Rwanda: Current Issues (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised July 27, 2015 |
| Report Number |
IF10179 |
| Report Type |
In Focus |
| Authors |
Alexis Arieff |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
Under the leadership of President Paul Kagame, Rwanda
has become known for its rapid development and security
gains since the devastating 1994 genocide, in which over
800,000 people were killed. The minority ethnic Tutsi
community was targeted in the genocide, along with
politically moderate members of the Hutu majority, in a
state-backed extermination campaign. (Hutus reportedly
make up some 84% of the population and Tutsis 15%.)
The Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), an insurgent
group at the time, ended the genocide and took power in
mid-1994. RPF efforts to improve health systems, the
economy, and gender equality have received substantial
support from foreign donors, including the United States.
Development indicators have improved markedly in the
past two decades, but poverty remains widespread. While
praising Rwanda’s progress, U.S. officials have criticized
its domestic constraints on political and civil freedoms, as
well as the government’s recent history of backing rebel
groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
President Kagame has been in office since 2000 and
previously served as Vice President and Defense Minister
in post-genocide transitional regimes. He last won
reelection in 2010 with 93% of votes. The election was
peaceful and well organized, but observers—including U.S.
officials—expressed concerns about media restrictions, the
expulsion of an international human rights researcher, and
prohibitions on most opposition party participation.
Currently, Kagame appears likely to seek to remain in
office past 2017, when his current term ends and he faces
constitutional term limits. In July 2015, parliamentarians
voted overwhelmingly in favor of changing the term limit,
initiating plans for a constitutional referendum. The vote in
parliament took place after a petition backing the removal
of the term limit garnered some 3.7 million signatures—
well over half the electorate. News reports indicated that
some Rwandans may have been intimidated into signing.
