INTERPOL supports renewed campaign to track remaining Rwandan genocide fugitives

KIGALI, Rwanda – On the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, a joint campaign of the United Nations, Rwanda, the US and INTERPOL to track down the remaining perpetrators will seek the public’s assistance in locating those responsible for the tragedy.

A joint campaign of the United Nations, Rwanda, the US and INTERPOL to track down the remaining perpetrators of the 1994 genocide was launched in Kigali.

The organizations supporting the initiative participated in a ceremony in remembrance of the Rwandan genocide victims -- the UN Mechanism for International Tribunals, Rwanda National Public Prosecution Authority, INTERPOL, the War Crimes Rewards Program of the US Department of State Office of Global Criminal Justice and the Genocide Survivors Association.

Rwanda’s Minister of Justice, Johnston Busingye (second from left) discusses the initiative to renew public awareness of the genocide in order to locate and arrest the remaining wanted perpetrators.

Stefano Carvelli, Head of INTERPOL’s Fugitive Investigative Support unit (left), applauded the initiative to re-engage the public in the search for the remaining perpetrators of the Rwandan tragedy two decades after it occurred.

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Launched on 24 July in Kigali, Rwanda, the initiative involves the UN Mechanism for International Tribunals (MICT) fugitive tracking team, Rwanda National Public Prosecution Authority, INTERPOL and the War Crimes Rewards Program of the US Department of State Office of Global Criminal Justice, with the support of the Rwanda National Police and the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) in Kigali.

The aim of the initiative is to renew public awareness of the 1994 genocide and its perpetrators, in order to locate and arrest the nine remaining fugitives wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

To this end, a poster has been created with images of the fugitives, encouraging the public to contact the participating organizations with any information about the wanted individuals. For its part, INTERPOL will circulate the poster to its NCBs and Regional Bureaus located in Africa and other regions with large African communities.

INTERPOL has long supported global efforts to track and arrest those connected to the Rwandan genocide, in particular through its Rwandan Genocide Fugitives Project which was created in conjunction with the ICTR and the Rwanda National Public Prosecution Authority to target the remaining fugitives wanted by those two groups.

Working with member countries and the ICTR tracking team, INTERPOL’s Fugitive Investigative Support (FIS) unit has directly supported the arrest of nine individuals wanted by the UN tribunal for genocide-related crimes, while 33 genocide suspects sought by NCB Kigali on behalf of the National Public Prosecution Authority have been identified and arrested.

Stefano Carvelli, Head of INTERPOL’s FIS unit, applauded the initiative to re-engage the public in the search for the remaining perpetrators of the Rwandan tragedy two decades after it occurred.

“We must never forget the horror that these criminals caused to the population of Rwanda, and in extension to the world. Twenty years later, INTERPOL still remains committed to working with the international criminal tribunals and national law enforcement authorities to find justice for the victims,” he said.

Since 2001, INTERPOL has issued 23 Red Notices for internationally wanted persons at the request of the ICTR, including the nine still at large.

Attending the campaign launch were Rwanda Minister of Justice, Johnston Busingye; Hassan B. Jallow, Prosecutor of the ICTR and MICT; Rwanda Prosecutor General Richard Muhumuza; US Ambassador-at-Large Stephen J. Rapp, Head of the Office of Global Criminal Justice; and President of the Genocide Survivors Association, Jean Pierre Dusingizemungu.