Report on Citizenship Law: Rwanda Following the defeat of Germany in World War One, the League of Nations designated Rwanda as a Belgian ‘mandate territory’ and it became a Belgian ‘trust territory’ when the League of Nations was transformed into the United Nations in 1946.11 The Belgians implemented their famous ‘paternalism’ policy, under which locals were considered Belgium’s eternal children, for whom everything was to be done.12 In furtherance of this policy, in Rwanda the Belgians extended their administrative practices such as the ethnicity-based identity card system commonly known by the locals as ‘Ibuku,’ which were used to instrumentalise ethnic differences, culminating in the Genocide of 1994.13 2.2. The post-independence era 2.2.1. Legislating Rwanda’s first Nationality Code As the Belgian colonial era reached an end and Rwanda geared up for its independence in 1962, widespread ethnic violence erupted between the two main Rwandan ethnic groups. The Hutu, who are mainly agriculturalists, took on the minority Tutsi, who are traditionally pastoralists and associated with the ruling class, over who would take control of the post-independence state. In 1959 this violence resulted in the flight of Rwanda’s last king together with thousands loyal to him. It is estimated that over 400,000 Rwandans, mainly from the Tutsi ethnic group, fled to the neighbouring countries and stayed in exile for almost 35 years, leaving political power in Rwanda in the control of the Hutu majority.14 Those who had fled the violence in 1959 started to mobilise for an eventual return. In the mid-1960s, attempts to regain control of Rwanda were made by poorly organised Tutsi guerrilla forces known as ‘Inyenzi’ but were immediately defeated. In the late 1980s, a renewed effort for a forceful return to Rwanda was organised in what was termed the liberation struggle. This struggle started on 1 October 1990 and ended in December 1994 with an RPF victory.15 It is important to note that before independence Rwanda had never had any regulation on nationality as society was divided into known clans. The Belgians did not leave behind any transitional framework to determine who would be considered Rwandan after their departure. However, shortly after its independence, Rwanda enacted its first Nationality Code, which was modelled On the Belgian Code de la nationalité. Under this law: i. Rwandan nationality was divided into two categories: nationality of origin, attributed at birth by law, and nationality acquired through application later in life. ii. Nationality of origin was based on descent and only transmitted by the father. For a child born out of wedlock, he or she could take her mother’s Rwandan nationality only if the father was unknown or stateless.16 iii. A child born from a marriage between a Rwandan mother and a foreign father would be eligible for Rwandan nationality once he/she reached the age of majority and if 11 See Bruxelles: Archives allemandes microfilm, p. 67, 160 and 161. See also Deutsch, J.-G. (2006: 265); Mbonimana, G. (1981: 45); Paice, E. (2001: 53); and Paice E (2007:123). 12 Kisangani, F. & Bobb, S. (2009) Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, p. 23. 13 Longman, T. (2001: 347). 14 See Sellstrom, T. and Wohlgemuth, L. (1996:14). 15 Cyrus, R. (1996: 491). 16 See Articles 3 and 9 of the Nationality Code of 1963. RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/10 - © 2020 Author(s) 3