Source : MINEDUC, Recensement Statistique , 2006.

In primary school, the situation can be considered positive. In some cases, the number of girls is higher than that of boys.

Secondary school enrolment, by sex

Yea/ Sex	1996/1997	1997/1998	1998/1999	1999/2000	2000/2001	2001/2002	2002/2003	2003/2004	2004/2005
% Boys	-	-	49.2	49.1	49.8	50.5	52.0	52.3	52.8
% Girls	-	-	50.8	50.9	50.2	49.5	48.0	47.7	47.2

Source : MINEDUC, Recensement Statistique , 2006.

Percentage of pupils by sex in public and private secondary education

Year/ Sex	1996/1997	1997/1998	1998/1999	1999/2000	2000/2001	2001/2002	2002/2003	2003/2004	2004/2005
Boys Public	50.6	49.6	60.3	59.6	61.7	62.4	59.3	62.3	64.0
Boys Private	-	-	39.7	40.4	38.3	37.5	40.7	37.7	36.0
Girls Public	49.4	50.4	54.8	50.0	51.2	50.1	47.2	49.1	52.9
Girls Private	-	-	45.2	50.0	48.8	49.9	52.8	50.9	47.1

Source : MINEDUC, Recensement Statistique , 2006.

Percentage of students by sex in public and private higher education

Year/ Sex	1995/1996	1996/1997	1997/1998	1998/1999	1999/2000	2000/2001	2001/2002	2002/2003	2003/2004	2004/2005
Boys Public	74.5	72.9	75.2	69.8	74.2	73.8	75.2	73.2	70.7	72.8
Boys Private	25.5	27.1	24.8	34.4	25.8	26.2	24.8	24.8	26.8	27.1
Girls Public	0.0	67.2	57.6	53.9	51.8	50.5	49.1	48.4	47.8	47.6
Girls Private	0.0	32.8	32.4	46.1	48.2	49.5	50.9	51.6	52.2	52.3

Source : MINEDUC, Recensement Statistique , 2006.

Percentage of teachers by sex in primary education

Year/ Sex	1997/1998	1998/1999	1999/2000	2000/2001	2001/2002	2002/2003	2003/2004	2004/2005
Men	44.6	45.0	46.9	48.9	49.9	49.8	47.7	45.8
Women	55.4	55.0	53.1	51.1	50.1	50.2	52.3	54.2

Source : MINEDUC, Recensement Statistique , 2006.

Percentage of teachers by sex in secondary education

Year/ Sex	1998/1999	1999/2000	2000/2001	2001/2002	2002/2003	2003/2004	2004/2005
Men	73.6	79.1	81.4	81.2	80.8	80.1	78.7
Women	23.3	20.9	18.6	18.8	19.2	19.9	21.3

Source : MINEDUC, Recensement Statistique , 2006.

Percentage of qualified teachers in secondary education

Year/ Sex	1998/1999	1999/2000	2000/2001	2001/2002	2002/2003	2003/2004	2004/2005
Men	89.8	90.4	90.4	91.0	90.5	89.8	86.7
Women	10.2	9.6	9.6	9.0	9.5	10.2	13.3

Source : MINEDUC, Recensement Statistique , 2006

Percentage of teachers by sex in public and private higher education

Year/ Sex	1995/ 1996	1996/ 1997	1997/1998	1998/ 1999	1999/ 2000	2000/ 2001	2001/ 2002	2002/ 2003	2003/ 2004	2004/ 2005
Men Public	91.3	90.0	89.2	85.9	84.5	85.0	84.1	83.6	83.3
Women Public	8.8	10.0	12.6	14.1	15.5	15.0	15.9	16.4	16.7
Men Private	0.0	95.8	96.1	96.0	97.2	97.4	96.9	94.6	94.6
Women Private	0.0	4.2	3.9	4.0	2.8	2.6	3.1	5.4	5.1

Source : MINEDUC, Recensement Statistique , 2006.

166. To promote education for girls and reduce their tendency to drop out, the NGO “Forum for African Women Educationalists” (FAWE), with government support, has opened a pilot school for girls’ education and has instituted a prize for girls who do well in the examinations. Today, 656 girls are attending the school, and 412 needy girls receive grants from a fund managed by this NGO.

167. This organization is also a permanent member of the national scholarships commission, where it champions in particular applications from female candidates, with the goal of having 50% of scholarships awarded to girls and women.

168. In the same vein, the PACFA organization (“Protection and Care for Families against HIV/ADS”) works to spur girls and women to perform well in school. It awards prizes nationwide to girls or women who have earned good grades in different national examinations.

169. Recently, private investment in education has led to a significant increase in the number of girls pursuing secondary and higher studies.

170. Pupils in private primary and secondary schools are allowed to take the national examinations at each of these levels. This entitles them to enrol in public education institutions and to obtain diplomas awarded by the state.

171. Similarly, the government now accords recognition to diplomas awarded by private institutions of higher education, when it has verified that they meet the minimum legal requirements for offering courses.

172. Within its development programme, Vision 2020, the government plans to make education free through to the end of the lower cycle of secondary school. It is currently examining the practical and resource implications of this move, and it has recently increased the number of public secondary schools at this level.

173. The literacy programme is also one of the government's major concerns in the education field.

174. The 2001 literacy survey provided the following estimates:

The literacy rate was 47.8% for women versus 58.1% for men

Only 5.8% of women attended apprenticeship courses versus 9.1% of men

2.6% of women received vocational training versus 7.5% of men

25% of women versus 17% of men had not attended a school or a literacy centre.

175. Data from the 2002 general population and housing census show an illiteracy rate of 43.5% for women, and 33.5% for men. The following tables provide details:

Literacy rate among private household members aged 6 years and over:

	TOTAL	MEN	%	WOMEN	%
Read and write	3,287,883	1,616,781	49.17	1,671,102	50.82
Read only	380,136	178,289	46.09	201,847	53.09
Neither read nor write	2,440,114	1,013,547	41.53	1,426,567	58.46

School attendance among private household members aged 6-29 years:

	TOTAL	MEN	%	WOMEN	%
Attend/attended	3,276,497	1,590,972	48.557	1,685,525	51.44
Never attended	925,598	435,398	47.03	490,200	52.96
Not specified	225,403	110,794	49.1	114,609	50.8

Level of schooling completed by private household members aged 6 years and over (excluding those attending school)

	TOTAL	MEN	%	WOMEN	%
None	2,052,155	816,675	39.7	1,235,480	60.2
Primary	2,417,124	1,160,187	47.99	1,256,937	52.0
Post-primary	79,025	37,441	47.37	41,584	52.6
Secondary	197,022	106,726	54.1	90,296	45.8
Higher	20,225	15,059	74.4	5,166	25.54
Not specified	27,870	13,234	47	14,636	52.51

Source : Rwanda Development Indicators, 7 th Edition, 2004, pp. 216-217.

176. In light of this situation, the government has launched a broad and ambitious literacy campaign with the objective of achieving a literacy rate of 85% by 2015. The campaign will be conducted at the district level.

177. One of the targets set by the Ministry of Education is to eliminate all the causes and obstacles that impede access to school and disparity in education, whether related to gender, handicaps, social status or geographic situation. It has adopted a specific programme to this end, "Education for All".

178. This programme has set 6 targets for the year 2015:

Enhancing the quality of education;

Achieving parity between the sexes by 2005 and equality by 2015 ;

Reducing the adult illiteracy rate;

Fostering apprenticeship and practical learning among youth and adults;

Making primary education compulsory and free for all;

Promoting early childhood protection and education.

