Rwanda reaches over 95% compliance in human rights over the past four years

The Ministry of Justice has announced that in the past four years, Rwanda achieved over 95% compliance with commitments related to human rights, marking an improvement compared to the previous four year period.

This was highlighted during a meeting in Kigali on September 30, 2025, where a report assessing Rwanda’s progress in implementing human rights obligations based on recommendations from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) was presented.

The meeting brought together government institutions responsible for human rights as well as representatives of civil society organizations working in the field. It was part of a four-year review cycle before the report is finalized and officially submitted to the UN Human Rights Council.

Rwanda joined this review process in 2011 and has since submitted three reports. In the last review in 2020, Rwanda had implemented 95% of the recommendations it had accepted.

The UN Human Rights Council makes recommendations, and each country chooses which ones it commits to implement.

In 2021, Rwanda was given about 260 recommendations, but it committed to 160, which are the ones reported on.

Some of the progress made in the four years includes improvements in public services, education, healthcare, freedom of expression, and other rights implemented by various institutions.

The Minister of Justice, Dr. Emmanuel Ugirashebuja, stated that Rwanda had achieved most of what it committed to:

He said, “We have made significant progress, such as expanding schools so that children can exercise their right to education; improving support for people with disabilities, including developing a dictionary in sign language; increasing financial support for the elderly; and passing a law governing civil society organizations to ensure their work benefits citizens.”

He added that although the report is still under review before its final approval and submission to the UN on January 21, 2026, the commitments Rwanda undertook have already been implemented at a higher rate than before.

He explained: “When you look at the numbers, we are now beyond 95%, closer to 97%. We are presenting what has been done, but after this meeting, we will collect more feedback and adjust the figures if necessary.”

Dr. Ugirashebuja further emphasized that the content of the report is consistent with Rwanda’s national development agenda, since these are the same programs being assessed.

The Executive Secretary of the Legal Aid Forum (LAF), Kananga Andrews, acknowledged that Rwanda had implemented its commitments at a higher rate than in previous years, though he pointed out that more effort is still needed to reduce prison overcrowding and speed up juvenile case processing.

The Senior Human Rights Advisor at the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Rwanda, Ngabirano Michael, commended Rwanda’s strong efforts in promoting human rights.

However, he also noted that there is still a need to ensure that citizens feel freer to express their views on political matters and to revisit some provisions in the recently passed law regulating NGOs.