Paul Kagame (born October 23, 1957) is the current President of the Republic of Rwanda. He rose to prominence as the leader of the
Rwandan Patriotic FrontThe Rwandan Patriotic Front abbreviated as RPF is the current ruling political party of Rwanda, led by President Paul Kagame...
(RPF), whose victory over the incumbent government in July 1994 effectively ended the
Rwandan genocideThe Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Rwanda's Tutsis and Hutu political moderates by Hutus under the Hutu Power ideology. Over the course of approximately 100 days, from the assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana on 6 April through mid-July, at least 500,000...
. Under his leadership, Rwanda has been called Africa’s “biggest success story” and Kagame has become a public advocate of new models for foreign aid designed to help recipients become self-reliant though questions linger about whether or not he had a role in civilian massacres in Rwanda around the time of the 1994 genocide, and his country's occupation, plunder and killings of civilians in the eastern portion of the Democratic Republic of Congo during the
Second Congo WarThe Second Congo War, also known as Africa's World War and the Great War of Africa, began in August 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , and officially ended in July 2003 when the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power...
, in which an estimated 5.4 million people have died since 1998.
Early life
Kagame was born to a
TutsiTutsi are one of three native peoples of the nations of Rwanda and Burundi in central Africa, the other two being the Twa and the Hutu.-Origins:...
family in Ruhango,
RwandaThe Republic of Rwanda is a small landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of east-central Africa, bordered by Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. Home to approaching 10 million people, Rwanda supports the densest population in continental Africa, most of whom...
in October 1957 to Deogratius and Asteria Rutagambwa. In November 1959, an increasingly restive
HutuThe Hutu are a Central African ethnic group, living mainly in Rwanda and Burundi.-Population statistics:Despite the 1972 Burundi Genocide where an estimated 100,000...
population, encouraged by the Belgian Military, sparked a revolt, eventually resulting in the overthrow of
MwamiMwami is the chiefly title in Kirundi and Kinyarwanda, the Congolese Nande and Bashi languages, Luhya in Kenya and various other Bantu languages, such as the Tonga language . The word is usually translated as king...
Kigeri V Ndahindurwa in 1961. During the 1959 revolt and its aftermath, more than 150,000 people were killed in the fighting, with the
TutsiTutsi are one of three native peoples of the nations of Rwanda and Burundi in central Africa, the other two being the Twa and the Hutu.-Origins:...
s suffering the greatest losses. Several thousand moved to neighbouring countries including
BurundiBurundi , officially the Republic of Burundi, is a country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its size is just under 28,000 km² with an estimated population of...
and
UgandaThe Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania...
. In all, some 20,000 Tutsis were killed. In 1960 Kagame left with his family at the age of two and moved to Uganda with many other Tutsis. In 1962 they settled in the Gahunge refugee camp, Toro, where Kagame spent the rest of his childhood years. He attended
Ntare Secondary SchoolNtare School is a residential boys' secondary school located in Mbarara, Mbarara District, western Uganda. It was founded in 1956 by a Scottish educator named William Crichton....
in Uganda. During this time Kagame was an "angry student" and bore an early fascination with revolutionaries like
Che GuevaraErnesto "Che" Guevara commonly known as Che Guevara, El Che, or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, military theorist, and major figure of the Cuban Revolution...
.
Military service
His military career started in 1979, when he joined
Yoweri MuseveniYoweri Kaguta Museveni has been the President of Uganda since 29 January 1986.Museveni was involved in a war that deposed Idi Amin, ending his rule in 1979, and in the rebellion that subsequently led to the demise of the Milton Obote regime in 1985...
's
National Resistance ArmyThe National Resistance Army , the military wing of the National Resistance Movement , was a rebel army that waged a guerrilla war, commonly referred to as the Luwero War or "the war in the bush", against the government of Milton Obote, and later that of Tito Okello.NRA was formed in 1981 when...
(NRA) and spent years fighting as a
guerrillaGuerrilla warfare is the irregular warfare warfare and combat in which a small group of combatants use mobile military tactics in the form of ambushes and raids to combat a larger and less mobile formal army....
against the government of
Milton OboteApolo Milton Obote , Prime Minister of Uganda from 1962 to 1966 and President of Uganda from 1966 to 1971 and from 1980 to 1985, was a Ugandan political leader who led Uganda to independence from the British colonial administration in 1962. He ruled by harassing, terrorizing, and torturing...
in what is commonly known in Uganda as
the bush warThe Ugandan Bush War refers to the guerrilla war waged between 1981 and 1986 in Uganda by the National Resistance Army against the government of Milton Obote, and later that of Tito Okello.-Events leading to the war:Following the Uganda-Tanzania War that removed...