2.1.9. Employment (article 11 of the Convention and point F of the Beijing Platform for Action)

179. From the legal viewpoint, women have the same employment rights as men. The right to work as an inalienable right, the free choice of work, and the right to equal pay for equal work requiring equal skills were recognized in the Basic Law that governed the transition (article 30 of the June 1991 Constitution) and again in the June 2003 Constitution (article 37).

180. The Labour Code prohibits any form of discrimination that would alter the equality of employment opportunities, equality of treatment, or equality before the courts in the case of labour disputes, and it calls for equal pay for workers with equal skills performing the same type of work (articles 12 and 84).

181. Articles 71 and 72 of the Labour Code give every worker the right to paid leave, at the employer’s expense, which may start to be taken after one year of continuous service.

182. The protection of health and safety in the workplace is governed by articles 132 to 138 of the Labour Code. They include the obligation to keep the workplace clean at all times, with conditions that protect the health of workers and ensure their safety; the employer's duty to provide workers with health and safety education and to provide them with the necessary and appropriate protective equipment. Article 138 foresees the possibility of making a medical or health service available to workers, and requires evacuation to the nearest medical facility for injured or sick workers who cannot receive adequate care in this in-house medical service.

183. The Labour Code regulates the work of pregnant or nursing women, who must not be kept at tasks that require excessive force or that are dangerous or inconvenient for their condition and health (article 67 (2)).

184. Article 68 provides that, at time of delivery, a salaried woman has the right to suspend work for 12 consecutive weeks, including two mandatory weeks before the presumed date of delivery and six mandatory weeks after delivery, and the employer is prohibited from giving her notice of termination during her maternity leave. Regrettably, this provision entitles a woman on maternity leave to receive only two-thirds of the salary she earned before the suspension of work.

185. Finally, article 70 stipulates that, in the case of a woman who does not return to work at the end of her maternity leave because of an illness, certified by a physician as resulting from the pregnancy or childbirth, the woman's employment may not be terminated until after six months. Violation of these labour provisions relating to pregnant women is subject to criminal punishment.

186. When it comes to employment in the public sector, the General Statute of the Rwandan Public Service is governed by Law n° 22/2002 of 09/07/2002 (OG n°17 of 01/09/2002). It provides for recruitment by competition under the supervision of the Public Service Commission, which is to maintain objectivity and neutrality in the recruitment and management of human resources, and to this end has the power to organize administrative competitions for the various working positions in the civil service, and to publish the results (articles 19-22). General conditions of recruitment make no reference to any form of gender-based discrimination (article 28).

187. In the public sector, a woman on maternity leave is entitled to her full salary, in contrast to the provision of the Labour Code governing female employees in the same situation in the private sector area

188. Despite this legislative protection, the number of women holding jobs remains low. The household survey conducted in 2000/2001 found that women accounted for 34.6% of public-sector workers; 31.9% of employees in the para-public sector; and 26.2% of people working in the informal private sector. Data from the payroll office of the Ministry of the Civil Service and Labour showed that there were 3,000 female employees in the central administration, in a total of 8,000.

189. The 2002 population and housing census yielded the following data on employment in general.

Employed population aged 6 years and over, by type of employment

	TOTAL	MEN	% M	WOMEN	% W
Members of the executive and legislative corps, directors and managers	5,221	4,207	80.6	1,014	19.4
Professionals	44,952	26,016	57.87	18,936	42.12
Technicians and associate professionals	16,811	10,771	64.07	6,040	35.92
Administrative personnel	15,896	7,799	49.06	8,097	50.9
Service personnel and traders	88,981	55,810	62.7	33,171	37.3
Farmers and skilled workers	2.957,907	1,220,460	41.3	1,737,747	58.7
Craftsmen and specialized workers	91,615	79,922	87.3	11,693	12.7
Machinery operators and mechanics	18,135	17,795	98.1	340	1.9
Unskilled workers	131,833	79,161	60.1	52,672	39.9
Not specified	12,258	6,458	52.7	5,800	47.3

Source : Rwanda Development Indicators, 7 th Edition, 2004.

Agriculture employs 80.7% of men and 92.6% of women, with these rates rising to 90% and 97%, respectively, in rural areas.

190. The social security system is governed by the Decree-Law of 22 August 1974 (OG 1974), which applied the system to all workers covered by the Labour Code and to all statutory civil servants, and by the amendments contained in Law n° 06/2003 of 22/03/2003 (OG n°12 bis of 15/06/2003), which extended the system to include voluntary insurance for independent workers.

191. These provisions open the right to various benefits under the Rwanda Social Security Fund (CSR) relating to occupational hazards, basic pensions and supplementary pensions. The system pays occupational injury or disease indemnities, old age pensions, disability or death pensions, and a lump-sum allowance in the event of retirement, disability or death.

192. As to social insurance, civil servants are covered by a contributory health care plan run by the Rwanda Health Insurance Company (RAMA), established by Law n° 24/2001 of 27 April 2001. The institution intends to expand its services to private sector employees in the near future.

2.1.10. Health (article 12 of the Convention and point C of the Beijing Platform for Action)

193. Women's health rights, like those of men, are governed by the national health policy adopted in 1995, intended to contribute to the public welfare through high-quality services acceptable and accessible to the majority of the population, who are expected to subscribe fully. The policy involved two main aspects: the preparation of health standards, laws and regulations governing the organization and functioning of health-care facilities and services and the prescription of care, and improvement to the health situation.

194. A number of legal instruments have been adopted to improve the quality of healthcare services and institutions:

Law n°10/98 of 25 October 1988, the “Art of Healing” Act, according to which the rights and duties of the patient and the professional are to be determined by an implementing order governing the conditions and procedures for dispensing health care within public and private health centres;

Law n° 12/99 of 02 July 1999 governing the pharmaceutical profession (OG n° 23 of 01/12/1999);

Law n° 41/2000 of 07 December 2000 on the establishment and organization of the teaching hospital centre;

Law n° 30/2001 of 12 June 2001 on the organization, functioning and scope of activities of the College of Physicians .

195. Further laws are now in the drafting stage, including the health code, the public hygiene code, and a law on general health administration. Others deal with creation of the College of Pharmacists , the Rwandan Council of Nurses and Midwives, and biomedical research and traditional medicine.

196. Health professionals have also taken action to form associations: the Rwandan Association of Physicians (AMR), the Rwandan Association of Pharmacists (ARPHA) and the Rwandan National Association of Nurses (ANIR).

197. The Constitution adopted by referendum in 2003 provided (article 41) that "all citizens have health rights and duties. The state has the duty to mobilize the population for activities to protect and promote health, and to contribute to their implementation.”

198. The health system is decentralized: at its base are the health districts, which operate independently and provide services to both urban and rural dwellers. The health districts are responsible for the health institutions and services belonging to both the public and the private sector.

199. With the 1980 crisis it became difficult to maintain a free public health care system, and a strategy was therefore adopted for financing basic health services through community participation, in line with the “Bamako Initiative”. Since 2000, each health establishment has a health committee comprised of health promoters elected by the public.

200. On this point, it should be noted that the offices of the National Council of Women have an elected member responsible for health issues at each administrative level.

201. The following description of the current situation, as described below, is based on three surveys: the demographic and health survey of 2000, the healthcare delivery survey of 2001, and the 2005 demographic and health survey.

2.1.10.1. Family planning and contraceptive methods:

202. Awareness of contraceptive methods is widespread: around 97% of the population (94% of women and 90% of men) knows of at least one modern contraceptive method. Periodic abstinence and withdrawal, both traditional methods, rank first.

