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Abstract：
There have been divergent views by various human rights scholars and actors on how to address the question of vulnerability among indigenous and minority groups in Rwanda. Even though factors influencing vulnerability among these groups have received increasing scholarly attention, findings from these studies fall short of reflecting on the role of identity and discrimination. Whereas the government in Rwanda after the 1994 genocide sought to enhance unity and reconciliation by outlawing all ethnic identities, and instead conflating all vulnerable groups into a nomenclature namely, a Historically Marginalised People (HMP), a divergent group of scholars, human rights activists, the United Nations and African Union\'s instruments of human rights describe this approach as antithetical to the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous and minority groups. Using the human rights-based approach, this paper critically interrogates the issue of identity and how it has affected the enjoyment of the rights among the minority and indigenous Batwa people in Rwanda. The study employed a qualitative research design with data collected through Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) as well as in-depth interviews (IDIs). Respondents included members of the Batwa community, officials of selected public institutions, leaders in Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), and cooperative societies working towards the promotion of rights of the HMP. Data analysis involved the process of transcription and coding of data and the eventual reflexive thematic analysis. The findings show that the rights of the Batwa community to recognition and self-identity have varied meanings and implications to different members of the community as well as officials from public institutions and other relevant actors. To the existing research, the study affirms that the inconsistencies surrounding the Batwa\'s identity have accentuated their vulnerability. In terms of policy, the study suggests that in the short run, the Batwa community may require enhanced special temporary social protection measures in order to ameliorate their conundrum arising from identity ambiguity without compromising Rwanda\'s national unity. Further studies, should consider the role of land, forest and culture in further marginalising the Batwa, as well as quantitative methodology for inferential analysis.
摘要：
各种人权学者和行为者对如何解决卢旺达土著和少数群体的脆弱性问题持不同意见。尽管影响这些群体脆弱性的因素受到了越来越多的学术关注，这些研究的结果未能反映身份和歧视的作用。鉴于1994年种族灭绝事件后卢旺达政府试图通过取缔所有种族身份来加强团结与和解，相反，将所有弱势群体混为一谈，历史上被边缘化的人(HMP)，一群不同的学者，人权活动家，联合国和非洲联盟的人权文书将这种方法描述为与促进和保护土著和少数群体的权利背道而驰。使用基于人权的方法，本文对身份问题及其如何影响卢旺达少数族裔和土著巴特瓦人享有权利进行了严格的调查。该研究采用了定性研究设计，并通过焦点小组讨论（FGD）和深度访谈（IDI）收集了数据。受访者包括巴特瓦社区的成员，选定的公共机构的官员，非政府组织领导人，以及致力于促进HMP权利的合作社。数据分析涉及数据的转录和编码过程以及最终的反身主题分析。调查结果表明，巴特瓦人社区获得承认和自我认同的权利对社区的不同成员以及公共机构和其他相关行为者的官员具有不同的含义和影响。对现有的研究,该研究证实，围绕巴特瓦人身份的不一致加剧了他们的脆弱性。在政策方面,这项研究表明，在短期内，巴特瓦社区可能需要加强特殊的临时社会保护措施，以便在不损害卢旺达民族团结的情况下改善他们因身份模糊而产生的难题。进一步研究,应该考虑土地的作用，森林和文化进一步边缘化巴特瓦人，以及推理分析的定量方法。
