Editor,

I want to use this opportunity, in your esteemed publication, to thank the Human Rights Advisor to the United Nations Country Team (UNCT), Oumar Kane for speaking the truth and thereby leaving all those people who bad mouth Rwanda’s progress where human rights are concerned with eggs on their faces.

Certain international human rights organisations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders want to hoodwink the international community, and friends of Rwanda, that the human rights situation in Rwanda is plummeting.

Rwandans have spoken, on countless occasions, debunking these lies.

However, we were ignored because of people’s bias. Well, the UN experts on the ground have spoken; what have they said? 

During the national workshop on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR)  Oumar Kane said; "we (the UN) have to appreciate that just 16 years after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Rwanda has registered a lot of progress in terms of observing fundamental human rights.”

This is a powerful testimony and this argument is one we’ve used many times over.

To expect Rwanda, which suffered a horrible Genocide less than two decades, to magically become a ‘perfect’ state is disingenuous to our background and the progress we have made. 

However, it seemed to me that our context was ignored just for the sake of certain principles that don’t put into consideration the challenges we face on a daily basis.

We don’t assume to be a perfect nation; however there must be fairness in the assessments coming from New York, London and Paris.

I want to laud the UN expert for being courageous enough to swim against the tide and putting everything in perspective.

Remera