203. However, contraception is less widely practiced. The 2000 demographic and health survey found that at least one woman in four (24%) had used at least one contraceptive method at some point in her life, and use patterns varied according to locality (27% in urban areas versus 11% in rural areas) and level of education (34% of literate women versus 8% of women with no education). The 2005 survey shows that the use of contraceptive methods among women living with a partner is still low: only 17% of such women use either a modern or traditional method. The use of modern contraceptive methods differs greatly according to place of residence: 20% in the cities versus 8% in the countryside. Women with more education are also likelier to practice modern contraception: the rate is 19% for women with postsecondary education, 12% with secondary schooling, and 9% with primary schooling, while it is only 6% among women with no schooling. Moreover, the number of children a woman has seems to be a factor determining the use of modern contraception. The rate of use rises with the number of children: it is low among women with no children (1%), and begins to rise after one or two children (8%), reaching a peak among women with three or four children (13%).

204. The reasons for not using contraception have to do with the desire to have children (20%), fear of secondary effects (15%), menopause and hysterectomy (14%), and religious prohibitions. Some women are swayed by religions that oppose use of the condom, and preach abstinence: this constitutes an obstacle to family-planning.

205. Contraceptive materials can be obtained from a variety of sources, including hospitals, health centres, pharmacies and shops, as well as from parents and friends.

206. Among women living with a partner, the 2005 survey found that 42% (excluding sterilized women, who represent 0.5%) say they want to limit their births and thus do not want to have more children, 39% want to space births two years apart or more, and 12% want to have a child within the next two years.

207. It is interesting to note that the proportion of women wanting to limit the number of their children has risen since 2000 from 33% to 42%, while women wishing to space their future children has declined (from 45% to 39%).

2.1.10.2. Maternal health

208. The 2000 demographic and health survey had shown that for the great majority of births the mothers had prenatal consultations. Overall, 82.4% of pregnant women sought prenatal care. By contrast, only 27% of births took place in health establishments, while 72.6% were delivered at home. Moreover, only three births in 10 were assisted by a trained health worker, and 8% were attended by a physician. Deliveries assisted by traditional midwives were more common, representing 46% of births.

209. The high rate of deliveries without qualified medical assistance and the failure to seek postnatal care meant that the maternal mortality rate was high, estimated at 1,071 deaths per 100,000 live births. This maternal mortality rate has declined substantially: the 2005 demographic and health survey reported 750 deaths per 100,000 live births.

210. According to estimates from the 2005 demographic and health survey, 94% of women consulted a health professional during their most recent pregnancy, with some slight variations according to age, number of previous births, place of residence, and region. Qualified prenatal consultation rises with the mother's level of education: 95% of women with primary schooling, and over 96% of those with secondary schooling or more sought consultation, while 92% of women with no education received no prenatal care.

211. Tetanus vaccination coverage for pregnant women is not universal. Only 4% of mothers received at least one anti-tetanus injection during their last pregnancy, and there are significant gaps by age: the rate is 85% for pregnant women under the age of 20, and 33% for those aged 35 and older.

212. The same survey shows that 39% of births were assisted by a physician, a nurse, a midwife or an auxiliary midwife. The youngest mothers (those under 20 years of age) were most likely to be attended (50%). Only 28% of births took place in a health establishment. By comparison with the 2000 survey, there has been improvement in terms of assisted childbirth and delivery in a health facility.

213. The 2000 survey also showed that a very high proportion of women suffer from malnutrition: 9% fall below the critical weight for safe pregnancy and delivery, while a slightly higher proportion (13%) are overweight, and thus exposed to the same risk.

2.1.10.3. Child health

214. For some years now, the Ministry of Health has been offering the Expanded Programme of Immunization (EPI). The 2005 survey shows that the rate of vaccination coverage of children in Rwanda is high: 75% of children aged 12-23 months have been fully vaccinated, 23% partially, and only 3% have had no vaccinations. The national vaccination coverage rate has not changed from 2000 (76%).

215. The most important childhood ailments are acute respiratory infections, malaria and dehydration from severe diarrhoea. These were estimated by the 2000 survey as responsible for 21% and 17% of cases, respectively. The 2005 survey found that 17% of children show symptoms of acute respiratory infections, and 26% show symptoms of fever.

216. The 2000 child health survey found evidence of acute malnutrition: 7% of children under 5 years were emaciated, i.e. they were too thin for their height, and 43% suffered chronic malnutrition or retarded growth, and were too small for their age. The 2005 survey showed that more than four children in 10 (45%) were suffering from chronic malnutrition, and 19% from its severe form. It also showed that growth retardation rises rapidly with age: it is highest among children between 12 and 23 months (55%), but is also quite high (52-50 3%) among older children. As to acute malnutrition, the survey shows that 4% of children are emaciated, and 1% severely so, and that children aged 12-23 months have the highest rate of emaciation (9%).

217. The 2000 survey showed that infant and child mortality remained high: for every 1,000 live births, 107 infants died before their first birthday, while 196 died before the age of five years. According to the 2005 survey, the infant mortality rate was estimated at 86 deaths per 1,000 live births, before the first birthday, and 72 of every 1,000 one-year-olds would not survive to their fifth birthday. Overall, of every 1,000 children born alive, 152 will not reach their fifth birthday.

218. Estimates from the 2000 survey showed that all mothers were breast-feeding their infants: 95% of children between 12 and 13 months were still nursing, and nearly one child in 10 would still be nursing after 33 months. Exclusive breast-feeding was also generalized, covering 71% of children between four and five months. According to the 2005 survey, nearly all children under six months are breast-fed, and 97% of children between 10 and 11 months are still nursing, while 90% of mothers respect the recommendation for exclusive breast-feeding until six months.

2.1.10.4. HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases (STD)

219. Sexually transmitted diseases are a major public health problem: not only can they cause infertility, serious diseases and even death, but they are increasingly recognized as augmenting the risk of communicating the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

220. At the time of the 2000 survey, public awareness of STD other than AIDS was well below average, but virtually all women and men (99%) knew about AIDS, and that it was sexually transmitted, and they knew of at least one means of prevention. For the 2005 survey, all men and women said they knew about or had heard of HIV/AIDS. The great majority of women (90%) and nearly all men (99%) said it was possible to do something to avoid contracting the disease, or they mentioned at least one method of protection.

221. As to condoms, the 2005 survey showed that their use is still very low: 3% of women and 5% of men. These rates show no significant change since 2000, when 1% of women and 6% of men said they had used condoms.

222. Use of the condom with one's spouse or cohabiting partner is also very low, at between 1% and 2% for women and men, but it is higher in the case of a non-cohabiting partner, at 20% for women and 34% for men.

223. Systematic surveillance of the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the general population was found to be a difficult undertaking. Consequently, the TRAC (Treatment and Research AIDS Centre) set up sentinel surveillance sites some years ago to screen pregnant women visiting prenatal care facilities.

224. The data from the sentinel sites were of great value, as they were regularly available and were less costly to collect than data from a national survey representative of the general population.

225. However, they betrayed some serious limitations. The first problem was that pregnant women were not representative of the general population of childbearing age. Second, it is obvious that prevalence rates vary between men and women, and men are not represented in the data for the surveillance sites. Moreover, the prevalence rate is higher among pregnant women than among the general female population, which includes women who are not sexually active and thus have little exposure to HIV/AIDS. Prevalence levels also vary with age, and the age distribution of women who attend prenatal facilities may be different from that of the general female population. Finally, geographic coverage could be another source of bias inherent in the distribution of surveillance sites, which are for the most part in urban or semi-urban settings where the prevalence of HIV is likely the highest.

