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1 UNDP- G0R UNDP- G0R INCLUSIVE PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNANCE QUARTER 2& Issue Q INCLUSIVE Participation in Governance Quarter 2& GOVERNANCE Welcome to the IPG Newsletter! Dear Reader, Welcome to the second edition of the Inclusive Participation in Governance Programme (IPG) Newsletter, which seeks to keep partners and relevant stakeholders upto-date on activities and news related to the IPG. The IPG is an 18-month programme, which has been developed as a bridging programme between the former Programme for Strengthening Good Governance (PSGG) and the new EDPRS cycle ( ). It establishes a new programme structure of key partners in the area of promotion of inclusive and political participation. It is a partnership between the key national partners and UNDP with financial contributions from the Embassy of Belgium, in line with the Division of Labour. Within the programme, the mechanisms and opportunities to deepen inclusive participation include focusing on: electoral processes and institutions, mobilization channels such as political parties and CSOs; and communication channels in relation to access to information and independent media. Following this rational, the project is built around three key components that will ensure that critical interventions are undertaken in this bridging period and to seize the momentum of other on-going governance projects. The three thematic areas within the IPG are: Governance Assessment and Dialogue Political Participation Media Strengthening We hope that this newsletter will provide you with interesting and valuable information, increasing your knowledge on the on-going activities and events related to the IPG. Enjoy reading! UNDP Rwanda IPG Programme Team IN THIS ISSUE UNDP Administrator visits Parliament On 30 th October, the UNDP Administrator, Ms Helen Clark visited the Rwandan Parliament where she spoke with journalists and members of the Rwanda Women Parliamentary Forum. Page 2 International Democracy and Peace Day Celebrated 14 th September marked the launch of the week long celebrations for the International Day of Democracy and International Peace Day. These events were organised within the framework of IPG. Page 3 Forum for Private Newspapers officially launched On the 24 th August, the Forum for Private Newspapers was launched in Lemigo Hotel as part of the on-going media reforms. Page 4 NEC Staff qualify in BRIDGE On the 22 nd August, staff at NEC were trained in BRIDGE ahead of the upcoming Parliamentary elections in Page 5-6 Youth Political Leaders Graduate On the 14 th July, NFPO held a graduation for youth leaders at the Youth Political Leadership Academy. Page 7

2 2 Q UNDP Administrator visits Parliament The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Ms. Rose Mukantabana with UNDP s Administrator, Helen Clark. Kigali, 30 th October 2012 On the 30th October, 2012 the UNDP Administrator visited the Rwandan Parliament. Ms. Helen Clark was in Rwanda on a two day mission to meet government officials including President Paul Kagame, development partners, civil society actors and members of the diplomatic corps. She was also attending the African Economic Conference which Rwanda was hosting for the first time. During her visit to the Parliament, she met with the Speaker of the Lower Chamber of Deputies, visited the parliamentary radio and had the opportunity to speak with the Rwanda Women Parliamentary Forum (RWPF) to discuss among other things, the importance of gender equality and women s empowerment. Speaking in Parliament, she commended Rwanda s tremendous efforts in ratifying international conventions and passing laws that give women equal rights which most women in other parts of the world are fighting for. She further observed that Rwanda s Parliament is a best practice example acknowledging the fact that Rwanda is known throughout the world for having the biggest number of women in Parliament which shows women are key to the transformation of the country. The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies expressed gratitude for UNDP s friendship, cooperation and partnership that has existed between it and parliament over the years especially with the Rwanda Women Parliamentary Forum. Over the years, UNDP has supported the Rwandan Parliament to undertake effective legislative drafting, executive oversight and strengthen citizen representation and participation. Through the IPG Programme, UNDP has also established the Parliament Radio to increase citizen participation, promote accountability and transparency. During an interview on the radio inteko, Ms Helen Clark noted that the Parliamentary radio is crucial in reaching out to the ordinary Rwandans and provides a very important service. She further pointed out that the radio helps keep MP s accountable given they are heard directly and the constituents are able to get more information. The visit provided an opportunity to reiterate UNDP s willingness to build on the existing partnership and strengthen even further Parliament-UNDP collaboration. The UNDP Administrator greets the Head of Radio INTEKO outside the station Helen Clark being interviewed at INTEKO Radio Station in Parliament

