Report on Citizenship Law Rwanda Francis Dusabe1 1. Introduction The halting of the Rwandan Genocide in 1994 by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and the establishment of a new government sparked the mass return to Rwanda by Rwandans who had spent almost 40 years as refugees, living with unspeakable injustices and discrimination in neighbouring countries.2 Refused and confused, many had given up hope of seeing and living in their motherland, prompting comparison of Rwanda to “a glass full of water to which any attempt to add more would cause the rest to overflow.”3 This paper looks into the Organic Law on Rwandan Nationality of 2008 and evaluates its effectiveness in the light of relevant international legal obligations and best practices in the fight against statelessness. The paper is divided into three main sections. After this introduction, section two covers the historical events underpinning Rwandan nationality. It discusses the different versions of Rwanda’s nationality law that have existed in different historical eras. Section three focuses on specific aspects of the current legislation on Rwandan nationality, namely types of nationality and modes of acquiring, losing and recovering it. The section also covers the process and the institutions involved in granting or withdrawing Rwandan nationality and other matters of concern. Section four summarises new developments in the management of Rwandan nationality. It presents unregulated issues and highlights areas needing improvement. Finally, a brief conclusion sets out some recommendations. 1 Many thanks go to Dr. Bronwen Manby for her constructive insights during the writing of this report. The views and opinions expressed in the report are solely those of the author. All online references were correct at the time of writing. 2 Mushemeza, E (2002: 59). 3 Mugesera, A (2015: 47); See also Prunier, G (1995: 78); See also Karooma, C (2017: 68). RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/10 - © 2020 Author(s) 1