By Canadian Press

Ministers’ embrace of Rwanda’s Kagame undermines democratic values: governance prof

Jul 21, 2023 | 12:24 PM

OTTAWA — A professor who studies how countries relate with authoritarian states says Canada has missed the mark in warmly embracing Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

Rwanda is hosting a major development conference this week called Women Deliver in the capital of Kigali.

Canadian cabinet ministers Harjit Sajjan and Marci Ien met with Kagame as part of their visit, saying they spoke about ways their two countries could co-operate more and posting photos of smiles and handshakes online.

Freedom House says Kagame is an autocrat responsible for “surveillance, intimidation, torture and renditions or suspected assassinations of exiled dissidents,” while Human Rights Watch says Kagame’s regime arrests and threatens political opponents.

University of Ottawa professor Marie-Eve Desrosiers says failing to raise such issues only emboldens leaders to continue repressing their populations, which undercuts democracy worldwide.

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She says Rwanda often touts having some of the world’s highest rates of female participation in elected office and roles such as policing, but those women cannot exercise free speech. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2023.

The Canadian Press