.
On July 27, 1985, Milton Obote was ousted in a military coup led by
Tito OkelloTito Lutwa Okello was one of the commanders in the coalition between the Tanzanian army and the exiled Ugandans who removed Idi Amin in 1979, the Commander of the Ugandan National Liberation Army from 1980 to 1985, and the President of Uganda from 1985 to 1986.In 1985, together with Bazilio...
. In 1986 the NRA succeeded in overthrowing Okello and the NRA leader
Yoweri MuseveniYoweri Kaguta Museveni has been the President of Uganda since 29 January 1986.Museveni was involved in a war that deposed Idi Amin, ending his rule in 1979, and in the rebellion that subsequently led to the demise of the Milton Obote regime in 1985...
became
President of UgandaThe President of Uganda is the head of state in Uganda. The role began as a largely ceremonial position, with the Prime Minister holding the true power. The first president was the king of Buganda, due to the power of the monarchist Kabaka Yekka party. In 1966 Prime Minister Milton Obote...
.
This same year, Kagame was instrumental in forming, along with his close friend
Fred RwigemaFred Gisa Rwigema , born Emmanuel Gisa , was a founding member of and leader of the Rwandese Patriotic Front, an anti-Hutu Power guerrilla group that fought in the Rwandan Civil War.Rwigema was...
, the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF), which was composed mainly of expatriate Rwandan
TutsiTutsi are one of three native peoples of the nations of Rwanda and Burundi in central Africa, the other two being the Twa and the Hutu.-Origins:...
soldiers that had also fought with the NRA; the RPF was also based in Uganda.
In 1986, Kagame became the head of
military intelligenceMilitary intelligence is a military service that uses intelligence gathering disciplines to collect informations that informs commanders decision making process....
in the NRA, and was regarded as one of Museveni's closest allies. He also joined the official Ugandan military.
During 1990, Kagame went to
Fort LeavenworthFort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active U.S. Army post west of the Mississippi River, in operation for over 170 years...
where the U.S. Army gave him military training. Broadening this connection, the U.S. and U.K. military provided further training and active logistical support to the RPF, which it used to take over power in Rwanda after 1994. After coming to power, Kagame arranged for the RPF to receive further counterinsurgency and combat training from U.S. Special Forces, which was put to use in the 1996-1997 Rwandan-backed military campaign to overthrow the government of neighboring
ZaireThe Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971, and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".Known as the Belgian Congo up until its...
.
Rwandan invasions and genocide
In October 1990, while Kagame was undergoing military training in the U.S., the RPF invaded Rwanda in the struggle for the liberation of Rwanda's Tutsi minority ethnic group . Only two days into the invasion, Rwigema was killed, making Kagame the military commander of the RPF. Despite initial successes, a force of
FrenchThe Military of France encompasses an army, a navy, an air force and a gendarmerie. The President of the Republic heads the armed forces, with the title of "chef des armées" - "chief of the military forces". The President is the supreme authority for military matters and is the sole official who...
,
BelgianThe military of Belgium is the Belgian armed forces. The Belgian Armed Forces have about 47,000 active troops. They are organised into one unified structure which consists of four main components:1. Land Component, or the Army;...
, Rwandan, and
ZaireThe Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971, and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".Known as the Belgian Congo up until its...
an soldiers forced the RPF to retreat. A renewed invasion was attempted in late 1991, but also had limited success.
The invasion increased ethnic tension throughout the region, including in neighbouring
BurundiBurundi , officially the Republic of Burundi, is a country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its size is just under 28,000 km² with an estimated population of...
where similar tensions existed. Peace talks between the RPF and the Rwandese government resulted in the
Arusha accordsThe Arusha Accords were a set of five accords signed in Arusha, Tanzania on August 4, 1993, by the government of Rwanda and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front , under mediation, to end a three-year long Rwandan Civil War...
, including political participation of the RPF in Rwanda. Despite the agreement, ethnic tensions still flared dangerously.
