§ Mr. LoveTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what activities are being undertaken in(a) Rwanda and (b) Burundi by her Department to improve the human rights situation; and if she will make a statement. [73010]
§ Clare ShortDFID is the largest bilateral donor to Rwanda providing £30 million a year. Our programme is set within the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding which includes commitments in areas such as human rights and governance.
The human rights situation in Rwanda has improved for the majority of individuals since 1997. The establishment of the Human Rights Commission and the Commission for National Unity and Reconciliation are evidence of the Government of Rwanda's commitment to eliminating human rights abuses and to the reconciliation process. The Government have held successful local level elections in 2001 supported by DFID, but the end of the transitional period brings new challenges as Rwanda moves towards full national elections in 2003. DFID are supporting work to draft a new constitution.
We believe that the Government's commitment to end the cycle of ethnic tension, to maintain stability within Rwanda, to eliminate poverty and improve the lives of all Rwandans is genuine and their policies are moving them in the right direction. However, we monitor closely reports of human rights abuses and raise our concerns with GoR accordingly.