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Rwanda
Area: 26,338 sq km
Population: approximately 8 million
Capital City: Kigali (700,000, 1,000,000 during the day)
Language(s): Kinyarwanda (official), French (official), English (official), Kiswahili used in commercial centres and by the Army.
Religion(s): Roman Catholic 42%, Protestant 12%, Muslim 3%, indigenous beliefs and other 37%.
Currency: 1 Rwandan franc = 100 centimes
Head of State: President Paul Kagame (since 22 April 2000, elected December 2003)
Prime Minister: Bernard Makuza (since 8 March 2000)
Foreign Minister: Dr Charles Murigande
Major political parties: Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF); Rwanda Democratic Movement (MDR); the Social Democratic Party (PSD); Liberal Party (PL); Christian Democratic Party (PDC); Islamic Democratic Party (PDI); Rwandan Socialist Party (PSR) and Democratic Union of Rwandan People (UDPR); Congress Progressive Party (PPC)
GEOGRAPHY
Rwanda, a small land-locked mountainous country lying south of the Equator in Central Africa, borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi. It has a temperate climate with two rainy seasons (March to May; October to December) .
HISTORY
Rwanda existed as an independent, highly centralised state for several centuries, ruled by a King and noble elite drawn largely from the minority Tutsi (15%) group. It became part of German East Africa in 1899. Following WWI it became part of the Belgian-administered territory of ‘Ruanda-Urundi’, with neighbouring Burundi, under a League of Nations mandate. The colonial authorities consolidated the power of the existing Tutsi elite. In an attempt to head off claims for independence from the ruling elite, the Hutu majority were encouraged to participate in the political life of the country. Independence from Belgium followed in 1962, after a Hutu uprising (1959-61) and large-scale massacres of Tutsi. This brought to power a Hutu-dominated Government led by President Kayibanda. Inter-communal violence between Hutu and Tutsi continued until 1973, when Kayibanda was deposed and a more moderate – but still firmly Hutu – Second Republic was declared under President Habyarimana.
Rwanda remained largely peaceful during this period, although Tutsi were still excluded from power and faced widespread discrimination. Many left the country, joining those who had fled the killings of 1959. Power was concentrated in the hands of a single party, the Mouvement Revolutionnaire National pour le Developpment (MRND). Habyarimana and the MRND won several uncontested “elections” through the 1980's.
GENOCIDE
In 1985 Tutsi exiles in Uganda formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). Having failed to negotiate their return to the country, the RPF invaded Rwanda from Uganda in October 1990, demanding representation and equality for all Rwandans. A civil war in the border area ensued. Each incursion by the RPF was followed by reprisal massacres, largely of Tutsis, by government forces. A peace agreement was brokered in 1993, the Arusha Peace Accords, which inter alia provided for a power-sharing arrangement involving all political forces and the RPF. But, unwilling to share power, a group of extremist Hutu politicians planned to consolidate their hold on the country by wiping out all the Tutsi, along with moderate Hutu leaders. They prepared the largely illiterate population through ethnic propaganda, armed extremist youth militia (known as the Interahamwe) and drew up lists of those to be targeted. The killing was sparked by the assassination of President Habyarimana in April 1994. The genocide and massacres lasted until July 1994 and cost the lives of around 1 million Rwandans. It was halted by the RPF taking control of the country. The extremist politicians and over 2 million Hutu fled the country together with many members of the Rwandan Armed Forces (the FAR) and the interahamwe (I), both with their weapons to neighbouring countries. The majority went to Zaire.
POLITICS The RPF has remained the dominant party in Rwanda since July 1994 when they set up a Transitional Government of National Unity, sharing power with other parties, under the formula agreed at Arusha in 1993. This arrangement, together with a nominated 70-member multi-party Transitional National Assembly lasted until 2003. During that period, the RPF ensured domestic security, put in place programmes for economic reconstruction, justice and community reconciliation and ended any official distinction between Hutu and Tutsi. Under a new constitution agreed by referendum in May 2003, Presidential and parliamentary elections took place in August and September 2003. Paul Kagame was elected President with 95% of the vote for a 7-year term, and the RPF won 73.8% of the votes in the parliamentary elections. The tenure for MPs is 5 years.
Progress has been marred by military engagement in the neighbouring DRC. Although Rwandan troops withdrew from the DRC in 2002, allegations persisted that Rwanda maintained a presence in eastern DRC. There are also continued questions over domestic human rights and political freedoms. Although voting in the 2003 elections was generally well run and orderly, international observers reported irregularities in the electoral process, including intimidation of voters. All alternative parties have to join the Forum of Political Parties, chaired by the RPF, are not allowed to organise at a local level, and do not provide a strong opposition. In 2002, former President Pasteur Bizimungu was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for a variety of offences after trying to establish a political party. Bizimungu’s appeal against the sentence was turned down in February 2006.
