RW108- Accountable Governance

Rwanda Development Challenges and UN Solutions

Legal: Case processing rates are extremely slow. 62% of court cases await trial for more than 6 months. Additionally, only 67.18% of the population has access to legal aid for budgetary reasons. There are also complex legal issues surrounding land, inheritance, and family law. The UN will combat this through helping to improve national justice service delivery for all.

Access to quality justice for vulnerable groups: There is a lack of sufficient alternative dispute resolution mechanisms of quality outside the formal justice system, which limits access to justice for vulnerable groups. Additionally, there is a lack of a specific strategy to tackle gender issues in law, limiting access to justice for women. Community justice mechanisms will be strengthened for delivery at the local level and a gender audit will be performed to serve as the basis for gender-related legal interventions.

Human rights violations: 46% of the public do not think that the Human Rights Commission is capable of discharging its protective mandate. Human rights violations occur through sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), prison congestion, and limited freedom of expression. Many, especially those in vulnerable groups, are unaware of their rights and there is limited implementation of international conventions. The UN will work with the Government to promote and mainstream human rights conventions and treaties and raise awareness among citizens of their rights.

Gender equality: Women are represented at 64% participation in Parliament, but at the decentralised level, their participation is low due to lack of capacity, confidence and low literacy levels. The integration of the gender equality dimension in policies, plans and budgets is limited, including the use of sex disaggregated data. The UN will work with the Government of Rwanda to advance and sustain gender equality gains through direct support to the National Gender Machinery institutions. EDPRS II sectors will also be supported to mainstream gender in their plans and budgets.

Low participation of CSOs: CSOs have low participation rates in governance and in advocating for human rights. CSO participation is scored at 54.2% in Rwanda. The UN will support the capacity–building of CSOs in order to ensure greater accountability and oversight of the government.

Limited access to information: Rwandans’ access to public information is at 52%. The media faces capacity gaps, such as low levels of journalistic skills and most media organisations are also unable to sustain themselves. The UN will support implementation of the media laws through training strategies, mentoring and advisory services on a viable self-regulation mechanism and surveys on the Rwanda Media Barometer. This will enhance citizen capacity for decision-making, allow feedback and guarantee a vibrant and viable media.

Inclusive participation: Universal adult suffrage remains high in Rwanda (90%), but there are gaps in participation through political parties at lower levels of decentralization. To close these gaps, the UN will work to broaden participation through facilitating community and national dialogues in political participation and development processes, especially for women and youth. Additionally, voter and civic education strategies will be implemented, election management improved, and continual data collection for evidence-based governance policies and programmes, such as the Rwanda Governance Score card.