3 3 International Democracy and Peace Day Celebrated Members of the Parliament during the opening ceremony Kigali, 14 th to 21 st September 2012 To mark the International Day of Democracy and the International Peace Day, UNDP and its IPG partners came together to celebrate these two days in a week-long series of activities, under the theme dubbed Dialogue and Inclusiveness: Central to Democracy and Sustainable Peace. The UN International Day of Democracy is celebrated every year world over on the 15th September to encourage governments to strengthen national programmes devoted to the promotion and consolidation of democracy whilst International Day of Peace is equally celebrated on the 21st September to strengthen the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples. The chosen theme focused on the role of the youth in achieving both peace and democracy. This was in line with the UN Secretary-General s statement during last year s democracy celebrations where he encouraged double efforts to support the youth as drivers of democracy. 14th September, 2012 was the official launch of the Peace and Democracy Week in Parliament bringing together members of the 2 chambers of Parliament, senior government officials, civil society actors and development partners. In his opening remarks, the President of the Senate, Ntawukuliryayo J. Damascène said democracy has to take into account domestic cultural and historical background of each and every country notwithstanding the universal principals of democracy. We cannot preach practices of democracy if social welfare challenges still lingers, he added. While the Speaker of the Lower Chambers Rose Mukantabana maintained democracy that takes into account the will of its people is the real democracy. Also speaking at the launch, Dr. Amata Diabate who was representing UNDP reiterated the organisation s commitment to continue working with the Government of Rwanda to foster inclusive participation and strengthen the political processes with the purpose of increasing informed and pluralistic participation. She pointed out that one such strategy has been through the current IPG Programme. Dr. Amata Diabate; Senior Economist Advisor representing UNDP Following the launch, the next week was characterized by policy dialogue sessions targeting the youth in order to encourage them to take on the responsibility of entrenching sustainable democracy and a peaceful future for generations to come. These were organized by Rwanda Governance Board as the government body mandated to promote good governance and dialogue. These sessions of dialogue and debates on peace and democracy were held in 7 high institutions of learning across Rwanda and a one day session with faith based organizations. Some of the learning institutions visited include: RTUC (Rubavu Campus), Nyagatare Nursing College, Kavumu College of Education (Muhanga), INES (Musanze), SFB, Rukara College of Education (Kayonza) and the National University of Rwanda (Huye). The dialogues were in an attempt to bridge the gap between the current and the future leaders where members of Parliament shared knowledge and expertise on the history and democracy of Rwanda and debated on current democratic processes. The MP s and participants also discussed best practices of successful democracies and comparisons were made between various these and Rwanda. Speaking at one such dialogue, Hon. Nyandwi Desire gave an example of how democracy works. As a representative of the people, I listen to their wishes and challenges, discuss these in parliament and we find solutions. This is how democracy works, he said. The closing ceremony, coinciding with the International Peace Day on the 21st September was characterized by reflections on the week, a peace banquet, performances from different artists and exhibitions by actors for peace. The likes of Kizito Mihigo and Sgt Hakizayesu graced the day with performances singing messages of peace and democracy. Speaking at this ceremony, the UNDP Country Director, Auke Lootsma saluted the Rwandan men and women of the Rwanda National Police serving in peacekeeping missions abroad. In Darfur, I have witnessed first-hand the incredible contribution Rwanda is making to peace elsewhere in the world he said.

4 QUARTER 2& Issue Q As thousands of people worldwide observe a day of peace, let us also not forget the victims of the genocide in Rwanda and join together in the peace wave by making the pledge of Never Again. As the saying goes, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, he added. Dr. Jean Baptiste Habyalimana, the Executive Secretary of the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission expressed similar sentiments. Rwanda lost peace for a long time from the time of independence to 1994 mainly because of segregation and eventually Rose Mukantabana: Speaker of the Lower Chamber of Deputies genocide against the Tutsis, he said. We therefore understand better what it means not to have peace and security, we Rwandans understand better reasons as to why we should advocate for peace. The week-long celebration was a testimony to the fact that peace and democracy are interlinked and interrelated and that one cannot exist to the exclusion of the other and served as an opportunity for IPG and government stakeholders to take stock of what has been done so far in advocating for peace and democracy and how to better root these practices. Forum for private Newspapers officially launched Hon. James Musoni Speaking at the Launch Kigali, 24 th August 2012 On the 24th August, 2012, the Forum for Private Newspapers (FPN), comprising of 12 local newspapers was officially launched in Lemigo Hotel with support from the Rwanda Governance Board. This forum was created as part of the on-going media reforms to help tackle better some of the problems faced by the print media, facilitate the newspapers in their work and ensure quality publications. The conference which attracted government officials and development partners was used to brief those present on the status of the media reforms. The different newspapers exhibited their work and video capturing the opinion of journalists about the media reforms was also shown. The Minister of Local Government, Hon. James Musoni who was the guest speaker at the conference called upon the media fraternity to uphold professionalism. Professionalism is not only about knowledge but also good conduct, ethics and dignity. These are all the characteristics of a good practitioner, he said. He said that media should help Rwandans in rebuilding their country. Print media should help rebuild Rwanda; Rwanda has zero tolerance to sectarianism and divisionism. The media should be exemplary and partners in building society. He further urged the journalists to be competitive, creative and innovative.

