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Rwanda: Verification of a person's political profile or allegiance to the government when issuing official passports (passeports de service); to whom service passports are issued (May 2006)

Information on official passports (passeports de service) (Rwanda n.d.) was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

In a 21 April 2006 telephone interview, an official at the Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda stated that official passports are issued to public servants and employees of parastatal government agencies who are sent on missions abroad. In a subsequent telephone interview, the same official indicated that these passports could also be issued to members of the armed forces (Rwanda 12 May 2006).

The Embassy official stated that, in order to obtain an official passport, the government institution in question makes a request for a "mission creance" (ordre de mission) (ibid. 21 Apr. 2006; ibid. 12 May 2006; see also ibid. n.d.). For public servants, the prime minister's office issues the mission creance letter, while for cabinet members, the president's office issues the letter (ibid. 12 May 2006). Official passports are the property of the state, and upon returning to Rwanda, the bearer is required to return the passport to the immigration service (ibid.). Should that person wish to travel again, a new official passport would be issued (ibid.).

No information on the verification of an individual's political profile or allegiance to the government prior to the issuance of official passports could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, an official at the Embassy of Republic of Rwanda in Ottawa indicated that the government of Rwanda did not have an official policy of conducting background checks prior to issuing official passports, but rather that an individual's file was analyzed at the time of hiring into the public service or parastatal agency (21 April 2006). The same official later indicated that, if a person were involved in "irregular activities," then his or her ministry could conduct an "administrative check," and that "in reality, there [was] always an administrative check" (ibid. 12 May 2006).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Rwanda. 12 May 2006. Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda, Ottawa. Telephone interview with an official.
_____. 21 April 2006. Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda, Ottawa. Telephone interview with an official.
_____. N.d. Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda, Ottawa; Consular Services. "Demande de visa et de passeport" <http://www.ambarwaottawa.ca/consul.htm> [Accessed 20 Apr. 2006]

Additional Sources Consulted

Internet sites, including: Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch (HRW), Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda in Washington, European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI), Factiva, Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United States Department of State.