HUMAN RIGHTS
In 1994, the UN Security Council established an International Criminal Tribunal (ICTR) to try the main leaders and planners of the genocide. Its progress has been slow but it has now convicted 26 people. Given the large number of Rwandans involved in the genocide and the inability of the local Judicial system to cope, the Rwandan government set up in 2002 a modern version of the traditional justice system, called Gacaca, where lesser offenders are to be tried within their own communities.
Human rights abuses continue to be reported in Rwanda. Human rights NGOs suffer restrictions and harassment, the press is closely controlled, independent journalists and opposition politicians face intimidation, and disappearances have been reported. Human rights organisations assert that accusations of promoting ‘divisionism’ have been used to silence criticism of the Government. In December 2004, President Kagame promised a national human rights campaign. Many NGOs continue to focus on education and reconciliation in the wake of the genocide. The Government has established a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and a National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC).
Human Rights Annual Report 2006
ECONOMY
GDP: US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$ 2.2 bn (2005)
GDP Growth: 6% (2007 est)
Inflation: 6% (2007 est)
Major Exports: Coffee, tea, coltan, cassiterite, fruit juice
Major Trading Partners: Exports – Germany, Indonesia. Imports – Kenya, Uganda, Germany, Belgium.
Exchange Rate: Rwanda Franc 550 = \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$1 July 2006)
Landlocked and densely populated, Rwanda has few exploitable resources. The majority of Rwandans exist on subsistence agriculture. Periodic drought, soil erosion and soil exhaustion through over-cultivation on small family plots has led to food insecurity in some parts. Coffee and tea are the main exports, both gradually recovering their former high quality. The tourism sector, still tiny, has potential. After years of hesitation, an agreement to build an electricity generating plant using methane gas from Lake Kivu was finally signed in March 2005 with a British Company, Dane Associates. Rwanda is committed to a privatisation programme involving the telecommunications, water and electricity, gas, transport and mining para-statals.
DEVELOPMENT
Rwanda is one of the 20 poorest countries in the world. It ranked 159 of 177 countries in the 2005 Human Development Index. Since 1994, it has made significant progress in uplifting the traditionally poor socio-economic indicators. The number living below the poverty line (on less than \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$1 per day) declined from 70% in 1994 to 60% by 2002. Enrolment in primary school is now at 94%. Underlining the progress Rwanda has made in poverty reduction, it qualified in April 2005 for debt relief under the enhanced HIPC initiative, amounting in real terms to some US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$1.4 billion. Rwanda remains highly aid-dependent. Currently, some 50% of government revenue comes from donor support.
The UK is the largest bilateral donor in Rwanda and will provide £46m in 2005/6. The UK provides two-thirds of its support to Rwanda through Budget Support. This represents roughly 15% of the Rwandan Government’s annual budget. DFID have a large office in Kigali.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Since the genocide of 1994, Rwanda's international relations have been dominated by its involvement in the DRC.(formerly Zaire). Remnants of the forces that carried out the genocide, (known as ‘exFAR/I’), who fled there in 1994 soon began to conduct raids back into Rwanda. Frustrated at international and Zairean inaction to resolve this problem, in 1996 the new Rwandan government sent its army into Zaire. The resulting chaos led to the removal of long-standing Zairean dictator Mobutu Sese Seko from power, and his replacement by Laurent Kabila.
Although the majority of refugees returned to Rwanda, significant numbers of exFAR/I took refuge deep in Zaire’s forests where they again began to plan further operations against Rwanda. Tensions between Rwanda and Laurent Kabila, combined with the latent threat from the exFAR/I, led to a second Rwandan intervention in the Congo in 1998, supported by Uganda and Burundi. This triggered a bloody and complex conflict in the DRC that continued until 2003. The last Rwandan troops withdrew in late 2002. Relations between Rwanda and the DRC remain difficult though there has been some improvement during 2006.
The relationship between Presidents Museveni of Uganda and President Kagame , once warm, is also poor. The Rwandan and Ugandan armies fought each other in Kisangani, DRC, in 1999 and 2000. Cross-border tensions were also bolstered by mutual accusations of support for dissidents. The UK facilitated a series of meetings between the Presidents from 2001 to 2004, which helped to ease the strains, but relations remain fragile.
Rwanda has taken an active role in the African Union.(AU). Rwanda deployed 150 troops to protect the AU ‘s monitoring mission in Darfur, Sudan on 15 August 2004, and has subsequently increased its deployment to around 3200 troops. It has also volunteered 800 troops for UN headquarters duties in Khartoum. Rwanda is also a strong supporter of the New Partnership for African Development, NEPAD, the AU’s flagship development plan, and was the first country to complete NEPAD’s African Peer Review Mechanism.
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