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RWANDA: Minority Rights Group calls for recognition of Pygmy land rights

Minority Rights Group has issued a report calling on the government of Rwanda to implement laws to secure the land rights of the Batwa, or Pygmies. The report states that Batwa are subjected to “systematic discrimination” in Rwanda by the much larger Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups, and that the Batwa have been “steadily dispossessed of their lands over several centuries.” The Batwa are living in extreme poverty, and receive little support in the way of government or development programs. The report can be read at http://minorityrights.org/953/micro-studies/batwa-land-rights-in-rwanda.html