Rwanda cuts off ties with Belgium, orders diplomats to leave within 48 hours
Rwanda and Belgium have enjoyed frosty relations with President Paul Kagame's government since the 1994 genocide
Rwanda has severed diplomatic relations with Belgium and ordered its diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours.
In a statement, the ministry of Foreign Affairs said Belgium has consistently undermined Rwanda, both well before and during the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in which it says Belgium has a deep and violent historical role, especially in acting against Rwanda.
“The Government of Rwanda today notified the Government of Belgium of its decision to sever diplomatic relations, effective immediately. Rwanda’s decision has been taken after careful consideration of several factors, all linked with Belgium’s pitiful attempts to sustain its neocolonial delusions,” the statement said.
It said that Belgium has clearly taken sides in a regional conflict and continues to systematically mobilise against Rwanda in different forums, using lies and manipulation to secure an unjustified hostile opinion of Rwanda, in an attempt to destabilise both Rwanda and the region.
“Beyond Belgium’s destructive historical role in fueling the ethnic extremism that resulted in entrenched discrimination and persecution, and ultimately the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, it has also allowed Belgian territory to be used by groups that propagate genocide denial and sustain genocidal ideology. Today’s decision reflects Rwanda’s commitment to safeguarding our national interests and the dignity of Rwandans, as well as upholding the principles of sovereignty, peace, and mutual respect,” the statement added.
“All Belgian diplomats in Rwanda are required to leave the country within 48 hours. In compliance with the Vienna Convention, Rwanda will assure the protection of the premises, property, and archives of the Belgian diplomatic mission in Kigali.”
Rwanda and Belgium have enjoyed frosty relations with President Paul Kagame’s government since the 1994 genocide, in which Kigali says it played a major role by failing to protect the Tutsi population yet it had a military presence on the ground.
It also accuses it of waging a diplomatic campaign aiming for the total withdrawal of United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) after it had pulled out its own 450 troops from the mission, effectively paralysing it.
It accuses Belgium of promoting a genocidal agenda in the country, which it colonised between 1916 and 1962 after defeating Germany militarily.
“On April 7, 1994, Belgium decided not only to withdraw its troops, thus paralyzing UNAMIR, but also conducted a very active diplomatic campaign, similar to the one it is conducting today in 2025 against Rwanda, aiming for the total withdrawal of the Mission. On April 11, Belgian troops abandoned more than 2,000 refugees at ETO Kicukiro, who were slaughtered by government soldiers and Interahamwe militiamen. Under Belgian pressure, on April 21, the Security Council decided to withdraw UNAMIR, leaving a symbolic military presence of 270 men in Rwanda,” the ministry notes in a brief outlining the historical timeline of the relationships between the two countries.
