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Updates on the submission of the UPR report were announced by the Ministry of Justice in Kigali on Monday October 19, 2020 following its approval by a cabinet meeting chaired by President Paul Kagame last week.

The UPR report will be submitted this week for evaluation by the United Nation member states in Geneva, Switzerland following member states suggesting 50 recommendations to improve several human rights areas including freedom of expression, legal reforms, independence of the judiciary, and social, economic, and people’s welfare.

According to the Ministry of Justice, the UPR report will be submitted next week, after five years of the government working to implement recommendations suggested by UN members in February 2015.

The successful implementation depends on the nature of each recommendation; the recommendations regarding social, economic and welfare are hard to implement fully because of the budget, these were implemented at the rate of 95%.

'But other recommendations including amending the law or removing it, this has been done successfully at 100%,' said Providence Umurungi, Head of International Justice and Judicial Cooperation Department at MINIJUST.

'Recommendations like removing defamation in our penal code, putting in place national preventive mechanism, convention against torture, these have been successfully implemented and we are proud of it.'

Umurungi added that Rwanda showed the commitment to the UPR mechanism but working on all the recommendations by 95 percent.

'We worked on every recommendation that we received from UN member states, we are proud to announce that the total of 50 recommendations was implemented at an average rate of 95%,'

'We shall present these recommendations in January 2021, they will be evaluated and we could receive other recommendations and work on them too, because it benefits citizens,' she said.

As part of the implementations of the recommendations, the government launched the Rwanda Investigations Bureau (RIB) to improve the rule of law on April 18, 2018. In the same month, The Rwanda National Police officially handed over functions of the defunct Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to the newly created RIB.

Since inception, RIB is an autonomous specialized body established by law Nº12/2017 of 07/04/2017 and responsible for performing career investigative functions, gathers evidence, and assists local law enforcement agencies in ensuring law and order.

In December 2017, Rwanda revised the penal code, making a relief for journalists from general defamation which was a criminal offense attracting a jail term of up to one year and a fine of up to Rwf 5 million.

The revised law provided that general defamation could be reported to the Rwanda Media Commission — the journalists’ self-regulatory body, removing it in the penal code.

Other implementations included establishing a national preventive mechanism, the body against the torture of prisoners. The new prison was built and others rehabilitated to stop overcrowding of prisoners, among other implementations.

Rwanda designated National Commission for Human Rights as a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) to comply with the Optional Protocol on Convention against Torture (OPCAT). The purpose of the OPCAT was to assist states to implement their existing obligations under the UN Convention against Torture (UNCAT) to prohibit and prevent torture and other forms of ill-treatment.

'A lot has been done in five years since we received the recommendations, new prisons were built for example Nyarugenge prison, and several others were rehabilitated to comply with human rights watch, the ankle bracelets were approved by the cabinet of ministers and we are at the final stage of using them. We are still working on the installation of this high tech that will have convicts monitored outside the prison,' Umurungi said.

She added that regarding gender equality implementation, Rwanda is among the champions in the region.

'This has been achieved successfully. In the new family law, women have equal rights as men. The implementations of recommendations benefit Rwandans, recommendations will be presented as other UN member states do, they help to discuss how human rights can be improved among member states,' she said.

Among other gains, 9440 prisoners have been released, and 110 people have been pardoned in recent years, while 1,010 of 1,300 people who were reported missing were found.

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Among the new cases are eight from Kigali and ten from Kirehe in the new cases in a refugee camp.

Since the first Coronavirus patient appeared in Rwanda, 535 782 sample tests have been made of which 4992 cases were confirmed. Of these, 4797 have already recovered while 161 are still active cases. 34 people have succumbed to the virus.

Coronavirus symptoms include coughing, flu, and difficulty in breathing. The virus is said to be transmitted through the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract.

Rwandans are required to continue to comply with government regulations, especially with frequent washing of hands and water and soap, wearing masks when leaving home or in public.

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The bilateral meeting is guided by the cooperation pact between the two Police institutions signed in 2015 in Kigali, which established channels of partnership on exchange of crime-related information, fighting terrorism, drug and human trafficking, transnational organized crimes as well as skills development and training.

Since then, a number of Zambian Police officers have attended the Police Senior Command and Staff Course in Rwanda.

The Rwanda Inspector General of Police IGP Dan Munyuza noted that the visit in the middle of COVID-19 pandemic signifies the level of friendship and commitment to the policing cause between the two Police forces.

'This visit is happening to strengthen bilateral cooperation between our institutions and to further our policing demands that ensure our people are safe and secure in our respective countries,' IGP Munyuza said.

IGP Munyuza emphasized the need to establish a permanent mechanism to share experience in various policing disciplines, including peace support operations in conflict situations on the continent.