226. To overcome these drawbacks, the demographic and health survey of 2005 included the HIV test, and showed that, nationwide, the prevalence rate is 3%: 3.6% for women and 2.3% for men. By place of residence, the prevalence rate is 7.3% in cities (8.6% for women and 5.8% for men), and 2.2% in rural areas (2.6% for women and 1.6% for men).

227. The government's national policy for reproductive health seeks to encourage the community to adopt safe sex practices and to fight actively against STD and HIV/AIDS. As part of this policy, the government plans to implement a strategy that would require service providers to track the patient's partner or partners during treatment, to comply strictly with protocols concerning doses and duration of treatment, to encourage the patient to see the treatment through to the end, and to advise her to abstain from sexual relations until the treatment is over, and to adopt safe sex habits thereafter.

228. In the campaign against AIDS, the National Programme against AIDS (PNLS) was instituted in 1987, and was replaced in 2001 by two institutions: the Treatment and Research AIDS Centre (TRAC) and the Great Lakes Initiatives on AIDS (GLIA).

229. TRAC is a technical unit within the Ministry of Health that funds the HIV referral laboratory, the HIV clinic, and the epidemiology service, and ensures national co-ordination of the Programme for the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT).

230. A National AIDS Control Commission (CNLS) was also established in 2001, with the following responsibilities:

Assisting the Rwandan State in formulating, implementing and co-ordinating the national policy against AIDS;

Co-ordinating national strategies and planning activities of anti-AIDS institutions;

Enlisting the public in fighting AIDS on a daily basis in accordance with the priorities in the national policy;

Mobilizing resources within and beyond Rwanda to establish a National Fund Against AIDS ;

Raising awareness of Rwandan authorities at all levels about the need to support the national AIDS policy.

231. The country’s leading public figures have been involved in this campaign. The First Lady, or example, is active in the protection and care of families against HIV/AIDS. In this regard, the PACFA organization (Protection and Care of Families against AIDS) is specifically involved in the field of mother-to-child transmission.

232. Efforts are being made to help persons living with HIV/AIDS to obtain antiretroviral drugs, and a widespread campaign has been launched to keep such people from being stigmatized and marginalized, and to condemn attitudes and behaviour that tend to exclude them.

233. With the help of volunteers, these people have formed associations throughout the country, and have set up a network for mutual moral support and for distributing assistance. These associations also serve as channels for income generating activities, so sufferers can meet the needs inherent to their condition.

234. However, the fact that some religions reject condoms as a method of protection against HIV/AIDS has impeded the campaign to promote this device as a way of stopping the spread of this pandemic.

2.1.10.5. The main causes of morbidity

235. Malaria is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Rwanda , accounting for more than 50% of visits to health facilities, and about 34% of all deaths. As to tuberculosis, thanks to the use of DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course) initiated by the National Tuberculosis Programme, the therapy success rate was 70.1% in 2000. HIV/AIDS is more important than tuberculosis as a cause of morbidity. The other significant causes include acute respiratory infections, intestinal parasites, and diarrhoeic diseases.

2.1.10.6. Unwanted pregnancies

236. In Rwanda , abortion is banned and punished by legislation. Articles 30 and 31 of the law on the rights and protection of children provide specific penalties for abortion, attempted abortion, causing a woman to abort with or without her consent, or even unintentionally. Abortion is also treated as a crime by the Criminal Code (article 325), with aggravating circumstances if the means used to make the woman abort result in her death, and professional disqualification for any physician, obstetrician, dentist, pharmacist, veterinarian or other person who causes a woman to abort.

237. Abortion is authorized only when continuation of the pregnancy would gravely imperil the woman's health. In these cases, however, it is subject to strict conditions, including written confirmation by two physicians in four copies, two of which are given respectively to the woman and to the medical officer, and the requirement that the abortion must be performed by a licensed physician in an officially approved public or private hospital (article 327 of the Criminal Code). In the same spirit, article 379 of the Criminal Code prohibits advertising of abortion means or services.

2.1.10.7. Qualified personnel

238. The public health system suffers from a shortage of experienced doctors and nurses to staff the health centres. The scarcity of health professionals remains critical and is in fact the great challenge facing the health sector. The number of qualified physicians and nurses is still inadequate throughout the country, and particularly in rural areas.

239. In the public health system, personnel are less motivated, and this tends to drive physicians into the private sector. There is only one nurse for every 3,900 people, and one medical doctor for every 50,000. While the ratio of nurses is within the range recommended by the WHO (one nurse for 5,000 residents), this is not the case with doctors, where the recommended ratio is one per 10,000 in developing countries.

240. The government expects this problem to be resolved by the A2 nurses who have graduated in recent years, and the A1 nurses who are already in the field following their training at the Kigali Health Institute (KHI).

241. In the face of these challenges, the Health Ministry has taken steps to place the health sector on a footing where it can ensure and promote public health through high-quality preventive and curative care and rehabilitation. Those steps include the following:

The Ministry has reviewed the health policy adopted in February 2004 using a sector-wide approach (“SWAp”), and a strategic plan was established in 2004.

It has put great effort into drawing up the list of essential drugs.

A pricing policy has been set for certain essential health services, such as tuberculosis, malaria and epidemics.

Health insurance co-operatives ( mutuelles de santé ) have been established to provide access to health care for the most vulnerable groups.

The “Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses” strategy, promoted by UNICEF and WHO, has been introduced.

A reproductive health policy has been developed in co-operation with the country's partners, and IEC and CCC activities have been launched to promote family planning and to encourage women to make use of the health services.

The campaign against malaria has been stepped up through the introduction of new products, which are being subsidized to make them more affordable to the population at large, and through the promotion of insecticide-treated mosquito nets.

2.1.10.8. The health outlook

242. To improve the quality of health care further and make it more accessible, the government is planning a strategic innovation for the period 2005/2007, in the form of performance-based contracts for the procurement of four sets of specific services (Health, Municipality and Family, Health Insurance Co-operatives, Health Centre Performance and obstetrical emergencies in District hospitals).

243. Seven programmes have been adopted. These involve:

Human resource development through investment in educational institutions to train health professionals, and the revision of salary structures and incentives to improve the distribution and the number of health professionals, particularly in rural areas.

Expanding the availability of high-quality drugs, vaccines and consumables in health centres by determining needs, developing and implementing the drug supply plan; setting standards and prices for pharmaceutical products distributed through the public sector.

Building and rehabilitating health facilities to meet the objectives of the strategic health plan, which call for raising from about 60% to 65% the proportion of people living within 5 km of a health centre, by 2010.

Making health services more affordable by promoting health insurance co-operatives and refining the pricing policy and targeting subsidies for greatest impact.

Strengthening community-based healthcare ("evidence-based medicine", EBM) in order to reduce mortality and morbidity.

Restructuring the national referral hospitals and specialized treatment centres such as the HIV/AIDS clinic, and stepped-up surveillance of resistance to tuberculosis and malaria.

Strengthening institutional capacities to manage, co-ordinate and supervise health services.

2.1.11. Family benefits—women and poverty. Bank loans and credit; recreational activities, sports and cultural life (article 13 of the Convention and points A and F of the Beijing Platform for Action)

2.1.11.1. Family benefits

244. According to the law constituting the Preliminary Title and the First Book of the Civil Code, which establishes a maintenance obligation between spouses, the wife is entitled to maintenance from her husband if he is alive. This obligation also falls upon children, who must support needy parents (article 200).

