Women From Rwanda

"Rwandans have been refugees for 30 years from 1959 and the post-1994 Genocide against the Tutsi which saw millions more displaced to different neighbouring countries and beyond but later came back."

"Rwandans know what it is to be on the move, or to be displaced, just because of the history of our country,” Makolo said, reiterating why the country maintains an open policy for refugees, asylum seekers and other categories of people in need of safety,"

"Rwanda has received members of the School of Leadership of Afghanistan (SOLA), that first Afghan girls boarding school, who moved from Kabul to Rwanda for their own safety after the Taliban swept to power in 2021, all of which goes to show that Rwanda is safe. They’ve been here, close to two years and they live amongst us and the school started running immediately when they got here, and they’re bringing in new Afghani girls from refugee camps all over the world to join the school,”"

"“Rwanda is a welcoming country; we have been for decades now. We also have people come here to go to school or to start businesses. And we are open to that. Our migration policy is quite open,"

"We’re not the only country facing these challenges,” she said, adding that the government is working with partners, including the UK, to address these issues and with the right investments in the program, the challenges will be addressed over the next five years."

"“We don’t want to lose people to these desperate journeys across the Sahara and across the Mediterranean Sea. We’re losing brain power in Africa. We want young Africans to remain here and to build the continent,”"

"We are happy with the progress that we have made but we’re not there yet. We will continue to work even as the debate on migration reaches around the world. We’re busy doing the work that we’ve all done,” she said, adding that both Rwanda and the UK are determined to make the arrangement work."

"The UK-Rwanda partnership is seen as a model that can salvage thousands of young people, men, women and children from making desperate journeys across seas looking for safety as asylum seekers or economic opportunities."

"It is entirely a different issue because the laws in the country apply to nationals and non-national, pointing out that there are no exceptions when it comes to breaking the law."

"This is ultimately a decision for the UK’s judicial system. However, we do take issue with the ruling that Rwanda is not a safe third country for asylum seekers and refugees, in terms of refoulement. Rwanda and the UK have been working together to ensure the integration of relocated asylum seekers into Rwandan society,"

"The court relied on extreme and speculative concerns based on the hypocritical criticisms of the UNHCR, which has on numerous occasions expressed its appreciation of Rwanda’s inclusive refugee policies, qualifying them as ‘exemplary’,”"

"“For example, their claim of “100% rejection rate” of asylum seekers from some parts of the world is dishonest – a total of two individuals from Syria and Yemen were indeed not considered for asylum because there was a faster and more appropriate path to legal residence, and these individuals are currently living and working in Rwanda,"

"The region has come together, the leaders of this region are working hard, mostly committed to ensuring that peace is restored to that part of DR Congo, “So it's a DRC problem. Where we come in as Rwanda is the fact that nothing should threaten our territorial integrity.”"

"Rwanda continues to ensure that its borders are protected, “This is why our armed forces are at the border. We've said this very openly and we will not hesitate to protect and to defend our borders and also protect our people. We have said this very clearly. What we will not allow is, for any kind of conflict to come across the border and we are prepared for that.”"

"On the wider issues covered in the piece, the broken global migration system is failing to protect the vulnerable, and empowering criminal smuggling gangs at an immeasurable human cost.”"

"We terminated our contract with Mr. Fane-Saunders’ company more than a year ago and the comments he made should be disregarded as they carry no weight,”"

"What I can say about the treaty that we are working on right now is that it will reemphasise the guarantees that are in the MoUs,"The provisions are already there. So, the reemphasising of these guarantees in the treaty will address the concerns of the court and will reassure anyone who has any worries about asylum seekers being sent back to the countries that they came from. They've already been addressed in the MoU. They will be reemphasised in the treaty.""

"Kigali entered the migration and economic development partnership "for the right reasons," including the need to address "bigger questions of inequality in opportunities" between the Global North and the South."

"This is ultimately a decision for the UK's judicial system. However, we do take issue with the ruling that Rwanda is not a safe third country for asylum seekers and refugees, in terms of refoulement,""

"“There is nothing compassionate about allowing this situation to continue, which is why Rwanda is proud to work in partnership with the UK government to provide a solution.”"

"Because of Rwanda’s recent history, our country has a deep connection to the plight of those seeking safety and opportunity in a new land. This has shaped Rwanda’s approach to migration and asylum issues, and it is why Rwanda is the right place to support those looking for sanctuary and opportunity. “This continues to be central to Rwanda’s reconstruction journey. Discrimination of any form is not tolerated here. This is enshrined in our constitution and upheld by our commitments to the rule of law.”"

