Human Rights Watch (HRW) has relived how its senior researcher in the Africa division Clémentine de Montjoye, was denied entry by the Rwandan immigration authorities upon arrival at Kigali International Airport.

HRW said the denial happened on May 13, 2024.

De Montjoye traveled to Rwanda for meetings with officials from foreign embassies but was told upon arrival that she was “not welcome in Rwanda” for undisclosed “immigration reasons,” and Kenya Airways was instructed to ensure her removal from the country.

“Rwanda touts itself as an open and welcoming destination, but the treatment reserved for those who may investigate abuse exposes the government’s deep-seated hostility to human rights monitoring and independent scrutiny of any kind,” said Tirana Hassan, executive director at Human Rights Watch. “The Rwandan authorities can demonstrate that their projected openness is not just a façade and allow de Montjoye to return to Rwanda and carry out her work without obstruction or interference.”

De Montjoye, a Franco-British national, informed the government of her travel plans and sent meeting requests to the Justice Ministry, Human Rights Watch’s interlocutor in the Rwandan government, on April 29 and May 7, who did not respond. Human Rights Watch also contacted the National Commission for Human Rights’ chairperson, who replied that she was out of the country. The chairperson did not respond to a proposal to have a meeting once she returns to Kigali.

Human Rights Watch had informed Rwandan authorities when de Montjoye traveled to Rwanda with the same entry documents in June 2022 and August 2023, and she did not face any problems entering the country.

When de Montjoye arrived on the morning of May 13, immigration authorities took her passport. She was told to board a flight back to Nairobi, Kenya, the same evening, where she was given her passport and a document stating she had been denied entry for “immigration reasons.”

The denial of entry reflects the authorities’ intensifying assault on human rights, months ahead of the country’s 2024 general elections, Human Rights Watch said.

Human Rights Watch has conducted research on the human rights situation in Rwanda for over 30 years, since before the 1994 genocide. De Montjoye is the fourth Human Rights Watch researcher to be blocked from entering Rwanda, with previous staff facing similar treatment in 2008, 2010, and 2018. In January 2018, after a Human Rights Watch researcher was denied entry to the country, a Rwandan consultant working with Human Rights Watch was detained and arbitrarily held for 6 days, the first 12 hours of which were incommunicado.

De Montjoye’s denied entry follows the publication of a comprehensive October 2023 report documenting Rwanda’s systematic targeting of critics and dissidents beyond its borders.

During a parliamentary session to discuss the report, a Rwandan Patriotic Front member, John Ruku-Rwabyoma, accused Human Rights Watch of “never step[ping] foot in Rwanda” to carry out research. Speaking directly to Human Rights Watch, he suggested: “Just dare come here, you don’t need a visa … you can get visas at the airport … Then you will find the true Rwanda you’re trying to tarnish the image of.”

Rwandan authorities have long sought to block independent scrutiny and criticism, including by denying entry to a number of international journalists, maligning Rwandan rights advocates and journalists, and subjecting them to abusive prosecutions. Several Rwandan journalists, critics, and activists have been killed or have been reported missing in suspicious circumstances.

Rwanda’s rights record has garnered significant international attention in recent months. Its army has played an increasingly active role in the armed conflict in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, where it provides logistical and operational support to the abusive M23 armed group.

Despite the country’s dire human rights record, the United Kingdom is continuing with its plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, where, in defiance of the facts, it claims independent monitoring and oversight of people’s conditions will be possible. De Montjoye’s denied entry raises renewed questions about the UK government’s persistence in its intention to send asylum seekers to a country that so openly blocks scrutiny and is itself responsible for turning away human rights investigators, Human Rights Watch said.

Thirty years after the 1994 genocide, the Rwandan government has made great strides in rebuilding its infrastructure, developing its economy, and delivering public services. It should recognize the valuable role civil society can play and allow free access to those monitoring the country’s human rights record.

Human Rights Watch remains committed to engage with the Rwandan authorities and requests access for its staff to meet with government officials and carry out the same work it conducts in over 90 countries across the world.

