A bank complicit in the Rwandan genocide?
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- Published on Tuesday, 04 July 2017 07:00
- Written by editor
Wow! Almost 120.000 SumOfUs members are saying "never again!". Can you add your name?
One of the biggest banks in the world could have been complicit in a genocide that cost the lives of 800,000 people.
Join us to ensure that financial institutions are held accountable for the human rights abuses that they could be funding.
Sign the petitionA,
This is revolting.
In June 1994, in the midst of an arms embargo against Rwanda, one of the biggest banks in the world -- BNP Paribas -- accepted a request made by the National Bank of Rwanda.
By doing so, this French bank may have transferred funds that helped war criminals buy the weapons that were used in the Rwandan genocide.
Without the crucial funds transfer that BNP authorized, 80 tons of weapons would probably never have been delivered to Rwanda and would consequently not have been used to perpetrate the genocide of 800,000 Tutsis, many of whom were women and children.
BNP could have refused. Another bank refused to transfer the money needed by Hutu commander Colonel Bagosora for the illegal arms purchase that violated the UN embargo.
The French bank could therefore have been the only bank to authorize this transfer.
A, with your voice, we can try to make sure this never happens again.
France just elected a new President and legislature. With an international outcry, we can move the new government to strengthen financial sector regulations for BNP and others.
The evidence gathered since 1994 has convinced French NGOs Sherpa, Collective of Civil Parties for Rwanda (Collectif des parties civiles pour le Rwanda or CPCR), and Ibuka France that BNP must have known about the risks, but still approved the transfer.
The NGOs have now have filed a lawsuit against the bank for complicity in genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
This is unprecedented: it’s the first time something like this has been filed in France.
If the facts are confirmed, this legal action would shed light on the potential responsibility of financial institutions when it comes to war crimes, and also human rights abuses.
Along with Sherpa, the CPCR and Ibuka France, SumOfUs is demanding that the financial sector be held accountable. We want everyone to feel confident that their savings will never be used in a financial transaction enabling the perpetration of such abuses.
Thanks for all that you do,
Nabil, Fatah, Marie and the team at SumOfUs
More information:
UN Security Council. 26 January 1998. The Use of Rwanda’s External Debt (1990-1994) - The Responsibility of Donors and Creditors
United Nations Development Programme. 1 November 1996. Rwanda's Himmler: the man behind the genocide
The Guardian. 18 December 2008.
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