245. The Family Code excludes the award of compensation to that party to a divorce who is held to be in the wrong (article 280). Compensatory benefits are awarded to the spouse who wins the case, and if there are no financial arrangements agreed between spouses, or they are inadequate, the winning spouse may be awarded alimony not to exceed one-third of the income of the other spouse (articles 261 and 262).

246. As to benefits in kind and in cash, contributory or not, they are provided pursuant to the Social Security law in the form of medical care required by an injury resulting from an occupational accident, a daily allowance in the case of temporary disability, a pension in the case of permanent total or partial disability, survivors' pensions and funeral expenses in the case of death, old-age pensions, disability pensions, survivor or early retirement pensions, and survivors allowances. This coverage applies however only to women eligible for the Social Security system, which is managed by a government agency, the Caisse Sociale du Rwanda.

2.1.11.2. Women and poverty: Bank loans or credits

247. The survey conducted in 2001 for the national poverty reduction strategy found that 60% of the population was living below the poverty threshold, including 62.15% of households headed by women, and 54.32% of households headed by men.

248. Combating the feminization of poverty entails strengthening women's economic capacities. In this context, as indicated throughout this report, a number of initiatives have been taken, including:

Establishment of a guarantee fund to facilitate women's access to credit from banks and other financial institutions.

Establishment and financing of a fund in each district to provide women with microcredit for entrepreneurial initiatives.

249. Associations devoted to the advancement of women have also taken steps to strengthen their economic capacity, including:

Establishment of a savings and microcredit co-operative (CO-OPEDU) by the women’s association, DUTERIMBERE;

Establishment of a savings and loan institution (“ banque populaire ”) affiliated with the Union des Banques Populaires by the Association of Female Entrepreneurs in Rwanda (AFER).

250. Despite these efforts, there are still some major obstacles to reducing poverty among women:

The unequal division of labour, which places an extra burden on women especially in rural areas.

The low level of education and vocational qualifications of women.

Lack of access to factors of production.

251. It should also be noted that the national gender policy is part of a long-term programme that the government has adopted for sustainable development in which women will play a more meaningful role both as actors and as beneficiaries.

2.1.11.3. Recreational and cultural activities

252. There is no legal or institutional obstacle to Rwandan women's participation in recreational activities, sports and culture.

253. For the institutional viewpoint, the Ministry of Youth and Sports promotes these activities for men and women alike. The National Olympics Committee includes national federations in all areas of sport, for organizing and supervising national competitions. Women are members of the committees of these federations.

254. Within its policy to promote sport in general, the country gives special emphasis to football (soccer), basketball, volleyball and athletics. At the elite level, women's teams participate in seasonal competitions, but there are also teams formed by female pupils and students. In volleyball, there is a national women's team and a male team that take part in regional and international competitions. A national championship is held each year, in which there are 8 women's clubs and 11 men's clubs. In basketball, besides the national girls' and boys' teams, there are five women's clubs and six men's clubs that participate in the national championship.

255. Women's football is still in its infancy, but there are plans afoot to create women's teams in the various provinces of the country and to organize a national championship. On this point, a commission has been created within the National Football Federation, specifically to promote women's football, and a women's sports office has been set up in each district.

256. One discouraging factor is the opinion that women hold about playing sports. Most women feel that sport is something for people who don't have any other obligations, such as raising and caring for a family.

257. On the cultural front, the national ballet is the star representative of Rwandan folklore, and its performances abroad are ample evidence of this fact. Its makeup is mixed, and women are well represented. There are also folklore groups that have been created through private initiative in the form of associations that embrace both sexes.

258. The major obstacle for women engaged in sporting and cultural activities is that they must in effect abandon their marriage and their many household tasks.

259. In order to promote women's sports, private parties took the initiative in 2000 to create the National Association to Promote Women's Sports (ANPSF). That Association seeks to make women aware of the importance of sport for physical well-being, and it arranges sporting matches where it picks out talented girls for further training. Women are invited to participate in these competitions regardless of their social status or their place of residence.

260. This association falls under the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which provides them with logistical support. Like the other federations, it is also a member of the National Olympics Committee.

2.1.12. Rural Women (Article 14 of the Convention)

261. Living conditions for rural women differ greatly from those for women in the cities, especially in terms of their daily activities and their environment. The government considers that the CEDAW must be applied for the benefit of urban and rural women alike. To this end, all legal and institutional mechanisms created at the national level in this field are aimed at all Rwandan women.

262. Through the policy of decentralizing decision-making bodies, rural women are now members of local administrative bodies, in which they participate in preparing community development programmes.

263. The National Council of Women, which was created by the June 2003 Constitution with its powers and functions established by Law n° 27/2003 of 18/08/2003, is not only a social organization for its members but also a mechanism of advocacy for their role in the country's development. It is very much a rural women's organization, with committees right down to the local administrative level.

264. In economic terms, funds have been created in each district to provide microcredit for small and medium-sized businesses run by women. While these funds cannot perhaps guarantee the full economic emancipation of women, they are at least a catalyst that encourages them to co-operative entrepreneurship. "Rural Women's Day" has been celebrated for the last two years, and on these occasions prizes are awarded to the women selected as being the most active.

265. On the health front, the health centres now offer family-planning services, but the limited number of such centres means that most women have to travel a long way for even minimal service. Moreover, their access to health care depends on their financial means: because the state's straightened economic circumstances do not allow it to provide free healthcare, people must support each other through health insurance co-operatives.

2.1.13. Equality before the law for married women (article 15 of the Convention)

266. As noted in earlier sections of this report, the equality of men and women before the law is enshrined both in the Basic Law that governed the transition period and in the Constitution of June 2003 now in force.

267. Article 212 of the Family Code recognizes the legal capacity of men and women as identical, and provides that the capacities of the spouses are not affected by marriage. This principle is reinforced in article 213, which declares: “Each spouse has the right to practise a profession, industry or trade without the consent of his/her partner, except under a regime of community of property”.

268. Finally, Article 215 of the Family Code accords to each spouse the power to go to court, irrespective of the matrimonial regime, without permission of the partner, in disputes related to property under his/her responsibility or relating to the rights accorded to him/her to practise a profession, industry or trade.

269. Freedom of movement and the right to choose one’s residence in the national territory is accorded to all the citizens by the Basic Law that governed the transitional period (Article 21 of the Constitution of 10 June 1991) and is also enshrined in Article 23 of the Constitution of 04/06/2003.

270. However, while there is no restriction on the man’s freedom to choose his domicile, this is not so for women: Article 75 of the Family Code provides that the spouses shall have the same residence, unless otherwise required by the family interests, and that any dispute over this point shall be settled by the judge. Article 83 of the same code provides that a married woman shall have her husband’s domicile as her legal domicile unless the court, for sound reasons, allows her to have a separate domicile.

2.1.14. Marriage and family relations (article 16 of the Convention)

271. Article 25 of the Basic Law that governed the transition and article 26 (1) of the June 2003 Constitution both enshrined the principle of recognizing only monogamous marriage.

272. The June 2003 Constitution also provides that no person may be married without his or her consent, and accords to both spouses the same rights and duties during marriage and upon divorce. This amounts to the principle of equality between a man and a woman, which implies that they have the same rights during their marriage and at its dissolution.

273. Law n°42/1988 of 27 October 1988 constituting the Preliminary Title and the First Book of the Civil Code provides that marriage must be voluntary (Article 170) and that marriage contracted without the free consent of one of the spouses may be contested by that spouse (Article 220).