On 6 April 1994, a plane carrying both the Rwandan
PresidentPresident is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, trade unions, universities, and countries. Etymologically, a "president" is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Juvénal HabyarimanaJuvénal Habyarimana was President of the Republic of Rwanda from 1973 until 1994. During his 20-year dictatorship he favored his own ethnic group, the Hutus, and supported the Hutu majority in neighboring Burundi against the Tutsi government...
and
BurundiBurundi , officially the Republic of Burundi, is a country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its size is just under 28,000 km² with an estimated population of...
an President
Cyprien NtaryamiraCyprien Ntaryamira , was President of Burundi from 5 February 1994 until his death when his plane was shot down on 6 April 1994....
was shot down by a surface-to-air missile as it approached
KigaliKigali, population 851,024 , is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is situated in the centre of the nation, and has been the economic, cultural, and transport hub of Rwanda since it became capital at independence in 1962. The main residence and offices of the President of Rwanda are located...
airport. All on board were killed. The deaths immediately sparked the
Rwandan GenocideThe Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Rwanda's Tutsis and Hutu political moderates by Hutus under the Hutu Power ideology. Over the course of approximately 100 days, from the assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana on 6 April through mid-July, at least 500,000...
and an estimated 800,000 to 1,000,000 Rwandans were killed. Under the Arusha accords, the RPF had a small contingent of troops present in Kigali at the time. The outbreak of genocide ended what vestiges remained of the cease fire. The RPF, under the leadership of Kagame, proceeded to take control of the whole country. Kigali was captured July 4, 1994, bringing the downfall of the government of
Jean KambandaJean Kambanda was the Prime Minister in the caretaker government of Rwanda from the start of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. He is the only head of government to plead guilty to genocide, in the first group of such convictions since the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of...
.
Because three French citizens, crew members of the aircraft, died during the crash, an investigation was carried out by French judge
Jean-Louis BruguièreJean-Louis Bruguière was the leading French investigating magistrate in charge of counter-terrorism affairs. He was appointed in 2004 vice-president of the Paris Court of Serious Claims . He has garnered controversy for various acts, including the indictment of Rwandan president Paul Kagame for the...
, who controversially concluded that the shooting of the plane was ordered by Kagame. In November 2006 Judge Bruguière signed international indictments against nine of President Kagame's senior aides, and accused Kagame of ordering the assassination of the two African presidents. Kagame could not be indicted under French law, since as a head-of-state he had immunity from prosecution. The indictments have failed to produce any arrests, due to non-cooperation from the Rwandan government, which accused the judge of partiality. The Kagame government countered that the indictment was based upon declarations by fugitives and disgruntled former lower rank RPF members who testified that the RPF was the only organization with the type of missiles that were used in the assassination. It also pointed out that at the time of the shooting of the plane, the French military was in control of Kigali Airport; although that point, and the possible attempt to imply that the French shot down the plane, is irrelevant as the plane was shot down on approach to the airport and not from the zone controlled by French forces. The former chief prosecutor for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, Judge
Richard GoldstoneRichard J. Goldstone is a former South African Constitutional Court judge. He served as the chief prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda from 15 August 1994 to September 1996, and in 2009 led an independent fact-finding mission...
, argued in the interview that political motivations were at play in the indictment, though this did not negate the potential veracity of the accusations leveled by Judge Bruguière. Judge Goldstone stated that: "Well I don't think that case has been made at all. It's a very political judgement and I don't believe that it's borne out by the evidence. Certainly the witnesses who spoke to Bruguiere allege that those were statements made by President Kagame himself. Whether he did or not obviously is a matter in dispute, in hot dispute, but the political judgement it seems to me is another matter."
The accusations against Kagame were corroborated by several witnesses including former intelligence RPF members, the most publicly known being Commando Lieutenant
Abdul RuzibizaLieutenant Abdul Joshua Ruzibiza is a former member of the Rwandan Patriotic Front who claimed to be part of a group that carried out the assassination of President of Rwanda Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira in April 1994, an event that marked the beginning of the...
. Ruzibiza published a book (
Rwanda: L'histoire secrete) and released testimony pertaining to Kagame and the RPF's involvement in the plane downing and massacres; however, Ruzibiza subsequently retracted part of his testimony, especially as pertains to Kagame senior aide
Rose KabuyeRose Kabuye is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Rwandan Army. She was serving as the chief of protocol of President Kagame until she was arrested in Frankfurt, Germany. -Life in service:...
after she was arrested in Germany and extradited to France. The Association des Avocats de la Defence released a statement backing Judge Bruguière's allegations.
