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UPROOTING THE RURAL POOR
IN RWANDA

Human Rights Watch
New York Washington London Brussels

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I. SUMMARY

II. RECOMMENDATIONS
To the Rwandan government:
To U.N. agencies and nongovernmental organizations:
To donor governments:

III. BACKGROUND
Historic Patterns of Settlement
Population Growth and Land Scarcity
Property and Returning Refugees
The Housing Crisis

IV. THE NATIONAL HABITAT POLICY

V. IMPLEMENTATION
The East: Kibungo, Umutara, and Kigali-Rural
The Northwest: Ruhengeri and Gisenyi
Elsewhere in Rwanda

VI. POPULAR REACTION TO IMIDUGUDU

VII. FILLING THE IMIDUGUDU: THE USE OF COERCION
Obeying the "Law"
The Security Argument
Avoiding the Move

VIII. THE USE OF FORCE
Kinigi Commune
Resisting Relocation
Dissent by Local Officials

IX. FORCED DESTRUCTION OF HOUSES

X. LAND
The Link to Imidugudu
Landholding Laws and Practices
Taking the Land
Land for the Imidugudu
"General Sharing Scheme"
"Returning" Property
Land Taken for Large-Scale Farms
Remedies for the Dispossessed
Effect of Land Loss on Cultivators
Opposition to Loss of Land

XI. WOMEN, CHILDREN, AND THE ELDERLY

XII. RECONCILIATION

XIII. NUMBERS
Returnees from the First Wave of Refugees, 1959-1973
Imidugudu Residents

XIV. VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Right to Freedom of Movement and Choice of Residence
Right to Adequate Housing
Right to Secure Enjoyment of One's Home
Right to Freedom of Opinion and of Expression
Right to Property
Right to Remedy

XV. THE ROLE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
Donors
U.N. Agencies
Nongovernmental Organizations

XVI. DIALOGUE WITH THE RWANDAN GOVERNMENT

XVII. CONCLUSION