274. During marriage, the spouses have the same rights and duties toward each other and toward their children. According to Article 197 of the Family Code, both spouses assume, by the very fact of marriage, the responsibility to maintain and rear their children. Other responsibilities of the spouses include the duty of fidelity, help and assistance, and to share household tasks according to their ability (Articles 209 and 211).

275. This law also recognises the right of both spouses to petition for divorce for the reasons set out in its Article 237 and to continue, after the divorce, to oversee the maintenance and upbringing of their children, and to contribute thereto according to their ability (Article 285).

276. However, certain provisions of this law perpetuate the inequality of men and women in some aspects of family rights and relations. Article 110 for example, provides that the father must register the birth of a child, and the mother may do so only of the father is absent or unable to do so. Article 206, for its part, indicates that the husband is the head of the conjugal community comprising the husband, the wife and their children.

277. Similarly, according to Article 206, parental authority is exercised by the father and mother. However, in the event of disagreement, the will of the father must prevail, and the mother's only recourse is to the courts. As noted previously, these provisions are in the course of amendment.

278. In the acquisition, ownership, management, administration, enjoyment and disposal of property, spousal rights are determined by the matrimonial regime under which their marriage was contracted. Article 50 of the law on matrimonial regimes, bounties and successions gives each spouse, regardless of the matrimonial regime, the right to review any act of donation or any act conveying rights to family assets or property.

279. Organic Law n° 08/2005 of 14/07/2005 governing the use and management of land in Rwanda prohibits any discrimination based on sex in matters relating to access to land ownership or enjoyment of rights over land, and clearly stipulates that the husband and wife have equal rights to real property (Article 4).

280. That law establishes land commissions at the national, provincial and district levels and for the city of Kigali, and stipulates that at each level, the land commission must include both men and women (Article 8).

281. It regulates the transfer of land rights and requires that, whatever its form, such transfer must carry the consent of all family members (Article 35).

282. The minimum age for marriage is set at 21 years for the man and the woman, and the law on the rights and protection of the child prohibits any cohabitation as husband and wife if one or both partners have not yet attained this age. According to this law, marriage of a person under that age who has not consented is a forced marriage, and the perpetrator is liable to prosecution.

283. The law also punishes any person who cohabits or attempts to cohabit as husband and wife with a juvenile over the age of 18 years but under the age of 21 (Article 48), and any person responsible for the premature or forced marriage of a child, and it considers as an aggravating circumstance the quality of a parent or guardian (Articles 49 and 50).

284, Finally, to have legal effect, marriage must be celebrated as a formal act before the civil registrar, and each spouse receives a certificate of marriage proving conformity with the civil records (Articles 184 (2), 185 and 187 of the law constituting the preliminary title and the first book of the Civil Code).

2.2. Measures Specific to the Declaration

2.2.1. Women and armed conflicts (Point E of the Beijing Platform for Action)

285. The series of bloody conflicts that have tainted Rwanda's history, culminating with the genocide of April 1994, have left their mark on men and women alike. Women in particular were subjected by the perpetrators of the genocide to systematic rape, from which they still bear many traumas. Indeed, many women and children now find themselves responsible for families without having the means to support them.

286. The Great Lakes region also has hotbeds of tension, the numbers and frequency of which call for initiatives to restore peace and to establish relations based on neighbourliness and tolerance. Rwandan women have heeded this call, and actions have been taken from this perspective.

287. Rwanda hosted a conference, from 25 to 30 June 2000, on “Women as Partners for Peace in Africa” (WOPPA). It brought together women from many countries that are the scene of conflict, in Africa and other parts of the world, to devise strategies for women to make a real and effective contribution to the search for peace in the world.

288. Following the Kigali Pan-African Conference on Peace, Gender and Development that was held from 1 to 31 March 1997 under the joint sponsorship of the OAU, the Government and NGOs working for women’s advancement, the government participated in establishing the Federation of African Women’s Peace Networks (FERFAP).

289. From 15 to 19 September 2003, a regional workshop on women and conflict resolution was held in Kigali, hosted by the Ministry for Gender and Promotion of Women.

290. Pro-Femme/Twese Hamwe has launched a campaign, “Action for Peace” (CAP), for conflict resolution through non-violent action, mediation and conciliation.

291. The member associations of this umbrella federation have organized training sessions, conferences and workshops on tolerance, non-violence, unity and reconciliation, and on peaceful conflict resolution, designed to appreciate the role of women in restoring and keeping peace.

2.2.2. Women and the media (Point J of the Beijing Platform for Action)

292. The state recognizes freedom of the press and freedom of information, and has committed itself to upholding them. In this regard, it has adopted a press act, Law n° 18/2002 of 11/05/2002 (OG n° 13 of 01/07/2002, page 113).

293. A Ministerial Department has been established within the Office of the Prime Minister, with information among its responsibilities, and the public press is managed by an independent legal institution, the Rwandan Information Office (ORINFOR). The High Council of the Press, composed of journalists elected by their peers, overseas respect for ethics in the exercise of the journalistic profession.

294. The private press must observe certain formalities: it must publish written notice at least one month before the first printed issue appears, and audiovisual publishers must sign an agreement with the state, upon the advice of the High Council.

295. There are currently a number of private newspapers on the market. The audiovisual press comprises a public radio station, six private domestic radio stations and four foreign ones, and the national television network.

296. Women still have too little presence as professionals to exert much influence in the press; they are largely confined to the public press.

297. Nevertheless, the media reserve space for matters relating to the status of women. Most newspapers publish articles of interest to women, and radio and TV reporting covers women's activities in both urban and rural areas. The newspapers and broadcasters carry features to educate people about the rights of women and the importance of integrating them more effectively into the development process. Indeed, there are specialized journals in this field, notably Urubuga rw’abagore (“Women’s Platform”), distributed as an insert in the newspaper Kinyamateka , "Focus on Beijing " published by the Permanent Executive Secretariat for Follow-up to the Beijing Declaration, and Haguruka , published by the eponymous women’s association.

298. There are associations for the defence and promotion of women's rights that provide IEC information and documentation services and publish reports on women's doings and their rights.

299. Inspired by the recommendations from the Beijing Conference, women working in the media created the Rwandan Association of Media Women (ARFEM) in 1995, with the following objectives:

Organizing meetings where Rwandan women and women in the media can share their views;

Mutual support to promote the media profession;

Encouraging Rwandan women to join the media profession and express their views through all communication channels ;

Promoting and publicizing women’s activities and thereby strengthen their role in decision-making, planning and national management.

300. These women produce radio and TV broadcasts and press stories on issues relating to gender and development, peace, and human rights.

301. Access to information is still very limited for most women, however, particularly those in rural areas, because they are too poor to purchase media products. Available data from 2002 show that only 41.7% of private households had a radio, 0.12% had a TV set, while 56.2% had neither radio nor television, and 99% had no computer or Internet access.

2.2.3. Women and the environment (Point K of the Beijing Platform for Action)

302. Rwanda has ratified many conventions on the environment, but the situation was long characterized by the absence of any domestic legal and regulatory framework, a gap that has now been filled.

303. With respect to industry, a government order of 28 May 1956 required prior permission to operate any establishment that presented foul odours, risks of explosion, poisoning or fire, water pollution or other harmful emissions. In 2001, the government adopted a national industry policy that calls for the establishment of non-polluting industrial facilities that comply with environmental standards.

304. Enforcement of environmental policy is in the hands of the Ministry of Lands, Environment, Water and Natural Resource, which is tasked with protecting Rwanda ’s land, flora, fauna and water, the natural resources that, as the basis of agriculture, are the bulwark of the country's GNP and household incomes.

305. On the institutional front, the Rwandan Environmental Management Agency (REMA) has been created as a public institution with its own legal personality and financial autonomy.

