Ottawa - October 19, 2005 — On Wednesday the RCMP arrested a 39-year-old male from Rwanda, currently residing in Toronto, for allegedly committing crimes against humanity and war crimes in Butare, Rwanda during the events which took place in that country in 1994.

After five years of investigation, including exhaustive interviews with numerous witnesses in Rwanda, Europe and Canada, the RCMP "A" Division (National Capital Region) War Crimes Section arrested Désiré Munyaneza on seven charges under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act (CAHWC) including:

* two counts of genocide,
* two counts of crimes against humanity, and
* three counts of war crimes.

Munyaneza is the first person to be charged under the Act, which became law in October 2000. Canada was also among the first countries to conduct investigations of this nature in Rwanda after the events of 1994.

"Without the tremendous assistance and cooperation of our War Crimes Program partners in Canada and the United Nation's International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, we would never have been able to arrest this suspect today," says Insp. Graham Burnside, officer in charge of the War Crimes Section.

International investigations, especially those dealing with war crimes and crimes against humanity, are especially complex, lengthy and often dangerous. There are legal issues surrounding cooperation between countries, linguistic and cultural barriers, the volatile situation of war-torn countries, the lack of physical evidence, and the difficulty in obtaining statements from traumatized witnesses who may still fear for their lives.

Adding to the complexity of these cases is the fact that investigators must establish not only that a suspect committed a given crime, but that the crime was committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against an identifiable group of people.

"Thanks to the dedication and perseverance of the investigators on this case, we were able to make history today," says Insp. Burnside. "I am very proud of the work the RCMP and its partners have collectively accomplished."

Additional information is available on:

Canada’s War Crimes Program official website:
http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/wc/index.html

RCMP’s War Crimes website:
http://www.rcmp.ca/warcrime/index_e.htm