The Rwandan government will not accord the Batwa community affirmative action, despite calls by the United Nations to protect them from “impending extinction.”

At a meeting in Geneva on April 29, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination warned that the Bwata could face extinction due to government’s refusal to recognise their cultural identity.

But Rwanda’s permanent representative to the UN Francois Xavier Ngarambe said that the government does not consider any group of Rwandans as distinct from others.

“In Rwanda, all people are treated equally. Rwanda has resolved never again to return to the politics of divisionism,” he said.

Evelyne Hohoueto Afiwa-Kindena, the committee’s rapporteur for Rwanda, said failure to accord the Batwa affirmative action continued to impoverish and marginalise them.

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She noted that many Batwa had been displaced from their areas, adding that they continued to face poverty and discrimination in terms of education, housing and employment.

“The Batwa were expelled from their habitat in forests for the creation of natural parks. These forests were an integral part of their livelihood,” she said.

She also wondered whether the community had been compensated for the loss of their settlement areas.

“We recommend that the government of Rwanda take all necessary steps to offer the Batwa adequate land so that they can retain their traditional lifestyle and engage in income-generating activities,” Afiwa-Kindena, said.

But Mr Ngarambe pointed out that marginalised groups had been accorded adequate support through resettlement schemes.

“Appropriate compensation was provided to all those who were evicted,” he said.

“All communities have access to health care and education. The government provides free education for all children as well as opportunities for those who had dropped out of school to enrol again.”

Welfare and development

Zephyrin Kalimba, former director of the Community of Indigenous People in Rwanda, who is now a member of parliament, told The EastAfrican getting special recognition from government is not the most important issue for the Batwa, but rather welfare and development.

“The government has done a lot to improve the wellbeing of the Batwa, but a lot still needs to be done,” he said.

“Rather than just being recognised by their ethnicity, the Batwa need more development opportunities. The government has worked hard to educate the marginalised groups such as the Batwa. What is important now is to give jobs to the educated ones.”