Despite the existence of a legal human rights framework and a national social protection policy, the primary obstacle to implementing Rwanda’s protection policies is lack of capacity at both the central and local levels. With greater coordination among UN agencies, and a strengthened capacity of the UN Country Team to deal with human rights issues, the Country Team will be in a better position to support national efforts to promote the realization of human rights in the Great Lakes Region. The country will be considered under the Universal Periodic Review in 2011.
The Human Rights Adviser was deployed to the UN Country Team in October 2007. The first priority is to assess the Country Team’s programmatic and technical needs and capacities, then advise and assist it in joint programming and devising a strategy for mainstreaming a rights-based approach in government institutions, within the framework of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Economic Development and Poverty- Reduction Strategy (EDPRS), UNDAF, and decentralization processes, targeting policy-makers, national and local leaders and civil servants. The activities will focus on two thematic areas: the integration of human rights and human rights principles into the EDPRS and UNDAF; and technical assistance to the Government in complying with its reporting and follow-up commitments to the treaty-monitoring bodies by developing clear national rules and procedures and supporting the inter-ministerial committee of national focal points.