306. A Rwandan National Environment Fund (FONERWA) is to be established to raise and manage financing.

307. Finally, Organic Law n° 04/2005 of 08/04/2005 on protection, conservation and promotion of the environment came into effect on 1 May 2005 (OG n° 9 of 1 May 2005). It lays down guiding principles for conservation and rational use of the environment and natural resources: protection, environmental sustainability, intergenerational equity, co-operation, and the “polluter pays” principle.

308. That law distinguishes the human environment from the natural environment, which comprises the soil, the subsoil, water and the atmosphere. It spells out the obligations of the state and local governments, and people’s rights and obligations with respect to the environment.

309. The fact that firewood and its by-products such as charcoal remain the main source of cooking energy places a great burden on the environment: 94.4% of households use trees and plants to produce energy for cooking food. To reduce consumption of firewood and its by-products, households have been introducing improved stoves.

310. Environmental protection measures have been taken to control wood cutting and charcoal manufacture, which are now subject to prior authorization by the competent authority, and quarrying of all kinds is also subject to control. Products such as plastic bags that are not biodegradable are also banned.

311. Rwandan women are involved in protecting the environment, on the same basis as any citizen, through the campaign against deforestation, which includes the "National Tree Day" and awareness-raising about environmental protection, avoiding any action that could cause pollution, combating erosion, and protecting water, wildlife and vegetation.

312. The role and place of women will be given further emphasis under the long-term plan for sustainable development that the government has just adopted.

2.2.4. Protection of girls (Point L of the Beijing Platform for Action)

313. Girls in Rwanda enjoy protection as children. The Basic Law that governed the transition is silent on this point, but the current Constitution provides (article 28) that every child is entitled to special measures of protection, to be taken by its family, society and the state, as required by its condition, in accordance with national and international law.

314. The First Book of the Civil Code grants to children in general the rights mentioned in the Beijing declaration. Thus, it provides that every person shall have a surname and that a child shall have its own first name distinguishing it from its father and mother as well as its living siblings (Articles 58 and 60), that births must be registered within two weeks of delivery (Article 117) and that a birth certificate must be issued (Article 120); this registration is to be effected by the father, the mother, a grandparent or next of kin, or any person having attended the delivery or having found an abandoned newborn (Article 119).

315. Article 197 of this law makes the parents responsible for maintenance of their children. This obligation can be enforced through legal action, and abandonment or exposure of children is punishable not only under the Criminal Code (Articles 380 to 387), but also by the law on the rights and protection of the child (Articles 43 to 46).

316. The law that until 2005 governed the nationality of children discriminated against women, who could not transmit their nationality to their children as long as the father could be identified. It has now been replaced by a law constituting the Rwandan Nationality Code, which excludes statelessness, and provides that the child acquires Rwandan nationality if one of its parents is Rwandan or if it is found in Rwanda as a newborn with its parents unknown (articles 3 and 6). The law on the rights and protection of children also grants every child the automatic right to acquire the nationality of its Rwandan mother (Article 6(2)).

317. The law governing matrimonial regimes, bounties and successions gives a girl the right to inherit her family's property, and the Family Code requires consent as a condition for marriage, which may not be contracted before the age of 21 years.

318. Rwandan law prohibits the economic exploitation of children. The international conventions on this point that Rwanda has signed are part of domestic law, and their rank exceeds that of organic and ordinary laws.

319. The conditions governing child labour are regulated by articles 63 to 66 of the Labour Code. Except with permission from the Minister of Labour, no child may be employed in a business, even as an apprentice, before the age of 16, and that permission may be given only for light work that will not prejudice the child's health, its studies, or its participation in guidance and supplementary training programmes. In no case may a child under the age of 16 years be employed at night work or in tasks that are stressful or hazardous. It should be noted that the law on the rights and protection of the child has lowered the child employment age to 14 years (article 18 (2)).

320. The Labour Code institutes a system of inspection and controls to ensure that work performed by a child is not excessively hard and will not harm its health. Violation of this provision is punishable by a fine of 10,000 to 50,000 francs, and repeat offences are punishable by imprisonment of 15 days to six months (article 194).

321. Finally, as noted earlier, the economic exploitation of girls in the form of trafficking or prostitution is punished by the law on the rights and protection of the child.

322. That law recognizes a series of rights for the protection of children. Those rights relate to education, basic parental care, the right of an orphan to be adopted or assigned a guardian, or to be entrusted to an appropriate state institution. They also include freedom of assembly and peaceful meeting, the right to well-being and health, the right to rest, and the right to sporting and leisure activities appropriate to the child's age.

323. The membership of the National Youth Council, created by article 188 of the June 2003 Constitution, includes girls on the same basis as boys. In application of this constitutional provision, Law n° 24/2003 of 14/08/2003 (Special OG bis of 3/9/2003) governs the organization and functioning of the Council.

324. Under the terms of that law, the National Youth Council is a forum where young people can share ideas that will contribute to their development and that of the country. It seeks to mobilize the young and introduce them to the possibilities of production through associations, to initiate them in ways of solving their problems, and to prepare them to take part in decision-making bodies. It also lobbies on their behalf with agencies responsible for the promotion of youth.

325. The central bodies of the Council are the General Assembly and an executive committee, at each administrative level. The executive committee includes counsellors in the following fields: finance, education, science and technology, culture, sports and recreation, gender issues, questions relating to adolescents, health, information, production and prosperity, and co-operation.

Chapter III. Difficulties Encountered in Implementing the Convention, and Prospects for the Future

3.1. Difficulties Encountered

3.1.1. Poverty

326. The Rwandan economy generates only low incomes, a fact that influences the choice of priorities in all sectors of national life. In this sense it poses a constraint on rapid development: a broad, short-term programme of major investments in human and material resources is required, and external debts are also likely to accumulate.

327. The economic situation does not allow people access to the technical means needed to improve their status. The main factors behind this poverty are the shortage of land and rudimentary tools, rapid population growth, and limited means of development.

328. Nongovernmental organizations working in the field of human rights in general, and women's rights in particular, lacks the means to carry out their mission, and must rely on foreign aid, which gives them the breathing room they need to operate

3.1.2. Ignorance

329. With the many human rights violations that repeated conflicts have stamped on Rwandan's history, its people have received little in the way of positive education about their rights.

330. A sustained and well-funded education campaign is needed to wipe from people's minds the terrible consequences of this tradition, which in many cases has produced indifference to human rights.

331. Moreover, while it is true that illiteracy rates remain high and constitute a major obstacle to human rights education, it is not only the unschooled who are ignorant in this field. Many highly educated people are unaware of the content and scope of their own rights and those of others, whereas it is precisely such people who should constitute a bulwark for the effective exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

3.1.3. Traditional patterns, models, taboos and stereotypes

332. Rwandan society still harbours traditional taboos and stereotypes that run counter to the universal principles of human rights. Deeply ingrained ways of thinking are slow to disappear and constitute an obstacle not only to the promotion of human rights in general, and women's rights in particular, but also to efforts to establish equality between men and women within a desirable time frame.

333. The patriarchal concept of society accords women only a secondary role, and excludes any idea of equality with men in terms of human rights. Large-scale awareness campaigns and legislative innovations in sensitive areas still governed by custom or outmoded laws will in the end do away with these customary concepts that are incompatible with women's rights.

3.1.4. The genocide

334. The genocide that gripped Rwanda in 1994 negated the most fundamental values of human society, and the role played by the authorities in these inhuman acts highlighted their failure to provide responsible leadership and to champion the values of humanism, tolerance, justice and peace.

