Britain must act against ‘Rwandan war criminals’

A MAJOR Commonwealth meeting this month could be overshadowed by Britain failing to take action against alleged Rwandan war criminals, MPS and peers are warning.

Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, will join other leaders at the five-day meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, in just over a week’s time.

However, the All-party Parliamentary Group on War Crimes said in a letter to the Prime Minister that “there are five suspects believed to have taken part in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda”.

An estimated 800,000 Rwandans, mostly Tutsis but including moderate Hutus, died in 100 days of ethnic cleansing between April 7 and July 1994.

The letter pointed out that while a court had ruled five years ago that there was an “extensive and compelling” body of evidence, none could be returned to Rwanda as a fair trial could not be guaranteed.

Instead the Crown Prosecution Service was asked to see if there was any way to prosecute the suspects.

The group, whose members include former Attorney Generals Jeremy Wright and Lord Falconer, complained that the UK “suffers from poor resourcing” when it comes to trying to bring alleged war criminals to justice.

They said: “Compared to the vast infrastructure put in place to tackle Nazi crimes, the present set-up falls woefully short of the expertise and political determination so decisively exhibited.”

Warning that the issue risks overshadowing the Commonwealth meeting, the group added: “The matter has already blighted relations between the UK and Rwanda, while the recent Rwanda-uk asylum agreement has shone a light on the perceived double standard that we are prepared to trust Rwanda with our asylum seekers but not with wanted Rwandan nationals. None of this will be lost on our hosts or on our friends in the Commonwealth.”

Challenged over the lack of action in the Commons yesterday, Mr Johnson said he would study the case and “take it up appropriately”.

However, he added: “No country is more committed than we are to bringing war criminals to justice.”

Scotland Yard confirmed in 2019 that detectives are investigating five people living in the UK after a referral from the Rwanda government over allegations relating to the genocide. All five have denied the allegations against them and involvement in the genocide.