Rewards for Justice: Fugitives From the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

Today, I announce the expansion of our aggressive and targeted initiative to bring to justice persons indicted for the worst acts of inhumanity. Persons whose presence here in the Congo and elsewhere has been a major source of instability and despair for ordinary citizens. Joining me today in making this announcement is the Congolese Minister of Human Rights, Ntumba Luaba. Also present are representatives from the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, from the White House, Dr. Jendayi Frazer, Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council, and Ambassador Aubrey Hooks, U.S. Ambassador to the Congo. I thank President Kabila for inviting me here today to launch this effort as part of his commitment to peace.

The United States is offering up to five million U.S. dollars to anyone who has information that will lead to the arrest and transfer of persons indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. We are expanding this "Rewards for Justice" campaign to the Congo region as part of the larger effort to bring peace to the Great Lakes region of Africa. Let me be clear. The citizens of this country have suffered greatly. A key to ending the suffering is ending the conflict. A key to ending the conflict is bringing fugitives of the Tribunal to justice. With the recent understanding for peace, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda put to paper an agreement to work together to track and dismantle the ex-Far and Interahamwe forces, some committed genocide, all continue to fight. It is our firm belief that with the removal of the key figures of this group an environment will be created that will see Rwanda withdraw its troops from the Congo, thousands of refuges return to their country, and allow us to address the issues and problems that have plagued this nation east to west for almost a decade. The time now has come to draw the net tightly around war criminals. We are here to help.

Last month in Nairobi, we began our Rewards for Justice campaign, which is designed to apprehend persons indicted by the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda for serious violations of international humanitarian law. We began by targeting Félicien Kabuga, a man accused of financing the massacres that saw over 800,000 Rwandans die. That effort is yielding results with an average of almost one hundred emails, phone calls and walk-ins per week. We feel we are narrowing the places where Mr. Kabuga can hide and are focusing in on his areas of support.

Today, it is our goal to gain results here. This is a critical moment in history, where there is a choice between leaving these fugitives and other negative elements to fester and foment ongoing conflict or making a strong effort to apprehend them, thus bringing to end the bitter war. Let me stress that we are only seeking those indicted by the UN Tribunal; those who are in positions of leadership. Those not indicted, the foot soldiers, can be disarmed, demobilized and repatriated to Rwanda. These are the fugitives of justice who have been indicted by the UN Tribunal and must be called to account: Augustin Bizimana. Jean-Baptiste Gatete. Augustin Bizimungu. Idelphonse Hategekimana. Augustin Ngirabatware. Idelphonse Nizeyimana. Protais Mpiranya and Callixte Nzabonimana. They are reported to have spent time here in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as next door in Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Angola and other states in this region. There are others here and elsewhere who are not pictured here but who we intend to name in the near future.

All these fugitives have been indicted for genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of the Geneva Convention and continue to play a destructive role. We are determined to find these fugitives. I am pleased that President Kabila has given his personal assurance to pursue these individuals as an effort to bring peace, justice and improve the lives of his citizens. Their apprehension, however, will require a broad effort on behalf of the international community, the regional governments, and the citizens of the Congo. We urge all governments in the region – the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Central African Republic, Zambia, Gabon – to join us in this campaign. We ask the citizens of the Congo, anyone and everyone who possesses knowledge as to the whereabouts of those wanted, to come forward to help their country. In order to truly secure peace, the people of the Congo must do their part. We have set up a special task force here in Kinshasa. We ask anyone who knows of the whereabouts of any of these men to visit this office or to contact us by telephone at 9836-7160 or 880-8308 or by e-mail at JusticeRewards@yahoo.com. All contacts will be kept strictly confidential.