Rwanda is warming up for the implementation of the 50 UN Human rights council recommendations in the review slated November, 2020 with optimism of achieving better performance at the UN Headquarters Geneva Switzerland.
Rwanda will implement up to 50 of 83 recommendations from the UN Human Rights Council. Those recommendations include commitments to improve the civil and political as well as the Economic, social and cultural rights situation in Rwanda.
The government has, however, declined to support some recommendations that were found not compatible with domestic laws and the Constitution.
Among the recommendations rejected include becoming a signatory of the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court.
The Universal Periodic Review recommendations were proposed by the UN council in 2013 to check the implementation of the fundamental human rights among its member states.
While presenting Rwanda’s Third Universal Periodic Preview adoption statement on in Kigali, Providence Umurungi, Head of the International justice and judicial cooperation at Ministry of justice, said some of the recommendations that were denied is because the countries want to bring their own realities and impose on other countries which is sometimes unworkable.
However, Universal Periodic is good and countries are held accountable for the violations of the human rights they commit.
“For instance, last year Rwanda reported France for not prosecuting genociders that are walking freely on its territory. Despite they denied the recommendations calling it ‘untimely and irrelevant’ but at least we voiced the message,” she says.
In accordance with Rwanda’s Constitution, national laws as well as international obligations already undertaken, Rwanda accepts only those recommendations whose implementation is possible within the next four years.
Recommendations that enjoy the support of Rwanda in full are those where that support the spirit and principles behind the recommendation and are able to implement it in practice.
“The Government of Rwanda continues to ensure that all Rwandans enjoy the fundamental human rights secured by the constitution and other national and applicable international human rights laws,” she says.
Of the last year review 83 recommendations received, 50 have been accepted and the government endeavored to ensure their implementation.
Naomi Nayebare, the international agreements Officer, Gender Monitoring Officer, says, the implementation need to be fastened so that there are no deadline problems. “Some legal reviews aimed to comply with international human rights take long to come into existence through prolonged political consultation therefore speeding implementation before 2020 is the way forward,” she says.
The Head of the of the Political parties and Civil society Organizations, Rwanda Governance Board, Justus Kangwagye, says implementation will ready by 2020. For instance, the 15th recommendation obliges Rwanda to strengthen efforts in implementing the regulatory media policy to ensure access to information and freedom of opinion and expression , including through capacity building and we have conducted this decriminalizing the defamation as number of training being increased and laws regarding to access to information being adopted.
“We are sure that other resolutions will be implemented too by 2020,” he says
Rwanda’s constitution dedicates 41 Articles establishing fundamental human rights and freedoms and the commitment to realize those fundamental rights is stated in the country’s vision 2020 and Economic Development poverty reduction strategy 2 (EDPRSII) which form the baseline for every government policy and program.
“The government is constantly engaging with the population and civil society in order to jointly deliver on what is right and legal as well as in the best interest of the present and the future of our country,” Umurungi said.
In November 2015, Rwanda appeared before the human rights council working Group for the second cycle of the universal periodic review. Rwanda accepted to implement 50 recommendations.
According to the roadmap to 2020 reporting, 12 recommendations were to be implemented by the end of 2017, 29 by the end of 2018 and 9 recommendations by the end of 2019.
The Express News