Paul RusesabaginaPaul Rusesabagina is a Rwandan who has been internationally honoured for saving 1,268 refugees during the Rwandan Genocide. He was the assistant manager of the Sabena Hôtel des Mille Collines before he became the manager of the Hôtel des Diplomates, both in Kigali, Rwanda...
, a Rwandan of mixed Hutu and Tutsi origin whose feat saving 1,268 civilians has been the basis of the Academy Award nominated film
Hotel RwandaHotel Rwanda is a historical drama film about the hotelier Paul Rusesabagina during the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. The film, which has been called an African Schindler's List, documents Rusesabagina's acts to save the lives of his family and more than a thousand other refugees, by granting them...
(2004), has supported the allegation that Kagame and the RPF were behind the plane downing, and stated that:
It defies logic why the UN Security Council has never mandated an investigation of this airplane missile attack to establish who was responsible, especially since everyone agrees it was the one incident that touched off the mass killings commonly referred to as the “Rwandan genocide of 1994”.
Furthermore, the French accusations were not the only ones, and parties not involved in the 1994 events have supported the French accusations. In summer 2003,
Carla del PonteCarla Del Ponte is a former Chief Prosecutor of two United Nations international criminal law tribunals...
, then the Chief Prosecutor for the United Nations
International Criminal Tribunal for RwandaThe International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda , or the Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda , is an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in order to judge people responsible for the Rwandan genocide and other serious violations of the...
(ICTR), publicly announced that she would soon begin prosecuting members of Kagame’s Government for the same kinds of crimes charged by Judge Bruguière. However, under U.S. and U.K. pressure, she was replaced soon thereafter as ICTR prosecutor by Abubacar Jallow who pledged not to prosecute Kagame or anyone on his side, no matter what the processes initiated by del Ponte and Bruguière yielded. In February 2008, a Spanish judge issued 40 international warrants for current and former members of Kagame’s government, including senior staff at Rwanda ’s Washington Embassy, in connection with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In a 2007 interview with the BBC, Mr Kagame said he would co-operate with an impartial inquiry. The BBC concluded that "Whether any judge would want to take on such a task is quite another matter."
In a political countereffort, Kagame broke diplomatic relations with France in November 2006 and ordered the formation of a commission of loyal Rwandans that was officially "charged with assembling proof of the involvement of France in the genocide". The political character of that investigation was further averred when the commission issued its report solely to Kagame in November 2007 and its head, Jean de Dieu Mucyo, stated that the commission would now "wait for President Kagame to declare whether the inquiry was valid."
The Second Congo War
Kagame was part of the cabinet of President
Pasteur BizimunguPasteur Bizimungu was the President of Rwanda from July 19 1994 until March 23 2000. He is an ethnic Hutu born in the Gisenyi prefecture of Rwanda. Bizimungu worked within the Hutu MRND regime which ruled Rwanda , including as director general of the national electricity company...
, who came to power in the aftermath of the genocide. Kagame was made
Vice President of RwandaVice President of Rwanda was political position in Rwanda created for Paul Kagame from 1994 to 2000. The office was abolished in 2000....
and Defense Minister. Bizimungu was also a member of the RPF, and as its military leader, Kagame was viewed as the power behind the throne, and eventually became President when Bizimungu was deposed in March 2000.
In 1998, Rwanda got heavily involved in the
Second Congo WarThe Second Congo War, also known as Africa's World War and the Great War of Africa, began in August 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , and officially ended in July 2003 when the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power...
, supporting a well-armed rebel group in Congo, the
Congolese Rally for DemocracyThe Congolese Rally for Democracy, sometimes Rally for Congolese Democracy, was a rebel group operating in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo . Assisted by the government of Rwanda, it was a major factor in the Second Congo War...
. Together with
UgandaThe Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania...
, Rwandan forces invaded the mineral-rich north and east of Democratic Republic of Congo, citing Congolese anti-
TutsiTutsi are one of three native peoples of the nations of Rwanda and Burundi in central Africa, the other two being the Twa and the Hutu.-Origins:...
policies and historical Rwandan heritage in the area. The government of Congo soon found itself supported by several other African nations, and mounted a counter attack, with limited success.
