By Daniel Howden
Rwanda is set to succeed in its bid to join the Commonwealth despite serious concerns over its human rights record, according to a senior source close to the talks.
A summit of Commonwealth heads of government in Trinidad and Tobago will add Rwanda to its 53 current members, despite its failure to meet entry requirements. "There is consensus on Rwanda," said a senior African negotiator.
The decision, expected this weekend, has been greeted with dismay by NGOs, while the author of a major report on Rwanda's candidacy said it was clear evidence that the Commonwealth "could not care less about human rights".
Continues Below ↓
Professor Yash Pal Ghai, a Kenyan-born expert on constitutional law and author of an independent report for the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, said: "From the very beginning, the governments of the Commonwealth had decided they wanted Rwanda in. The secretary general, Britain and Uganda have all been pushing for that outcome."
Supporters of the bid have argued that entry to the club would encourage Kigali to raise its standards, but critics counter it will "lower the group's average" and make it harder to take action against states that transgress in future. "The Commonwealth stands for very little if it doesn't stand for human rights and democracy," said Tom Porteous, head of Human Rights Watch in London. "Admitting Rwanda will make it harder for the Commonwealth to project itself as a credible promoter of these values."
Rwanda, a former German colony, which later came under a Belgian mandate from the League of Nations, applied in 2007 to join the voluntary association of mainly English-speaking former British colonies. That move followed the breakdown in relations between Kigali and France as both countries traded accusations over events in the build-up to the 1994 genocide.
Continues...
|
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Digg
Delicious
Newsvine
Facebook
muti
Twitter