335. These grave violations of fundamental human rights resulted from a sectarian ideology, and they had terrible consequences not only for their direct victims but for the whole of Rwandan society. It is essential at this time to commemorate the victims and to recognize their rights, and this means that firm justice must be meted out to those responsible for those crimes, while ensuring education about human rights, if the Rwandan people are to be reconciled and to live together in a climate of dialogue, tolerance and peace.

336. The government is thus determined to prosecute these acts in order to root out the culture of impunity and the ideology of genocide. The Gacaca courts that were instituted in 2001 are already operational in part, and they will soon be functioning throughout the country.

3.2. Prospects for the Future

337. Rwanda intends to continue its efforts to promote women's rights, through more sustained action. The creation of various bodies for monitoring and promoting women's rights demonstrates the government's determination to establish a suitable framework of advocacy for women, one that will serve as a channel not only for making their voice heard but also for participating in the country's development.

338. The government recently adopted a comprehensive programme, "Vision 2020", based on the principles of good governance and decentralization of decision-making in order to achieve sustainable development of the kind where every citizen plays an active role and at the same time enjoys its fruits. The watchwords of this programme are good governance, democracy, national reconciliation, political stability and national security, popular participation in decision-making and the development process, and a fully inclusive economic system in which people from all social and economic walks of life participate effectively.

339. This programme is also based on the National Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRSP), which calls for reducing the poverty rate by 30% by the year 2015, through actions designed to transform agriculture, to enhance governance, and to develop human resources, economic infrastructure, institutions, and the private sector.

340. The national gender policy is an integral part of this programme, designed to mainstream the gender dimension in community development policies and programmes, and to strengthen women's capacities.

341. In partnership with other stakeholders, the government will step up awareness and training activities relating to human rights in general, and women's rights in particular.

342. Further legislative reforms will be undertaken to eliminate the remaining provisions that violate the principles of equality between men and women and of equality of development opportunities.

343. The means of control over human rights violations will be broadened and reinforced by instituting recourse mechanisms at all levels, by establishing a database for tracking progress at each stage, and by adapting measures as the circumstances require.

344. The government will continue to encourage NGOs in their work of defending and promoting human rights in general, and women's rights in particular.

Conclusion

345. Despite the great challenges it faced in the wake of the 1994 genocide, Rwanda has made a solid start at implementing the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Beijing Declaration, and indeed the situation today represents a veritable revolution vis-à-vis the one that prevailed before 1996.

346. The government has of course demonstrated its concern by creating and strengthening a number of institutions for promoting human rights in general, and women's rights in particular, and by adopting various legal measures. What is most important, however, is that all these mechanisms are functioning.

347. Mainstreaming the gender dimension in community policies and programmes is clear evidence of the government's conviction that every member of Rwandan society must participate actively in the country's development. The framework for that participation is the Vision 2020 programme, and achievements to date provide grounds for confidence in this process and for believing that constraints will melt away in the face of the government's determination to do everything to find the necessary means for fulfilling the programme.

348. The government’s confidence is reinforced by the system of partnership that is already operational in the field of women's rights, and it calls on all those involved to pursue their work, which it sees as useful support for achieving its policy objectives.

349. The government will also welcome any suggestions and observations the Committee may have after reviewing this report, concerning both its form and its content.

Bibliography

1. Legal Texts

The Fundamental Law of the Republic of Rwanda

The Constitution of 04/06/2003

Decree of 02 August 1913 concerning merchants and evidence of commercial commitments.

Law of 28 September 1963 establishing the Rwandan Nationality Code, as amended.

Decree-law of 22 August 1974 on Social Security, as amended.

Decree-law n°21/77 of 18 August 1977 instituting the Criminal Code, as amended and complemented.

Law n°42/1988 of 27 October 1988 constituting the Preliminary Title and Book One of the Civil Code.

Law N° 22/99 of 12/11/1999 supplementing Book One of the Civil Code and instituting Part Five regarding marriage, bounties and successions.

Law N° 42/2000 of 15 December 2000 on elections to local office in Rwanda , as amended.

Law N° 27/2001 of 28/04/2001 on Rights and Protection of the Child against Violence.

Law N° 47/2001 of 18/12/2001 instituting punishment for offences of discrimination and bigotry.

Law n° 51/2001 of 30/12/2001 establishing the Labour Code.

Law n° 22/2002 of 9/7/2002 on General Statutes for the Rwandan Public Service.

Organic Law n° 16/2003 of 27/06/2003 governing political organizations and politicians.

Law n° 06/2003 amending and complementing the Decree-law of 22 August 1974 on social security.

Organic Law n° 17/2003 of 07/07/2003 on presidential and legislative elections.

Law amending and complementing Decree-law n° 01/81 of 16/01/1981 on the census, identity cards, domicile and residence.

Organic Law N° 20/2003 of 3 August 2003 on Education.

Law n° 25/2003 of 15/08/2003 on the organization and functioning of the Office of the Ombudsman.

Law n° 27/2003 of 18/08/2003 on the organization and functioning of the National Council of Women.

Organic Law n° 29/2004 of 3/12/2004 amending and complementing the law of 23 February 1963, the Rwandan Nationality Code.

Organic Law n° 04/2005 on protection, conservation and promotion of the environment in Rwanda .

Organic Law n° 08/2005 of 14/07/2005 on land use and management in Rwanda .

2. Other Documents

AVEGA AGAHOZO: Etude sur les violences faites aux femmes au Rwanda , December 1999

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: Reporting guidelines HRI/GEN/2/Rev.1/Add.2.

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: Guidelines for preparation of reports by States Parties, CEDAW/c/7/Rev.3

Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 1995

Draft Strategic Plan – Government of Rwanda – Ministry of Gender and Promotion of Women, 2003-2007

FAWE : Supporting girls and women to acquire education for development, August 2003

Minisiteri y’ubutabera n’imikoranire y’inzego : Inama y’Igihugu ku ihohoterwa rikorerwa abana ku byerekeranye n’igitsina , Kigali , Ukuboza 2002

Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and Ministry of Gender and Promotion of Women: Rapport sur le profil de la situation de la femme et de l’homme au Rwanda .

Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning : Rwanda Development Indicators, 7th Edition, 2004

Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and National Institute of Statistics: Demographic and Health Survey 2005, Preliminary Report

Ministry of Gender and Promotion of Women and United Nations Population Fund: Etude sur les croyances, les attitudes et les pratiques socio-culturelles en rapport avec le genre au Rwanda , May 2002

Ministry of Gender and Promotion of Women: Document de travail , May 2001

Ministry of Gender and Promotion of Women: National Gender Policy, 2003

ONAPO : Demographic and Health Survey: DHS II – Rwanda , 2000

ONAPO : Enquête sur la prestation des services de soins de santé , 2001

PRO-Femmes/ Twese Hamwe:  Mieux connaître le collectif Pro-Femmes /Twese Hamwe, November 2002

Raporo y’ibyakozwe na Minisiteri y’Uburinganire n’Iterambere ry’Abanyarwandakazi kuva kuwa 19 Nyakanga 1994 kugeza kuwa 19 Nyakanga 2003, Nyakanga 2003

Raporo y’inama nyunguranabitekerezo y’Ishyirahamwe Nyarwanda ryo guteza imbere Siporo y’Abari n’Abategarugori, tariki ya 9 gicurasi 2003

National Census Service: The General Census of Population and Housing – Rwanda 16-30 August 2002, Report on preliminary results, February 2003

TRAC : HIV sentinel surveillance among women receiving antenatal care in Rwanda , 2002