Rwanda - Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women - Violence Against Women - June 2022
Country: Rwanda
Type: Intl Mechanism Submission
Issues: Women's Rights
Mechanism: UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
Report Type: List of Issues
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- Rwanda has made some significant progress on women's rights over the last decade. Rwanda continues to rank in the Top Ten in the Global Gender Gap Report, as measured by the World Economic Forum.[1] Despite this progress, however, there is still some room for improvement.
- The 2012 NGO law continues to include burdensome operational requirements.[2] In its 2017 Concluding Observations, the Committee expressed concern about the significant obstacles faced by non-governmental organizations, including cumbersome registration requirements and operational restrictions codified in two 2012 laws (Law No. 04/2012 and 05/2012). The Committee also cited interference by the Rwanda Government Board in the appointment of leadership positions.[3] In its 2021 State Party Report, Rwanda stated that there is no interference with internal functioning of NGOs and cites an on-going review of existing laws and procedures to create efficiency in the registration process. Credible third-party sources continue to cite the use of ministerial discretion in the interpretations of the statutes as well as overly burdensome data requirements for successful registration.[4]
- Gender-based violence against women continues to be a serious problem in Rwanda.[5] While a commendable number of social outreach programs have been implemented with the goal of changing public perception on domestic and sexual violence and the stereotypes that perpetuate it, a recent government survey found that over half of the adult population believed that there are a number of circumstances where domestic violence is justified.[6] This statistic underscores the urgency of enhancing services available for victims, and also measuring the efficacy of the efforts underway to eliminate stereotypes that lead to gender-based violence.
- Additionally, long-term shelter availability for victims is inadequate. In response to the Committee's concern about the "lack of information on long-term shelters and relocation schemes for victims of gender-based violence,"[7] the State Party's response cited very limited information, stating that four temporary shelters have been established with no information as to the number of beds this represents.[8] Recommended standards require an estimated 1,350 shelter beds be accessible for a population of 13.5 million.[9]
- The longstanding issue of the State failing to investigate violence against women in conflict remains unaddressed. The reports of sexual violence and other human rights violations committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1993-2003) and reported by the OHCHR in 2010 remain a critical concern for both victims and civil society.[10] Failure to address this topic by the State Party, regardless of time lapse, reinforces a culture of silence and impunity and dismisses the violence and the need for justice for the victims.[11]
[1] World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2020, (Geneva, Switzerland: World Economic Forum, December 2019) pg. 299, https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2020.pdf.
[2] International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, "Civic Freedom Monitor: Rwanda," (accessed May 2022). https://www.icnl.org/resources/civic-freedom-monitor/rwanda.
[3]Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Concluding observations on the combined seventh to ninth periodic reports of Rwanda, (March 9 2017), U.N. Doc CEDAW/C/RWA/CO/7-9, ¶16.
[4] K4D, HelpDesk Report: Legislation on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda and England and Wales, by Luke Kelly (August 2019) pg. 10, https://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/helpdesk-report-k4d-legislation-non-governmental-organisations-ngos-tanzania-kenya; Freedom House, "Freedom in the World 2022: Rwanda, Associational and Organizational Rights (E2)," (accessed May 2022) https://freedomhouse.org/country/rwanda/freedom-world/2022.
[5] National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) [Rwanda], Ministry of Health (MOH) [Rwanda] and ICF, 2019-20 Demographic and Health Survey Summary Report, (Kigali, Rwanda, and Rockville, Maryland, USA: NISR and ICF, 2021) pg. 15, https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/SR271/SR271.pdf.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Concluding observations on the combined seventh to ninth periodic reports of Rwanda, (March 9 2017), U.N. Doc CEDAW/C/RWA/CO/7-9, ¶22(e), 23(d).
[8]Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Tenth periodic report submitted by Rwanda under article 18 of the Convention, due in 2021, (October 2 2021), U.N. Doc CEDAW/C/RWA/10, ¶ 82.
[9] Council of Europe, Combating violence against women: minimum standards for support services, by Liz Kelly and Lorna Dubois, (Strasbourg: Directorate General of Human Rights and Legal Affairs, Council of Europe, September 2008) pg. 18, https://www.coe.int/t/dg2/equality/domesticviolencecampaign/Source/EG-VAW-CONF(2007)Study%20rev.en.pdf.
[10] Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, DRC: Mapping human rights violations 1993-2003: Report of the Mapping Exercise documenting the most serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed within the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between March 1993 and June 2003, (August 2010) https://www.ohchr.org/en/countries/africa/2010-drc-mapping-report.
[11] Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Concluding observations on the combined seventh to ninth periodic reports of Rwanda, (March 9 2017), U.N. Doc CEDAW/C/RWA/CO/7-9, ¶24-25.
