The situation of Batwa communities in Rwanda

1. Identity 

54. Batwa representatives emphasize their ethnic and cultural distinctiveness.28 It was noted by Batwa NGOs that Batwa have distinctive dialects and intonation comprehensible only to other Batwa, and unique elements of culture and customs. In contrast to the Government‟s official version of the country‟s ethnic history, Batwa historical narrative maintains that they were the original inhabitants of Rwandan forests following hunter-gatherer subsistence livelihoods. As other ethnic groups encroached onto their territories bringing livestock farming and cultivation, the Batwa were forced to move to ever more remote areas of forest. In the modern era, widespread subsistence and commercial agriculture, national parks and tourism development have forced Batwa to leave the remaining areas of forest which they occupied. 

55. Community representatives in the vicinity of Musanze near the Volcanoes National Park stated that they were forced from the forests to areas on the lower slopes of the volcanoes after 1994. Some community members stated that they wished to return to the forest and traditional hunter-gatherer ways of life, but could no longer access the forests and their forest-based food and medicinal sources. The distinct hunter-gatherer identities of the Batwa and their deep knowledge of the forests have undoubtedly been lost by new generations.

5. Government responses 

71. The Government states that it “doesn‟t deny the existence of a people called Batwa [but] refutes the tendency to allege that the Batwa population of Rwanda constitutes an ethnic group or an indigenous people”.35 It acknowledged that, in accordance with the policy on rural settlement and programme of natural forests and national parks, Batwa and other Rwandans were removed from forests and relocated to organized settlements across the country through a consultative process. The Government asserts that by living in organized settlements, historically marginalized people have greater access to essential services and are better able to benefit from socio-economic opportunities and assistance programmes.