All inmates in Rwanda are enjoying human rights provided for by the Laws.
This was said by the Commissioner General of Rwanda Correctional Services (RCS) George Rwigamba during the 8th International Conference of Cure International and Good News of Peace and Development Rwanda held in Kigali on 22nd May 2018.
The conference discussed human rights and especially inmate’s rights and improvement of prisons.
The conference brought together participants from 10 African countries. It was an opportunity for Rwanda to show all the participants how inmates’ rights are respected.
RCS CG Rwigamba assured participants that the rights of inmates are respected 100% and can have all that the law allows them to have.
“All inmates generally have the full rights, they have rights to get lawyers, rights to shelter and food, I can say that the inmates’ rights are respected 100%,” he said
He also faulted some of international communities with false reports that rights of inmates are violated.
“International communities say what they want but we have the human right commission in Rwanda that visits prisons and compiles the report every year,” he said
Piyo Nyakayiro, head of ‘Good News of Peace and Development Rwanda’, a Non-Governmental Organization that supports inmates said that Rwanda has uniqueness in promoting and respecting inmates’ rights.
“Those participants come to learn how Rwanda managed to address own issues after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and managed to help both perpetrators and survivors live in harmony and inmates are corrected in a way that respects universal human rights of inmates” he said
Charles Sullivan, the director of Cure International based in USA said they have come to learn from Rwanda.
“We share history with Rwanda as we have similar problems, we have inmates who committed serious crimes and there are always worries to release them, we are here to learn from Rwanda about how they managed to deal with the issue of such inmates,” he said
He added that in America, there are more inmates including those who were jailed while still young and they needed to learn how those can be released and live in harmony with the rest of the community
