The PANAFRICAN Review
left all members of the INGOs industry in utter shock . Some had not even opened their briefcases when they were made to pack and leave . In parallel , Rwanda decided to forcibly repatriate over two million refugees that were held hostages in refugee camps by the defeated genocidal forces in the Eastern DR Congo ( Zaire then ), a move which deprived these organisations of their raison d ’ être and milking cows . In light of this , one can safely assume that these are “ offences ” Rwanda committed that INGOs are still unable to forgive .
Second , Rwanda has an unorthodox way of governance . For instance , it is common that , in post-conflict societies , groups of international “ experts ” in human rights and transitional justice are invited for endless conferences and meetings to discuss approaches to resolving the legacies of the violent past . For Rwanda , the reflection meetings held in the Office of the President from May 1998 to March 1999 ( famously known as Village Urugwiro Meetings ), which set the foundation upon which the country is governed , were internally driven . These meetings led , among other things , to the establishment of the Gacaca courts ( an indigenous justice mechanism ) to address the issue of hundreds of thousands of genocide suspects held in prisons . The INGOs ’ disapproval of this inward-looking approach – which rendered the international “ experts ” redundant – is demonstrated by their rejection of the Gacaca courts . This rejection was expressed even before the mechanism was understood . Again ,
Rwanda ignored INGOs ' criticisms . Today , the Gacaca courts system is studied as one of the most genius human inventions in the justice sector . It demystified the process of access to justice and substantiated the idea of rendering justice in the name of the people : men and women of integrity , selected by their neighbours , were able to resolve about two million cases in 10 years while providing a combination of punitive and reconciliatory justice . This , too , will never be forgiven by INGOs . For instance , Human Rights Watch has relentlessly voiced its hostility to the Gacaca Courts and has exploited the world ’ s ignorance of this system to advocate against the extradition of genocide suspects .
As if the Gacaca Courts weren ’ t unorthodox enough , Rwanda ’ s constitution provides for a system of governance that is based on power-sharing . As per article 62 of the Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda of 2003 ( as revised in 2015 ), the President and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies cannot be members of the same political organization . It also stipulates that " a political organisation holding the majority of seats in the Chamber of Deputies cannot have more than fifty ( 50 %) per cent of Cabinet members ." The same provision requires the Parliament to reflect all various social categories of people in Rwanda . In addition , Article 59 of the said constitution provides for a National Consultative Forum of Political Organisations , allowing all interested political organisations , including those not represented in the Parliament , to contribute to ongoing debates on matters of national interest . This power-sharing arrangement has , to a large extent , left INGOs with no option but to start courting individuals with fringe ideas , especially those peddling genocide denial and promoting violence , which became the conveyor belt of INGOs ’ politically charged advocacy .
Moreover , it is well-known that the legitimacy of INGOs , especially those operating in Africa , feeds on governments ’ failure to connect with the people . In the past 27 years , the Government of Rwanda has been different ; it has been building a welfare state that is critical of itself , transparent and accountable . All government officials and actors are expected to perform their responsibilities by observing the highest moral standards , and citizens can report even minor transgressions to any of the annual forums such as the National Retreat , Imihigo or Umushyikirano , or through a mere tweet to the President . This has left INGOs with no choice but to scratch for the potential hidden truth through rumours .
To make matters worse , the Government of Rwanda has adopted a combative approach towards the multiple attempts to discredit its choices , policies and actions . This means that Rwanda will rebut every uninformed or ill-intentioned criticism levelled against it . This , to INGOs , makes Rwanda too harsh to its critics , especially when it points out their inaccurate and malicious reporting , which results from either certain limitations of these organisations , such as their limited number of
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