A suggestion by a top German politician to send refugees to Rwanda put the African country in the spotlight again. Here’s what you need to know about President Paul Kagame, Rwanda and what it’s like for refugees there.
*InfoMigrants note: In this article DW sometimes uses the word ‘refugees’ to include asylum seekers who have not yet been granted protection status.
What’s this about Germany sending refugees to Rwanda?
In an interview published on December 17, German politician Jens Spahn, a member of the opposition center-right Christian Democrats, floated the idea of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing, similar to the model proposed by Britain.
Spahn’s suggestion was immediately dismissed by Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, who called the idea “downright childishly naive” during a visit to Rwanda on Monday.
But the suggestion shows how the idea of offshore processing is gaining traction. It also underlines Rwanda’s success in positioning itself as an international haven for asylum seekers.
Here’s what you need to know about Rwanda’s government, economy, human rights situation and refugee policy.
What is Rwanda’s government like?
President Paul Kagame and the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) have ruled Rwanda, a small East African nation dominated by rugged mountains and fertile plains, since the end of the 1994 genocide.
On paper, the country is a multiparty democracy. But political opposition is “nonexistent,” as the US development agency USAID puts it.
Kagame’s three election victories have been plagued by numerous and credible accusations of irregularities, including vote rigging and intimidation. Officially, he won the 2017 presidency with 99% of the vote.
The nation is designated an “electoral autocracy” by the Varieties of Democracy Project, an international democracy database. And it earned only eight out of 40 possible points for political rights in the 2023 Freedom in the World report.
What about other rights and freedoms in Rwanda?
Rwanda has ratified international and regional instruments guaranteeing human rights, which are also anchored in its constitution and other national laws.
But several observers have identified significant rights issues in Rwanda, including extrajudicial killings, people being disappeared by the government and torture of dissenters.
This has had a chilling effect on freedom of expression and association by perpetuating “a culture of intolerance of dissent,” finds Human Rights Watch.
As for media freedom, “beaten down by decades of oppression, the Rwandan media landscape is one of the poorest in Africa,” says Reporters without Borders, who ranks the country 131 out of 180 on its 2023 press freedom index.
Although Rwanda has made great strides in its economic development, nearly 50% of its population live under the poverty line | Photo: Vito Finocchiaro/ZUMAPRESS/picture allianceWhat about Rwanda’s economy?
In 1994, Kagame inherited a nation torn apart by the genocide that saw a million ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus slaughtered in just 100 days, and destroyed Rwanda’s economy.
Rwanda’s economy still depends on subsistence agriculture and lacks the rich natural resources of many of its neighbors.
But reform-minded Kagame has steered Rwanda to strong economic growth and “substantial improvements” in living standards, according to the World Bank. GDP soared by 142% from 2000 to 2020 and the number of people living under the poverty line fell to 52% by 2016-17. The country cut maternal and child mortality, and its 13 million people now are among the longest-living in sub-Saharan Africa.
Ranked one of the least corrupt nations in Africa, Rwanda has also climbed 100 places in the past decade for the ease of doing business, to second on the continent.
Rwanda is below average, however, compared to other low-income African countries when it comes to private investment, which is hindered by factors such as the low skilled workforce, its landlocked position and the high price of electricity.
Why is Rwanda beloved by Western powers?
With its stability and low corruption, Rwanda has become an aid “darling,” receiving $1 billion a year (€92 million) — the most donor aid per capita in East Africa.
“It’s the country that illustrates how development aid has been effectively used if all you’re looking at is things like clean roads and nice fancy buildings … but not paying attention to peace and security, its role in regional politics and, indeed, human rights,” said Toni Haastrup, who holds the Chair in Global Politics at the UK’s University of Manchester.
Rwanda’s capital Kigali is known for being clean, safe and quiet | Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty ImagesWhat is the situation like for refugees in Rwanda?
It’s a mixed bag.
Rwanda hosts nearly 135,000 refugees, mainly from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Not forced to live in a camp like in many other nations, they enjoy freedom of movement and have the right to work, own property, register businesses and open bank accounts.
Rwanda’s “economic inclusion” refugee policies “stand out as a model with lessons learned for East Africa and beyond,” finds a 2023 report by Refugees International.
Despite this, refugees in Rwanda face prejudice and discrimination and most refugees are chronically poor. The vast majority (93%) live in camps and rely on a meager cash assistance of 10,000 Rwandan francs ($7.94 or € 7.27) a month to buy food.
Burundian refugee Kelly Nimubona told DW last year that life was tough in Rwanda. ”We can’t afford to eat twice a day,” he said, adding that there was no chance of getting work.
As well as the poverty, rights organizations say Rwanda’s human rights record makes it no country for refugees.
Tellingly, the UK Supreme Court ruled in November that asylum seekers wouldn’t be safe in Rwanda.
Why is Rwanda positioning itself as a safe haven for international refugees?
Last month, Rwanda received a new batch of refugees evacuated from Libya’s notorious detention centers under a UNHCR partnership.
The country was also part of a now defunct and controversial policy to receive rejected asylum seekers from Israel. More recently, Rwanda signed agreements with the UK and Denmark to process asylum seekers, although either nation has yet to send any migrants.
Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo told local news site KT Press that Rwanda kept an open policy for refugees because people in the country know “what it is to be on the move, or to be displaced, just because of the history of our country.”
But for global politics expert Toni Haastrup, Rwanda’s refugee policy serves another purpose.
“It’s a way of legitimating Rwanda within the international community,” she told DW. “You’re not going to scold Rwanda in global politics if it’s been accepting all of these refugees on your behalf.”
The Gashora Emergency Transit Centre is a special camp for refugees transiting from Libya and doesn’t reflect the reality of other refugees in Rwanda | Photo: SIMON WOHLFAHRT/AFP
Edited by: Cristina Krippahl
First published: December 19, 2023
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Publish date : 2023-12-20 08:00:00
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