This expert opinion addresses the withdrawal of nationality of persons who fled Rwanda during or after
the genocide in 1994 and obtained an asylum status and subsequently Dutch nationality in the
Netherlands. The decisions to withdraw nationality are based on an individual report (individueel
ambtsbericht) of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which provides information about the alleged
involvement of the person concerned in the Rwandan genocide. This report makes use of anonymous
witness statements and does not disclose the methods of investigation. This expert opinion examines
whether this violates the right to adversarial proceedings and the principle of equality of arms guaranteed
by Article 47 of the EU Charter of fundamental rights (henceforth: the Charter).
This expert opinion does not address the question whether the persons concerned in the cases
discussed in this expert opinion are guilty of crimes related to the Rwandan genocide. The expert opinion
only focuses on the fairness of the withdrawal proceedings.

Even though a large number of Rwandans have found refuge in Belgium and France only few of them
seem to have been excluded from refugee status or have lost their Belgian or French nationality on the
basis of their (suspected) involvement in the Rwandan genocide. In both countries, revocation of
nationality for involvement in genocide can only take place after a procedure, which complies with
criminal law standards. In Belgium revocation of nationality is considered to be a punishment, to which
criminal law standards apply. In France, nationality can only be revoked on the basis of a criminal
conviction. Criminal law trials against Rwandans for involvement in genocide have been widely reported
in the media. In (particularly the French) criminal law proceedings, there is also criticism about the
reliability of witness statements. However, it is clear that the level of protection in these proceedings is a
lot higher than in the Dutch administrative proceedings concerning the withdrawal of nationality for
reasons of involvement in the Rwandan genocide.