In an attempt to avoid any future “ethnic” conflicts, the Rwandan constitution of 2002 forbids the description of people according to ethnic categories. While this seems like a progressive and...

In an attempt to avoid any future “ethnic” conflicts, the Rwandan constitution of 2002 forbids the description of people according to ethnic categories. While this seems like a progressive and conciliatory move, it leaves some marginalized groups without any public or legal means to self-identify and to seek redress for grievances. For example, the Batwa (a grouping of peoples, sometimes referred to as “Pygmies,” living in several central African countries) face discrimination and a loss of traditional forest territories but, by law, cannot mobilize as a distinctive cultural group and their claims for land cannot be heard (Van Uitert 2009).