An April 2001 United Nations report alleged "mass scale looting" of Congolese mineral resources. The report claimed that senior members of the Rwandan government had made hundreds of millions of dollars from illegal mineral trading, and that:
A June 2001 Amnesty International report implicated Rwandan and Rwandan-backed forces (amongst others) in the deliberate killing of thousands of Congolese civilians.
Although the Rwandan and Ugandan governments claim to have withdrawn their forces from Congo, there are consistent reports of ongoing Rwandan involvement in support of rebel fighters trying to protect local Tutsi minorities against remnants of the Interahamwe, the militia involved in the 1994 Rwanda Genocide. However, in September 2007, the Rwanda government has strongly denied any involvement in the current Congo fighting.
Critics allege that the Rwandan occupation of the Eastern Congo has been motivated chiefly by a desire to exploit Congolese mineral resources. Paul Kagame has, in turn, claimed that these criticisms are based on Hutu-extremist propaganda, and that Rwanda's sole reason for occupying the Congo has been to defeat the remnants of the Hutu-extremist militia who fled there from Rwanda after the 1994 genocide.
A 2002 United Nations report elaborated on the allegations of illegal profiteering by Rwandan and Ugandan forces in Congo:
President Kagame
Paul Kagame became President of Rwanda in March 2000, after Bizimungu was deposed. Three and a half years later, on August 25, 2003, he won a landslide victory in the first
national electionsA presidential election was held in Rwanda on 25 August2003. Paul Kagame easily won the election against a weak opposition.-Source:*...
since his government took power in 1994 winning 95.5% of the votes.
Kagame is highly critical of the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
and its role in the 1994 genocide. In March 2004, his public criticism of
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
for its role in the genocide and its lack of preventative actions caused a diplomatic row. In November 2006, Rwanda severed all diplomatic ties with France and ordered all its diplomatic staff out of Rwanda within 24 hours following Judge Bruguiere issuing warrants accusing nine high ranking Rwandans of plotting the downing of President Juvenal Habyarimana's airplane in 1994 and also accusing Kagame of ordering the plane shot down.
As president, Kagame has also been critical of the
WestWest is most commonly a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.West is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points...
's lack of development aid in Africa. Kagame believes that Western countries keep African products out of the world marketplace. In contrast, he has praised China, saying in a 2009 interview that "the Chinese bring what Africa needs: investment and money for governments and companies."
Human rights
Regarding
human rightsHuman rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
under the current government of President Paul Kagame,
Human Rights WatchHuman Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo, Toronto,...
has accused Rwandan police of several instances of extrajudicial killings and deaths in custody. In June 2006, the
International Federation of Human RightsThe International Federation of Human Rights aka Fédération internationale des droits de l'homme is a non-governmental federation for human rights organizations....
and Human Rights Watch described what they called "serious violations of international humanitarian law committed by the Rwanda Patriotic Army".
According to
The EconomistThe Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in an office in the City of Westminster, London. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843. While The Economist calls itself a...
, Kagame "allows less political space and press freedom at home than
Robert MugabeRobert Gabriel Karigamombe Mugabe is the current President of Zimbabwe.He has held power as the head of government since 1980, as Prime Minister from 1980 to 1987, and as the first executive head of state since 1987...
does in
ZimbabweZimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers...
", and "[a]nyone who poses the slightest political threat to the regime is dealt with ruthlessly".
The
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' government in 2006 described the human rights record of the Kagame government as "mediocre", citing the "disappearances" of political dissidents, as well as arbitrary arrests and acts of violence, torture and murders committed by police. US authorities listed human rights problems including the existence of political prisoners and limited freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and freedom of religion.
Reporters Without BordersReporters Without Borders, or RWB is a Paris-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press. It was founded in 1985 by Robert Ménard, Rony Brauman and the journalist Jean-Claude Guillebaud...
listed Rwanda in 147th place out of 169 for freedom of the press in 2007, and reported that "Rwandan journalists suffer permanent hostility from their government and surveillance by the security services". It cited cases of journalists being threatened, harassed and arrested for criticising the government. According to Reporters Without Borders, "President Paul Kagame and his government have never accepted that the press should be guaranteed genuine freedom."
Quotes
- We cannot turn the clock back nor can we undo the harm caused, but we have the power to determine the future and to ensure that what happened never happens again.
- You kept quiet... When these victims wanted your help to survive, you kept quiet.
- It is the first time in the history of Rwanda that political change in the highest leadership of the country has taken place in peace and security.
