Colonial Era
1600s
Tutsi King Ruganzu Ndori subdues central Rwanda and outlying Hutu areas.
Before colonization: No ethnic identification or conflict recorded
1897
German Protectorate imposed upon Rwanda
1931
Ethnic origin was added to the identity papers of able-bodied men by Belgian colonizers.
Decolonization
1957
Rwanda indigenous Supreme Council advising the king published a document called in French “Mise au Point” (meaning ‘setting the record straight’) requesting more power to the indigenous authorities as a prelude to rapid independence
1958
Mwami Mutara Rudahigwa created a ‘special commission for social relations in Ruanda’, composed of Hutu and Tutsi members in equal proportions
1958
The country’s Supreme Council voted a motion for the (ethnic) terms Hutu, Tutsi and Twa to be removed from official documents
1959
“The Hutu Social Revolution” amidst mass killings and deportation of Tutsi, the Belgian colonial administration and Catholic Church helped Hutu political parties seize power and installed a Republic of the Hutu elites.
First Republic 1962-1973, Second Republic 1973-1994
1964
300.000 Tutsi refugees in neighboring countries definitively banned from coming back to Rwanda
1973
Violence and flight of thousands Tutsi students and civil servants
1986
The Party State MRND declared the country too small and too full to permit the return of hundreds of thousands Tutsi refugees
1994
Genocide against the Tutsi as radical resistance to change carried out by the state and Hutu extremist political parties
The path towards reconciliation
1992
The First protocol the Arusha Peace Agreements signed that aimed to put an end the war and establish a Broad-based Government of National Unity including the former party-state MRND, the RPF and the internal political opposition
1994
Creation by the RPF of the Government of National Unity with all the political parties or factions of parties that were not involved in the genocide with as constitutional basis the modified Arusha Agreements.
1996
return of 700.000 refugees from Zaire (today DRC); December 1996, 550.000 refugees from Tanzania repatriated
1999
March 1999 Creation of the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (inscribed in the Arusha Accords)
The Path toward socio-economic transformation
1998
Urugwiro Village Discussions which laid out the institutions and majors socioeconomic-policies of the New Rwanda
2000
President Kagame elected by a joint session of the government and the National Assembly
2001
The launch of the National Innovation and Competitiveness Program
2003
The 2003 Constitution of power sharing voted by referendum.
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About
Rwanda has transformed itself in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide. This site documents the stories, policies, and programs that are fueling that transformation. We welcome you to learn about Rwanda’s journey thus far.
Contact
Please talk to us at Hello@hgs.rgb.rw