"What I can say about the treaty that we are working on right now is that we reinforce the guarantees that are in the MOU’s. So, it’ll be the provisions already there. The reinforcing of these guarantees in the treaty will address the concerns of the court and will reassure anyone who has any worries about asylum seekers being sent back to the country that they came from,”"

"“Those are being addressed or they’ve already been addressed in the MOU. They will just be reinforced in the treaty,” she said, adding that it is not to confirm that the fears raised by the court were real but rather an effort to give more assurances to those still in doubt."

"What we did object to is rather being portrayed as unsafe. Rwanda is a safe country in terms of refoulement, meaning sending asylum seekers back to the countries where they're persecuted. Rwanda does not do that. And this provision is included in the MoU."In order to address that concern, we will reemphasise it in the treaty that we're working on. So, that issue of being a safe country where asylum seekers will not be sent back is already being addressed and will be in the binding treaty.""

"“Something has to give and we are happy to be working on this solution with our UK partners,”"

"Rwanda and the UK operate from a position of mutual respect and open dialogue.“The Rwandan High Commissioner to the UK plays an important role in maintaining our strong bilateral relationship with the United Kingdom as we collaborate productively across many areas, including migration.”"

"There was “no truth whatsoever in Burundian President’s allegation referring to Rwanda.”"

"Rwanda is deeply concerned about the conflict that is taking place across the Western Province border, of which spillover effects continue to endanger the lives of Rwandan civilians residing in the area,"

"Our call is for everyone to commit to what was agreed on with Nairobi and Luanda Protocol so we can move towards peace and stability."

"“There are not many solutions. People are suffering, the asylum system is broken. It’s being taken advantage of by criminal gangs that are exploiting people, making false promises. People are risking their lives in these dangerous crossings,”"

"We will give them an opportunity to see what it’s like to live in this country. We do not consider living in Rwanda as a punishment. We don’t think anyone should,"

"MONUSCO, which has been in DRC since 1999, has since come under fire from Congolese populations who accuse it of failing the country. Until recently, MONUSCO had said that there is no evidence that Rwanda is involved in the renewed insurgency in Eastern DRC."

"“We will provide decent accommodation and look after all their essential needs. We also want to make it clear that if people apply for asylum in Rwanda and their claim is rejected, through the process that we will have here, they will still have a pathway to legal residency in Rwanda and we welcome people from everywhere,"

"The DRC government has failed to do its part to uphold these agreements that they signed. As a result, the conflict is prolonged and it puts people's lives in danger. And it continues the instability in this region that nobody wants. It is unnecessary.”"

"Girls should be passionate about what they study as passion drives them to thrive in the field. I assure them that hard work pays and nothing comes without trying. It is important to be confident, have a persistent spirit, and collaborate with others."

"Parents need awareness to know the benefits of technology and support their children. Technology is based on two things; skills and equipment. But it was good to see parents working hard to support their children through the technology learning journey. It was not easy, but during Covid-19 people learnt a lot,”"

"Change is not easy, and some resisted. However, after it became a rule, every lecturer adjusted and universities have changed to use a model platform. Covid-19 became like an accelerator,”"

"“If I had not joined the women chamber, I wouldn’t have gotten such eye-opening skills and business opportunities offered to members,”"

"Our wish is to see girls educated and transiting from one level of education to another and reach the level of getting PHDs like their brothers do."

"We are working closely with the Ministry of Education in terms of impleme ting policies and carrying out advocacy on the promotion of the girls’ education,"

"Abanyarwanda nibandika cyane ku gihugu cyabo bizatuma hatongera gutangazwa ibyanditswe n’abanyamahanga akenshi biba binyuranye n’ukuri kuko bizaba byanditswe na ba nyirabyo."

"The provision of sufficient, safe and reliable, cost efficient and environmentally appropriate energy Services to households in all public sector spaces is being prioritised in striving for Rwanda’s economic growth.”"

"I realized that my community didn’t have a school that grooms children with Christian values which will enable them to become God-fearing and upright citizens, thus the decision to make it part of the education at my school,"

"Ensuring sustainable economic development, improving the quality of life is very important for our citizens and also facilitating the function of different critical aspects of translating research into innovative solutions that positively impact the community”,"

"“Energy efficiency ensures the optimised use of available resources, so that we can maintain a high level of economic growth that is based on the principles of broad-based sustainable development”"

"I realized that the community didn’t have a school that grooms children with Christian values which will enable to become God-fearing and upright citizens, thus the decision to invest in this kind of education,"

"Girls’ education is the heart of FAWE’s activities, so whatever we are working on, we are committed to promote it,"

"UR inherited debts from the merged public institutions owed to its staff and other suppliers"

"They will be sharing the screening results with the EAC RCE-VIHSCM every quarter which in turn, will analyze the data and pass information/ evidence to the EAC Partner States to act on offending substandard and falsified medicines (SFM),"

"This will help plug seepage through our porous borders of SFM but hasten the sharing of life-saving information across our countries,"