- Such problems are not solved in one day but there is a great step toward peace and security in the region.
- There are some who are scared by unity and by building a country on the basis of ideas.
- In Africa today, we recognise that trade and investment, and not aid, are pillars of development.
Honors and accolades
Kagame was in March 2003 awarded the 2003 Global Leadership Award by the
Young Presidents' OrganizationThe Young Presidents' Organization is an international chapter-driven non-profit organization made up of company presidents from around the world.- History :...
(
YPOYPO may refer to:* Young Presidents' Organization* Peawanuck Airport...
). He received the award in recognition of his "commitment and tireless work to address crises, to foster understanding, unity, and peace to benefit all people. YPO regard his role in reconciling the Tutsi and the Hutu differences in Rwanda and in developing a peaceful solution to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a benchmark of great leadership, uncommon inspiration and remarkable achievement.
In April 2005, Kagame was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor Laws by the University of the Pacific in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In September 2005, Kagame was awarded the
Andrew YoungAndrew Jackson Young is an American politician, diplomat and pastor from Georgia who has served as Mayor of Atlanta, a Congressman from the 5th district, and United States Ambassador to the United Nations. He served as President of the National Council of Churches USA, and was a supporter and...
Medal for Capitalism and Social Progress by
Georgia State UniversityGeorgia State University is an urban research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves over 30,000 students, and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. The current university president is Mark P...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In September 2005, Kagame was awarded the African National Achievement Award by the Africa America Institute in the USA.
In April 2006, Kagame was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by
Oklahoma Christian UniversityOklahoma Christian University is a four-year private comprehensive coeducational Christian university founded in 1950 by members of the churches of Christ. Enrollment for the 2008-2009 Academic Year numbered nearly 2,300 which included approximately 2,000 undergraduate and nearly 300 graduate...
in the USA.
In May 2006, Kagame was given the 2006
ICTInformation and communication technologies is an umbrella term that covers all technical means for processing and communicating information. The term has gained popularity partially due to the convergence of information technology and telecom technology...
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
Award, an award that is designed to recognize and reward organizations and individuals that have demonstrated excellence in promoting the use of ICTs for the overall development of the African continent.
In September 2006, Rwanda was listed as a Top-10 reformer on the
Ease of doing business indexThe Ease of Doing Business Index is an index created by the World Bank. Higher rankings indicate better, usually simpler, regulations for businesses and stronger protections of property rights...
by the World Bank.
In August 2007, Kagame was given the Hands Off Cain Award for his role in ending the death penalty in his country.
In November 2007, Kagame was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor in Law by the
University of GlasgowThe University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest surviving university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities...
in
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
In December 2007, Kagame was given the African Gender Award in Dakar, Senegal for his role in promoting gender equality in Rwanda.
In June 2009, Kagame was awarded the Children's Champion Award by the US Fund for UNICEF for Promoting Children's Rights
In September 2009, Kagame was awarded the International Peace Medal from Saddleback Church for his support and role in the P.E.A.C.E. plan.
In September 2009, President Paul Kagame honoured with the Clinton Global Citizen Award in recognition of his leadership in public service that has improved the lives of people of Rwanda.
External links
- BBC Biography of Paul Kagame
- Paul Kagame - a Biography
- A PBS Timeline of the Genocide
- The 1994 Genocide
- BBC News, October 2003 - Rwandan ruling party wins election
- United Nations, April 2001: Report of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Amnesty International, June 2001: Democratic Republic of Congo - Rwandese-Controlled East - Devastating Human Death Toll
- BBC News, UN boosts DR Congo border force
- Gendercide Watch, Case Study: Genocide in Rwanda, 1994
- George Monbiot, The Guardian, April 2004: "The Victim's License"
- Freedom House entry on Rwanda, 2005
- Rwanda: Kagame Addresses Japanese Senate
- Official biography
- BBC News, Rwanda leader defiant on killing claim, January 30, 2007
- International Forum for Truth and Justice in Africa of the Great Lakes region, SPANISH COURTS ISSUE 40 INTERNATIONAL ARREST WARRANTS AGAINST HIGHESTRANKING OFFICIALS OF RWANDA’S POLITICAL-MILITARY HELM February 6, 2008
- The Taylor Report, Cynthia McKinney Celebrates: Kagame charged in Spain February 6, 2008
- USA TODAY, Spanish judge charges Rwanda's military with genocide February 6, 2008