnerable groups.…”

In the Shadow of Transitional Justice

“…15-16;Meierhenrich 2020, p. 81;Straus 2019) and one million (National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide 2013) Rwandans and sexually assaulted an estimated 250,000 women, among other atrocities (Degni-Ségui 1996;Nowrojee 1996). Most of the Hutu Power extremists' DOI: 10.4324/9781003167280-4 victims were of Tutsi heritage, but they also targeted "internal enemies": the Tutsi's perceived supporters among the Hutu majority and indigenous Twa minority (Eltringham and Van Hoyweghen 2000, p. 226; see also Laws et al 2019;Lewis and Knight 1995, pp. 26-7).…”

Debating the identity and indigeneity of the Batwa in post-genocide Rwanda: a review of the challenges and prospects from a human rights perspective

“…Accordingly, as far as the Government of Rwanda is concerned, the name HMP is more suited as an umbrella term but not as a specific term referring to the Batwa or Twa as they are also known. Various analysts and scholars in the field of minority rights contend that covering all the underprivileged communities to include the Batwa in the blanket nomenclature of HMP is tantamount to classifying them using an assimilationist approach (Ellmauer, 2018; Laws et al, 2019). This is because the ex-Batwa is a minority group that has, in comparison with other vulnerable groups, experienced even more severe economic, political and social vulnerabilities (Hartley, 2015; Roth, 2004).…”

“…Recent studies on the above subject indicate that the failure of the social protection programmes in bringing about positive change and impact on the ex-Batwa is linked to the lack of participation by the Batwa in government policy processes (Collins et al, 2021; Dawson, 2018; Laws et al, 2019). Consequently, the Batwa have ended up performing poorly in the fields of socio-economic rights and welfare.…”