Renewing Rwandan and British relations

By Simon DANCZUK. 

Following the Rwandan genocide Britain played a part in helping renew democracy, governance and the economy. Tony Blair has had a significant part in advising and assisting the Rwandan Government over the years and his Institute continues to have a presence in the country.

In 2022 Kigali hosted the prestigious Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), Boris Johnson, as Prime Minister, attended, so did King Charles – it illustrated how our two countries relationship had positively developed.

Britain and Rwanda have had a strong and powerful association.

 It isn’t a coincidence, from conversations I’ve had with Rwandans because Britain is seen differently from France, Belgium and other European former colonial countries. Some perceive Britian as having a more positive relationship with the countries it used to occupy, not least through the Commonwealth of Nations.

Some other European countries are seen as exploiting their former colonies, some are perceived as having unhealthy and vested interests in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Our two countries relationship was strengthened when Rwanda made English an official language in 2008 and became a Commonwealth member in 2009, whilst remaining in the French equivalent, La Francophonie.

As Britain experienced, and continues to experience, significant problems with illegal immigration it was Rwanda that stepped forward to help. First, under the Blair Government, then under the recent Conservative Government a solution was developed but not fully implemented.

So, it is disappointing to see the British Government recently apply sanctions to Rwanda, especially in regard to the problems in eastern DRC.

It is as though the new Labour Government, under Keir Starmer, doesn’t understand the Rwandan people’s situation. Anyone with a knowledge of the region will be aware that Rwanda is a small country surrounded by big neighbours, some of whom have hostile militia within them.

Starmer’s Government needs to understand that the DRC has accommodated the FDLR, a military group determined to destroy the Rwandan nation as we now know it. The top priority for every Rwandan is safety and security. The new Labour Ministers seem to failed to understand this.

More constructively, the American Government, as the conflict in eastern Congo developed, sent an envoy to speak with all the different leaders in the region. The US have positively initiated peace talks and are assisting in bringing safety and security to the people in all the affected countries.

It’s very unfortunate that the new British Government chose a negative approach, rather than a positive one. Starmer’s government needs to be more like Trump’s government, it needs to focus on achieving safety and security, rather than attempting to unfairly punish Rwanda.

But all is not lost. Britain and Rwanda remain close allies. What we now need to see is the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) take a more sophisticated view of what’s going on in East Africa. We need to remove the sanctions, they aren’t helping anyone. And we need British politicians to understand the Rwandan people’s concerns, based on their history, and the reality of threats that remain.