The Rwandan government has instituted numerous programs that seek to address the specific situation of genocide survivors – including access to HIV retroviral medication and special subsidy funds and programs to treat drug and alcohol addiction. For example, the Government of Rwanda has created a National Assistance Fund for the Needy Survivors of Genocide (FARG or Fonds d’assistance aux rescapés du génocide) “reserved for the assistance to the most needy victims of genocide and massacres” committed in the country.[25] The FARG provides educational scholarships and free medical care to the neediest victims.[26] However, the parameters for access to these programs exclude the estimated 20,000 children born of rape during the genocide because the government does not recognize them to be genocide survivors.[27]

The Subcommittee observes that, as has been the case with Rwandan government programs, international and domestic non-governmental aid programs have also focussed on addressing the needs of women survivors and orphans but have given insufficient attention to the needs of children born of rape committed during the genocide.

A. Psychological trauma

Many victims of the 1994 genocide – and rape victims in particular – suffer from mental health problems and psychosocial disabilities as a result of their traumatic experiences. Ms. Pisko-Dubienski explained that “a woman who conceived a child through rape during the genocide is most likely orphaned and severely traumatized by watching her family die before her eyes… [these women] suffer from mental illnesses ranging from depression to the utterly debilitating dissociate disorder.”[28] As a result, the ability of these women to parent their children, especially those born of rape, is often compromised. The Subcommittee learned that infanticide, attempted infanticide, and desertion of children born of rape were common in the months immediately following the genocide.[29]

Many children born of rape committed during the genocide face multiple and complex levels of rejection. Witnesses told the Subcommittee that these children may serve as daily reminders to their mothers of the trauma they endured. The children may evoke feelings of anger or shame in their mothers, leading to the child’s rejection. Moreover, in the case of Rwanda, the children’s génocidaire fathers are unlikely to contribute to their upbringing, which can heighten the economic vulnerability of both the mothers and their children.[30]

Children born of rape committed during the genocide may also face rejection from the surviving members of their mothers’ families, who consider them to be outsiders. Their fathers – perpetrators of genocide and other atrocities – may have even been involved in the murder and rape of other family members. Thus, the mothers’ families may be unwilling to include children born of rape in family activities or to extend to such children the support of the extended family unit. These children may also be rejected by other genocide survivors, who view them with anger and disdain because they are the descendants of génocidaires. The failure of the Rwandan state to recognize these children as victims of the genocide may exacerbate the familial and social rejection that they experience.[31]

Ms. Pisko-Dubienski explained that a lack of family support has profound consequences because “[c]hildren, no matter what age, need a secure attachment to a safe and reliable person…home and family make the difference in such a child’s ability to recover from the brokenness of rejection.”[32] In the absence of adequate family, social and government support, many children born of rape committed during the genocide feel “unwanted and unloved” and “suffer from serious identity issues” as a result.[33]

The mental health conditions that continue to affect the genocide survivors of rape and their children – including long-term mental illness that may result in psychosocial disability – have implications for Rwanda’s international human rights obligations.[34] International human rights law requires that Rwanda continue to make progress towards providing the necessary care for these individuals so that they may enjoy all of their human rights and fully participate in their societies.

Ms. Pisko-Dubienski stressed that addressing the mental health care needs of children born of rape during the genocide requires holistic and culturally contextualized strategies that promote long-term, compassionate care. However, she noted that Rwanda currently has “only six psychiatrists, one or two psychiatric nurses or psychologists per district, and only one hospital with a department of clinical psychology … not enough to handle the psychiatric and psychological needs of the nation.”[35] Sue Montgomery, a Canadian journalist with experience interviewing survivors of sexual violence committed during the genocide in Rwanda, agreed, noting that “[t]here's certainly need for psychological support in Rwanda.”[36]

Witnesses acknowledged that clinical psychology is new to Rwanda, and that some progress is being made to increase access to this type of care. For example, the Rwandan government has established some programs and facilities to help those suffering from mental illness and psychosocial disabilities, and has committed to building the first gender-based violence care facility in east Africa.[37] In addition, the Subcommittee was informed that local non-governmental organizations play a valuable role in assisting mothers who survived sexual violence during the genocide and their children born of rape to cope with trauma and participate fully in society.[38] The Subcommittee believes that such organizations should be supported and encouraged in their work. Nevertheless, significantly more must be done to ensure that children born of rape committed during the genocide have adequate access to professional mental health care and community support.

B. Access to education

Several witnesses raised the importance the Government of Rwanda places on education – in a country where over 60% of the population is under 25 years old – but noted that access to education is not yet universal, particularly at the secondary, vocational and post-secondary levels.[39] Witnesses emphasized that access to education increases a young person’s economic opportunities and keeps youth away from drug and alcohol dependency. Further, access to education helps children and youth to participate fully in their communities and in public and political life more broadly.[40] The Subcommittee heard from Moses Gashirabake, who was a child when his family escaped the genocide to live as refugees in Kenya, and who has since immigrated to Canada. Based on his personal experience, Mr. Gashirabake impressed upon the Subcommittee the role that education and family support can play in ensuring genocide survivors improve their socio-economic condition.[41]

As discussed above, children born of rape committed during the genocide often live in poverty and struggle with mental health problems. As a consequence, they may struggle to access higher levels of education. While survivor assistance programs such as the FARG facilitate access to educational and vocational opportunities for survivors, children born of rape are not eligible to benefit from this support.[42]

The Subcommittee observes that international human rights law recognizes that education is a human right and an indispensable means of realizing other human rights, including the right to live with dignity and to participate effectively in a free society.[43] It agrees with witnesses who argued that additional efforts are required to facilitate equal access to educational opportunities – particularly vocational training and post-secondary education – in order to address the current crisis faced by children born of rape committed during the genocide in Rwanda.[44]

C. Children born of rape as genocide victims and survivors

The Subcommittee recalls that the Government of Rwanda does not consider children born of rape committed during the genocide to be survivors of the genocide. As a result, children born of rape are ineligible for survivor benefits and assistance programs offered by the government to survivors of the genocide. The Subcommittee urges the Government of Rwanda to reconsider its position on these children born of rape.

Jean-Bosco Iyakaremye, a member of the survivors’ group Humura Association, told the Subcommittee that he was

outraged by the fact that the government is rejecting these children and does not consider them to be survivors of the genocide. They were born after the genocide, of course, but their mothers are survivors. They should consequently be considered as survivors of the genocide and not be rejected by the state. They should benefit from the same advantages as those granted to the young survivors of the genocide, particularly where education is concerned.[45]

The Subcommittee agrees that these children are victims of the genocide. They have suffered harm, often including mental injury, emotional suffering and reduced educational and economic opportunities as a result of their mothers’ rape. International human rights standards recognize that, in appropriate cases, dependants of such direct victims should be recognized as victims themselves. As such, they should be given access to measures intended to provide reparation for the harm suffered, including mental health care and educational and vocational training opportunities.[46]

The Subcommittee believes that recognizing children born of rape committed during the genocide as genocide victims and providing them with access to survivors’ funds and other benefits, such as the FARG, would facilitate their full integration and participation in Rwandan society. The Subcommittee urges government and non‑government actors in Rwanda, in the Rwandan diaspora, and from the broader international community to intensify their efforts to address the mental health and educational needs of this vulnerable group.