“Rwanda’s decision shows why the international community needs to reboot its approach to Rwanda’s deteriorating human rights record,” Hassan said. “A government that blocks a leading human rights organization’s staff is not likely to stop its repression of human rights without greater international pressure. This is about more than forcing Human Rights Watch out of Rwanda, it is a brazen attempt to muzzle reporting on Rwanda’s compliance with its international human rights obligations.”

One hundred and fifty six  Ghanaian migrants have voluntarily returned home from Libya.

This was announced by Ghana IOM on its X handle.

The post reads: “Yesterday, IOM in collaboration with the Government of Ghana, welcomed home 151 Ghanaian migrants (146 men, 5 women, including 6 children) who voluntarily returned from Libya via charter flight.

“This support was made possible thanks to the Migrant Protection, Return & Reintegration Programme for Sub-Saharan Africa (MPRR-SSA) funded by the European Union. Together with our partners, we will ensure the sustainable reintegration of these returnees into their communities.”

Nigerians deported from the UK may soon have no reason to be worried about where to put their head.

This is as a London-based Nigerian charity organisation, the Hospital and Prison Action Network (HPAN), has announced the conclusion of the construction of 12 self-contained flats in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, to serve as accommodation for any Nigerian deported from the UK and in need of somewhere to stay.

The HPAN in a statement issued on Thursday by the Central Association of Nigerians in the United Kingdom (CANUK), said that being a member of CANUK, it decided to act because a lot of Nigerians who get deported from the UK end up having nowhere to stay. 

“HPAN are now offering them free accommodation for three months at their halfway home to enable such deportees to find their feet,” the statement said. 

The Chief Executive of HPAN and its sister organisation Hospital and Prison Welfare Initiative (HPWI), Dr Nathaniel Oyinloye, said that the programme will end the problem of some deportees having to sleep at the Lagos airport. 

Oyinloye added that all deportees would be provided with accommodation for three months, after which their cases would be reviewed.

He said, “We wish to inform Nigerians living in the UK that if any of them are deported by the government and are looking for a place to stay for a short time in Nigeria that they are welcome to our halfway home/deportee centre. 

“For the people affected who are willing to use our service, we also have a two bedroom flat at Ojuelegba in Surulere, Lagos State, that can be used as a transition point from where the person(s) are transported to our main rehabilitation and resettlement centre that comprises of 12 self-contained flats in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

“Anyone released from the UK is eligible to stay there for three months and their stay is renewable subject to meeting the terms and conditions including being a good neighbour to other occupiers and not damaging the property. We are starting off with the UK but we will be extending the programme to other countries too.”

The statement noted that a letter outlining the service has been forwarded to the Nigerian High Commission in London and that HPAN plans to design a leaflet and make sure it is widely available. 

Oyinloye noted that the leaflet will be widely distributed at immigration detention centres across the UK, so that all our people are informed about the development.

Also, CANUK’s Welfare Secretary, Judy Akuta, said that “This is a wonderful initiative from one of our member organisations and hopefully, it will go some way to ameliorating the agony some of our people face when they are deported. 

“A lot of Nigerians get deported after say 10 years of living in the UK and when they arrive in Lagos have nowhere to go because life has moved on since they left, so this will at least allow them to find their feet.

“With the UK government stepping up deportations, this kind of initiative became necessary as more and more deportees were being left stranded upon arriving in Nigeria. 

“Canuk will be helping to spread the word to our member-organisations, so they can forward it on to their individual members.”

The organisation noted that of late, “The UK has introduced several Draconian immigration restrictions aimed at restricting the number of immigrants in the country. 

“These new laws are part of the plans of the Conservative government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to bring immigration, which currently stands at around 1million, down.

“For instance, there are now restrictions on the families of foreign students coming to join them in the UK and international students are no longer allowed to switch out of the student route and into work routes before their studies have been completed. 

“This is being backed up with an increase in deportations, including to Rwanda under a controversial programme.”