The global community celebrated the International Day of Democracy (IDD) on September15, 2015, in accordance with the proclamation made by the UN General Assembly in 2007. This occasion provides each year the global community with an important opportunity to celebrate the progress made towards promotingdemocracy and good governance across the planet as well as reflect on the challenges that still remain. Rwanda will conduct its own celebrations on September 29th in the National Parliament.

The importance of, or,as some observers would always insist, the necessity for,well - functioning democracies and good governance lies in their close correlation with stability, rule of law and sustainable development as well as intrinsic human fulfilment. The latter encapsulates the basic human desire for freedom of association and expression as well as the right to periodically choose people who would lead them. Undoubtedly, these points have been, and continue to be, passionately debated across the world. This is due in large measure to the varying interpretations or definitions that areusually given to democracy.

The famous Nigerian Social Scientist,Dele Olowu, aptly puts it as follows: "In the last two decades, governance has become an important issue in development policy discourse and social research. Yet a lack of conceptual consensus on the term results in a multiplicity of definitions”. As if to mirror these different conceptual characterizations of democracy, the  actual practice of it does differ across different countries and regions. Compare how democracy is actually practiced in Italy, France, Spain, UK, Germany, USA, Australia, China, Japan, Singapore, Braziletc.

Another respected analyst of democratization processes, Albrecht Schnabel,formerly of the widely acclaimed Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, noted that "Democracies come in various shades, depending on the historic, political, ideological, cultural, economic or social contexts and experiences that shape the ways in which the rule of people and by the people is organized”.

Yet there is broad consensus that despite the different definitions and practices of democracy, certain key strands within genuinely working democracies remain the same and these are: unbridled participation of the mass of people in electing leaders and in governance processes; accountability of leaders to the people who bring them to power; guaranteering civil liberties and respect for human rights; maintaining the rule of law and ensuring national and personal security; sustained anti-corruption efforts and measures; allocation of adequate resources for human or people development, notablywithin decentralized contexts; maintaining high levels of service delivery; ensuring conducive environments for economic and social development; and nurturing institutions for peaceful change of power.

Taking into account these fundamental elements of any well - functioning democracy and good governance practices, it could be argued that the progress made by Rwanda is notable. In the post-genocide era, the country has consistently benefitted from strong and visionary leadership, that closely adheres to accountability principles (National Dialogue, Imihigo, regular Leadership Retreats, close contact with the entire population); the leadership also accords high priority to the interests, basic needs and welfare of the majority population; has made measurable progress towards national reconciliation, rebuilding of social cohesion through inclusive development; regularly conducts well-organized elections; vigorously promotes law and order, personal and national security; as well as the nurturing and strengthening of national capacity for deepening good governance in particular through home grown initiatives (Rwanda Governance Board).

Importantly also,  appreciableadvances have been made in public sector reforms, decentralization, anti-corruption measures and evidence-based policy makingand evaluation.  Importantly also, Rwanda has a relatively well-functioning Parliament , with the highest female representation globally and in the other decision making structures. These are all key dimensions of good governance.

On the other hand , it is also true that many observers express concern about the choice the country has made for  "consensual politics”  as opposed to "competitive politics”. Related to this, many critics also point to the inadequacy of political space for other political actors. Without passing any judgement on all this, I would argue that the choice of consensual politics is in line with the country’s traumatic history, and this option has helped Rwanda tremendously in its bid to achieve national healing, social cohesion and stabilization. The apparent lack of the desired press freedom and inadequate participation by civil society also feature prominently in the analyses of many observers of the country’s political evolution and situation. But these alleged deficit areas could also be seen in the context of the country’s unique history and solutions to them necessarily have to be works in progress.The positive evolution in many of these areas, including civil society participation, over the past few years attests to this optimistic assertion.

In recent years, the potentially important role of civil society in promoting or deepening democracy through reinforcing accountability and participation has received increasing attention.This is the case with Rwanda as well. It is partly due to the fact that in most budding democracies, the civil society is still in its incipient stage.It is, therefore, pertinent that the 2015 UN theme for the International Day for Democracyis ‘Space for Civil Society’. As the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon puts it: "Civil society is the oxygen of democracy. We see this clearly in the world’s most vibrant and stable democracies, where Government and civil society work together for common goals.”  Working with civil society is no longer just an option for the United Nations, but it has become part and parcel of our way of working.

It is also worth recalling that the Accra Agenda for Action for Aid Effectiveness,in its Paragraph 20, stipulates that: "We will deepen our engagement with CSOs as independent development actors in their own right, whose effortscomplement those of governments and the private sector. We share an interest in ensuring that CSO contributions todevelopment reach their full potential”.

