RWANDA: Fighting for Rwanda's Forgotten Victims

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

RWANDA: Fighting for Rwanda's Forgotten Victims

Ottawa Citizen (12.19.04) - Monday, December 20, 2004
Sutton Eaves

The author of a new report on sexual violence and the spread of HIV/AIDS during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda hopes the graphic accounts included bring attention to an issue that plagues much of Africa. In the report, Burundi-native Francoise Nduwimana recommends the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda provide reparations for up to 400,000 victims of rape and HIV infection. Funded by Rights & Democracy, an organization created by the Canadian Parliament in 1988, the report will be distributed to the tribunal, the Rwandan government and other international groups.

According to Nduwimana, it is well known in Rwanda that rape and HIV/AIDS are consequences of the genocide. Nduwimana believes between 250,000 and 500,000 women were raped during the 100 days of terror, up to 80 percent of whom were infected with HIV.

As part of the tribunal's mandate to provide restitution to the genocide victims, Nduwimana argues it should provide medical and financial support to all women infected with HIV due to rape. "The problem is that while there are solutions in the sense that there are antiretroviral drugs that should be available, the issue has not been addressed and most of the women are dying," she noted.

Until recently, the tribunal said it was beyond its capacity to provide antiretroviral treatment. It now offers the $30-a- month treatment to tribunal witnesses, but Nduwimana said at least half of the women she encountered during a two-week trip to Rwanda were not receiving treatment.
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