5 5 Members of FPN pose for a photo with RGB and UNDP representatives The president of FPN, Théodore Ntalindwa highlighted lack of advertisements, high printing costs and lack of a reading culture as the main challenges facing print media. Private print media shouldn t be seen as anti-government but a partner in development. Private media should also be able to access government advertisements in order to sustain their operations. The forum currently has a total of 20 members. The occasion was also used to award 8 people in government and the private sector who were most cooperative and supportive of journalists in the year Among those awarded was Sina Gerard, the founder of Urwibutso enterprise. National Electoral Commission Staff qualify in BRIDGE Left to Right: Ms.Rindai Vava, a BRIDGE facilitator, Mr. Auke Lootsma, the UNDP Country Director and Mr. Charles Munyaneza, the Executive Secretary of NEC handing over certificates to participants. KIGALI, 22 nd August, 2012 Seventeen staff of the National Electoral Commission were from the 6th 22nd August trained in BRIDGE through support from the IPG Programme. BRIDGE meaning "Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections" is the most comprehensive professional development course available in election administration. Its goal is to promote and support democracy, good governance through multistakeholders learning, dialogue and networking. To date, it has been conducted in over 30 countries for more than 2,000 people. It improves the skills, knowledge, and confidence both of election professionals and of key stakeholders in the electoral process, such as members of the media, political parties, and electoral observers. As part of this initiative and in preparation for next year s parliamentary elections, the Rwanda National Electoral Commission (NEC) organized these sessions for its staff who graduated with semi-accreditation during a ceremony held at Le Printemps Hotel. Two of the participants got full accreditation through conducting a BRIDGE modular workshop after a Train the Facilitator workshop. Among the modules covered by the participants include polling, counting and results.

6 QUARTER 2& Issue Q What has been acquired during this training will no doubt go a long way in cementing our democracy and governance as an institution that has been charged with managing elections in this country, he said. We have been thinking of the way forward as the electoral commission and we aspire before the end of the financial year to hold similar trainings for our commissioners. We believe it is very important and vital that our commissioners get some basic technical skills in managing elections, especially because we are going to have new ones coming in so that these are better positioned to provide the necessary guidance, communication and political direction to our technical staff, Munyaneza said. It is also our mission to continue increasing our accredited facilitators. Today two have been fully accredited and 15 semi-accredited but we wish to have at least 10 of them fully accredited before the end of the year and we are going to work towards that starting with this group here today, he promised. Speaking at the closing ceremony, the UNDP Country Director Mr. Auke Lootsma noted that the work covered during the three weeks BRIDGE session was critical for democracy in Rwanda in general and the 2013 Parliamentary elections in particular. It is not enough for us to be confident that we are doing everything we can to make the system as safe as possible. The voters need to be confident as well and hence we have to take public concern seriously and where there are real vulnerabilities in the system, we need to tackle them. Making our electoral registration system more secure is one example of that. The Executive Secretary also revealed that NEC plans to roll out the training to the field staff and also for the election coordinator s at village level such that half of NEC s staff is trained by September next year. The aim is to have a Training of Trainers in order to spread the BRIDGE training across Rwanda as much as possible. He further said that the National Electoral Commission with support from the International community has come to be regarded as a competent Electoral Management Body very capable of organizing free, fair and credible elections. I am confident that NEC will meet the international standards for the next parliamentary elections, he added. The Executive Secretary of NEC, Mr Charles Munyaneza noted the training was meant to equip electoral officials with more knowledge on election processes and procedures. You know, one of the responsibilities of the Electoral Commission is to conduct civic education programmes, to educate our people on how to conduct themselves during the elections and how to vote. So, it is in this regard we organised this workshop, Munyaneza said. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT PERSON: ALBERT TUMUBARE atumubare@yahoo.fr

7 7 Youth Political Leaders graduate Kigali, 14 th July 2012 On 14th July, 2012, the National Consultative Forum of Political Organizations (NFPO) held a graduation ceremony for participants from Kigali and the Western Province. These participants were part of a group of young leaders to benefit from the 5th training session held at the Youth Political Leadership Academy (YPLA). This academy provides a training program designed for youth aspirants under 35 years. Each political party appoints four representatives (2 men and 2 women) from the 10 registered political organizations in Rwanda to attend the program. The participants are selected by each political party on the basis of the academic requirements set up by NFPO such as possessing the academic level to enable them follow the courses and participate effectively during the debates and discussions. The trainers on the other hand are recruited with emphasis on experience in political sciences and research. The participants to the 5th session covered theories and practices to party development, the art of political speech and the use of social media and networking in politics. 160 participants graduated this July having fulfilled all the requirements based on the YPLA regulations. The Guest speaker, Dr. Mukabaramba Alivera said the Youth Political Leadership Academy was a beneficial program aimed at building the leadership capacity of political parties especially the youth and as such it would continue running every year. She then called upon the youth to uphold the truth. Dr. Mukabaramba Alivera speaking at the ceremony Before the conclusion of the ceremony, the Executive Secretary of NFPO Mr. Kayigema Anicet, made a presentation on the functions of the organisation and congratulated the graduates upon accomplishing the milestone. He asked them to utilise the knowledge acquired to benefit their respective political parties. The National Consultative Forum of Political Organizations is officially recognized in Rwanda as a platform for dialogue and exchange of ideas among political organizations on the country s problems and national policies. It is also a permanent framework for capacity building for member political organizations in the field of political organization and activities, and is also used as a framework for conflict mediation and for the promotion of the code of conduct which should characterize the political leadership in Rwanda. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT PERSON: JIJUKA ZEPHYRIN jijukazephyrin@yahoo.co.uk UNDP Governance & Peace Consolidation Unit Avenue de l'armée 12, Kigali, Rwanda Postal Address: P.O. Box 445, Kigali, Rwanda