Commonwealth to mull Rwanda's bid to join

Leaders from the Commonwealth, composed mainly of former British colonies, will mull in coming days whether to admit Rwanda as its newest member despite a wave of protest, officials said Thursday.

Rwanda, a predominantly French-speaking former Belgian colony, voiced interest in 2008 in joining the 53-nation organization whose titular head is Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

The bid has received strong support from some key member states, and a decision is now expected during the biennial summit of Commonwealth leaders which the queen opens Friday in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago.

"This is something that will be considered by leaders over the course of the meeting and the leaders will take a decision as to Rwanda's membership request," Commonwealth spokesman Eduardo del Buey told AFP.

But the issue has triggered outrage from rights groups who contend that admitting Rwanda would reward persistent rights abuses dating back to the 1994 genocide in which 800,000 people were massacred.

The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative argued in a July report that admitting Rwanda would seriously tarnish the reputation of the Commonwealth, which holds democracy and respect for human rights as two of its core values.

The report cited consistent concerns over the suppression of the freedom of speech, political freedoms and government harassment which it said had "created a climate of fear in civil society."

"Our conclusion is that the state of governance and human rights in Rwanda does not satisfy Commonwealth standards. Rwanda does not therefore qualify for admission," the report concluded.

It also warned that admitting Rwanda would set a precedent as it does not meet another of the membership requirements, that if have a constitutional link to the Commonwealth.

Their stand was backed Thursday by a coalition of Commonwealth Green Parties from Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Pakistan which called for an independent review of Rwanda's commitment to human rights.

But some leaders argue the Commonwealth, which represents two billion people, could play a positive role in Rwanda.

"What leaders will be considering... is a question as to whether countries that are applying for membership within the Commonwealth are better off within the Commonwealth than outside, in terms of that fact that the Commonwealth can bring a lot of peer pressure to bear to encourage countries... to develop democratic institutions to improve the lives of their people," Del Buey said.

Canada has already backed Rwanda's bid, despite the criticisms of the African nation's rights record.

"Canada would welcome the admission of Rwanda to the Commonwealth," a spokesperson for Canada's Foreign Affairs Department told AFP on Monday.

"The Commonwealth is well positioned to assist Rwanda in strengthening its democratic institutions," the official added.