'Rwanda National Police prioritizes and values, among other aspects, regional and bilateral cooperation aimed at joining efforts in the fight against crimes that continue to pose threats to our countries, continent and international peace and security.'

IGP Munyuza further underscored the importance of sharing information to fight terrorism recruitment and cells operating in the Eastern, Central and Southern Africa regions as well as on armed groups that continue to cause insecurity in the region.

By mutually cooperating, he said, the citizenry in the two countries will greatly benefit and the policing programmes will undoubtedly be scaled-up towards sustainable peace and security of our countries.

In his remarks, the Zambian Police Chief said that the two countries enjoy excellent relationship, and continue to engage in high level consultations on various issues of strategic importance.

'Our two presidents have set a line for us to build on. Our cooperation on police matters have come at the right time when the world is faced with policing challenges of combating the 21st century crimes; much of which is facilitated by the fast paced technological evolution and the internet in particular,' IGP Kanganja said.

He added: 'As men and women in uniform, it is our mandate to ensure safety of our citizens and guarantee protection of their property in order to create a favourable business environment for the growth of our economies. This interaction will no doubt help both countries to explore more opportunities to improve our capabilities to combat cross-border crime.'

Information sharing, IGP Kanganja said, will ensure that both Rwanda and Zambia Police institutions function proactively rather than reacting to situations after they have occurred.

'As criminals continue devising new methods of committing crime, we should also be able to adapt to the new and advanced ways of policing. Our belief, therefore, is that this security cooperation will continue to grow from strength to strength to enhance our political, economic and social relations, and open up new opportunities to learn from each other,' the Zambian Police Chief said.

After the bilateral meeting, the Zambian delegation accompanied by IGP Munyuza, visited Isange One Stop Centre where they were given a tour and an overview of the centre, which offers free medical, psycho-social and legal services to victims of GBV and child abuse.

During his week-long visit, IGP Kanganja will tour various police establishments including RNP schools, visit Kigali Memorial Centre to pay respect to victims of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi as well as the Campaign against Genocide Museum, among others.

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Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Dr. Vincent Biruta welcomed his Burundian counterpart Amb. Albert Shingiro and his delegation at 10 am on Tuesday at Nemba where they exchanged greetings in a jovial atmosphere before they addressed the meeting and proceeding to meet in a closed session to discuss issues that need to be addressed.

It is the first time the two countries have officially met to discuss relations since 2015 when ties between the neighbors soured following the conflict that gripped the East African country, with Bujumbura alleging that Kigali backed groups that opposed late President Pierre Nkurunziza’s government.

Rwanda denied the allegations but relations between the two countries never stabilized. Following the election of President Evariste Ndayishimiye earlier this year, President Paul Kagame said that Rwanda was looking forward to work with the new government in Bujumbura to restore bilateral ties.

The meeting at Nemba came after Bujumbura expressed the willingness to talk to Rwanda, with this being the first meeting for the Foreign Affairs Ministers. In his opening remarks, Minister Biruta said that Rwanda was willing to play its part in the thawing of bilateral ties, to ensure that the citizens of the two countries co-exist as they were before ties broke down.

'We would like to welcome you to Rwanda and to thank you for the decision to have this meeting for us to discuss, not only as neighbors but also as blood relatives, which is why we will speak in Kinyarwanda and Kirundi, without anyone translating for us,'

'Your visit today is a big step towards restoring ties between Rwanda and Burundi. I want to affirm to you that we are ready to do our part towards restoring ties between our two countries and to discuss existing issues and arrive at a solution. We are doing this because this is not only important for our governments but also our citizens who benefit when relations are good,' Dr Biruta said.

He said it is the beginning of talks which will see the full restoration of ties.

On his part, Amb. Shingiro thanked Rwanda for the warm reception and said that his government was looking forward to fruitful discussions and 'less meetings’ as the two countries work towards faster and full restoration of ties.

'As the Government of Burundi, we came here to express our willingness to work towards restoring ties which were affected in 2015. We want to ensure that the issues that exist between our two countries are addressed so that we go back to existing as neighbors and relatives,'

'I have always told people who suggest that they want to mediate relations between Rwanda and Burundi that it is not possible because we know each other so well as relatives and don’t need anybody to mediate us. We can do this on our own and this is what we are doing today,' Shingiro said.

He said that the Burundian Government is hopeful that the meetings which have started will be fewer and ensure that ties between the two countries are restored as soon as possible.

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Mobetto ngo yahamagaye itanzamakuru gufata inkuru umunsi abyara

Nyina wa Diamond avuga ko Hamisa Mobetto ashaka kwinjira mu muryango wa bo kugahato