Civil society is a concept which encompasses much more than only civil society organizations. It refers to a broader societal space in which cooperatives, community groups, faith-based organizations, civil society organizations as well as individuals operate.Enabling more space for civil society is essential for nurturing vibrant democratic regimes.On the other hand, it is essential that civil society organizations are adequately capacitated, that they consistently adhere to the spirit of independence but constructive engagement and conform to accountability principles in their own management and operational processes.

In Rwanda, there is a wealth of very active organizations and individualswho have contributed immensely to the political, cultural and socio-economic development of the country. More and more organizations are also working to foster accountability at all levels. Citizen engagement on a variety of issues is also progressively increasing.

Rwanda has whole-heartedly embraced the decentralisation approach which has been instrumental in promoting citizen engagement and providing a forum for civil society actors to operate,especially at the community level. A case in point is the formation of Joint Action for Development (JADF), which is one of the tools that the Government uses to engage civil society organisations, national and international NGOs as well as local communities in the pursuit for stability and development. 

It is, however, the case that many civil society organizations in Rwanda still remain weak and need not only more space for operation, but also more technical capacities and financial resources to maintain their independence and optimize their contribution to both accountability and participation enhancement processes as well as to sustainable development.

As we rapidly approach the new global development agenda - Sustainable Development Goals - "The role of civil society has never been more important,” says the UN SG Ban Ki-Moon. The government, other state institutions, the private sector, the international community and civil society will have to work together more closely to make it happen.

The One UN Rwanda team takes pride in its partnership with the Government of Rwanda and other key development partners in the endeavours aimed at deepening democracy and reinforcing good governance in the country.In the area of accountable governance, for instance, three joint programmes are being implemented.The Deepening Democracy and Accountable Governance programme focuses on citizen empowerment and strengthening institutions of accountability such as media and parliament for a stronger accountable and democratic system in Rwanda. Under this program, data on governance (the Rwanda Governance Score-card) is produced through various assessments to support evidence - based governance for participatory planning and decision making at all levels. Support to the country’s electoral cycle is also provided through this programme.

The second programme addresses the critical issues of access to justice, human rights and peace consolidation. It supports Government’s efforts to promote access to quality justice by all citizens as well as promotion of human rights, unity and reconciliation. In particular, the programme focusses on facilitating access to justice for the most vulnerable groups through the Access to Justice Bureaus and the local mediators (Abunzi) and promoting security and safety at village level through the community policing mechanism.

The third programme supported by the One UN is called "Strengthening Civil Society Organizations for Responsive and Accountable Governance in Rwanda”. It promotes the role of civil society organisations in building a democratic system. The programmepresently supports 26 civil society organisations, including umbrella and community - based organisations under innovative projects to promote accountable governance from the angle of non-governmental institutions.

In short, it could be argued that Rwanda has indeed made notable progress in many key areas of a well-functioning democracy and good governance. And this has contributed significantly to the stability, social cohesion and the very positive development results the country has registered over the past two decades.

However, the process of building well-functioning democracies is necessarily a long-term one and is very dynamic in nature.For the African continent as a whole, this is underscored by the important reversals that do occur from time to time, such as the ones that took place recently in Burundi, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso and South Sudan, following notable successes in a critical number of others.

Thus, although Rwanda has made much progress in the democratization process, challenges still remain in some important areas, notably resolving the issues around competitive vs consensual politics (even though the leadership is clear about the necessity for the latter option), the speed and scope of press freedom and the extent of space for CBOs and NGOs and other political tendencies in the political and accountability processes. The country’s specific history and context will necessarily continue to influence the pace, direction and flavour of the endeavours aimed at further reinforcing the democratization process and addressing the just outlined issues in particular.

The approach adopted by the One UN Rwanda towards supporting the processes of deepening democracy and bolstering good governance takes into account these realities. A major focus of our support programmes is to work closely with the Government, through the Rwanda Governance Board, Parliament, the various commissions in charge of promoting human rights, unity and reconciliation, the National Electoral Commission, the Forum of Political Parties and NGOs as well as with the other development partners in addressing the identified weak areas and/or those that are in need of reinforcement.

There is no doubt that once again, Rwanda is presently at an important cross-roads in its trajectory towards building a well-established and vibrant democratic system. This is reflected in the vigorous debates going on around the issue of presidential term limits and the active participation of people from all walks of society in it. It is crucial that as Rwanda traverses yet another crucial period in its socio-economic and political evolution, all the stakeholders bear in mind the important lessonslearnt from the earlier critical transition phase of the immediate post-genocide period, when exemplary leadership, maturity, inclusivity and wisdom were so effectively applied in the face of very complex challenges.

Mr. Lamin M. Manneh, One UN Rwanda Resident Coordinator