Rwandan children still suffer the devastating consequences of the 1994 genocide and the war that preceded and followed it, Human Rights Watch says in a 80-page report, “Lasting Wounds: Consequences of Genocide and War for Rwanda’s Children”. In the report, Human Rights Watch documents the widespread abuse and exploitation of children in 1994 and since. In the violence nine years ago, hundreds of thousands of children were killed and maimed, physically and psychologically. Hundreds of thousands of children were orphaned and many now try to cope on their own. Families all over the country have opened their homes to needy children but, themselves living in poverty, they have not always respected foster children’s rights.

Traditionally hunter-gatherers, the Batwa forest peoples of Rwanda are recognized as having been the first inhabitants of the land. Yet the Batwa have been forced to the edges of their ancestral forests. With no compensation and no alternative forms of livelihood, most have become beggars and landless labourers. This study from Minority Rights International highlights the plight of the Batwa and the need for allocated lands to allow them to preserve their culture, values and traditional livelihoods.

Rwanda has reafforested at least 6,000 ha destroyed during the 1994 genocide, the Rwanda News Agency (RNA) reported on Monday. Citing a statement issued by the agriculture ministry, the agency reported that at least 160 million seedlings had been planted since 1994. However, natural forests in Rwanda have declined from 643,000 ha to 221,200 ha in 41 years, according to the ministry, the main cause having been human activity.

A coalition of human rights groups has accused the United Nations of making little effort to prosecute rapes alongside other crimes committed during Rwanda's 1994 genocide. "Thousands of Rwandan rape victims, many of whom are now dying of AIDS, continue to wait expectantly for justice from the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda," said coalition organizer Jean-Louis Roy, head of the Canadian humanitarian organisation Rights and Democracy.

The United States and Rwanda have agreed to exempt each other's citizens from prosecution in the International Criminal Court, the US State Department said. Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, and Charles Murigande, the Rwandan Foreign Minister, will sign the accord, known as an Article 98 agreement, at the State Department.

The government should ensure that land rights issues faced by the Batwa, Rwanda's third and smallest ethnic group, are effectively addressed through the implementation of new national land laws, an international NGO, Minority Rights Group (MRG), says in a new report.

Save the Children requires a Technical Advisor who will assist in the development of action plans, collaborate with MINALOC staff and provide advice on the development of child rights legislation and reinforce partnerships between the government, INGO's and NGO's.

African Rights has written to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), in Arusha, Tanzania, urging it to address the "deterioration" in its relations with Rwandan genocide survivors, the human rights organisation reported on Monday.

Reporters sans frontières (RSF) says the detention of Ismael Mbonigaba, editor of the newspaper "Umuseso", who has been imprisoned for the past month for allegedly "inciting people to be divisive and practice discrimination" was simply an excuse for the government to crack down on independent media and the opposition.

Rwanda: Tribute to Courage, a book from African Rights, is a collection of remembrances from survivors and witnesses of the genocide, told publicly for the first time. The book names men and women who risked their lives to save others and tells the compelling stories of their achievements. These are moving accounts of fear and gratitude, of human triumphs in the face of catastrophe. African Rights is now asking the Government of Rwanda to undertake a new, in-depth and broad-ranging inquiry in order to draw up an expanded official list of genocide heroes, to publicise their deeds and to create a memorial to them. Tribute to Courage reveals the spirit of humanity which was alive through one of the most brutal episodes of recent history. It is based upon personal accounts of how empathy and determination overcame apprehension and self-interest, and constitutes an important record of what one person can achieve against the greatest odds. The events described in this book should be an inspiration in the search for peace in Rwanda and beyond. But despite the passage of time, awareness of them is limited.

This post requires an experienced person in developing strategies for conflict management and poverty reduction. Demonstrable knowledge of the governance issues in Africa will be essential. You will be responsible for advising and supporting Oxfam in Rwanda in applying conflict sensitive approaches to development and supporting a regional policy-working group to implement, monitor, evaluate and refine the Oxfam GB regional peace building and conflict management programme.

Some 19,000 genocide prisoners granted provisional release by President Paul Kagame began two months of re-education last Friday at solidarity camps throughout the country's 11 provinces and the City of Kigali.

Three Rwandan poachers convicted of killing two endangered mountain gorillas and stealing a baby one have been fined and sentenced to four years in prison, an official said last Thursday.

An experienced video journalist and project manager to serve in Kigali as Country Director, providing technical advise and training to Internews staff in Rwanda as they continue to produce bi-monthly video newsreels on the justice process for Rwanda is needed. In addition, the Country Director manages the programme budget and coordinates development of budgets for continued programme activities. French language skills, report and proposal writing ability required.

Organisations representing survivors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide are unhappy with a plan to free thousands of people who have pleaded guilty to participating in the genocide but have not yet been tried. On 1 January, the government announced that those who had pleaded guilty, along with the elderly, minors and the seriously ill, would be freed on bail until their cases are heard in court. Some 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were killed in 100 days between April and June 1994.

One of the most wanted war crimes suspects in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda is believed to be living in Kenya under the protection of Government officials, a senior US official said on Tuesday. Felicien Kabuga, an alleged financier of the genocide, has been using his personal wealth to buy protection from Kenyan authorities, said Pierre-Richard Prosper, ambassador at large for war crimes.

As Rwanda starts the full implementation of the gacaca traditional justice system, to try suspects of the 1994 genocide, Amnesty International has called on Rwandan authorities to ensure that gacaca trials conform with basic international standards of fairness so that the government's efforts to end impunity are effective.

As Social Protection Manager, you will be responsible for the management and development of SC UK's social protection work in Rwanda. This includes taking a strategic position on the development and management of social protection programmes, effective management of both financial and human resources and representing SCUK in Rwanda to the government, partner agencies and other outside bodies including the media, and the public.

In the summer of 1994, an estimated 800,000 to 1 million people were killed over a three-month period, when Rwanda's Hutu government set out to eliminate the country's ethnic Tutsi minority. Most were killed with guns and machetes. But for many Tutsi women - accused by the Hutus of being too prideful - the Hutus used AIDS as part of their arsenal, raping them to infect them. A handful of programs are assisting women who were raped and infected with AIDS, but thousands more go without help.

Rwanda is beginning the process of setting up a nationwide system of community courts to try more than 100,000 suspects in the genocide war of the mid-1990s in which up to a million people are believed to have died.