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 By Clare Short:
We rarely hear stories of hope from Africa but Rwanda is a story of hope despite its terrible history.
READ CLARE SHORT'S WEBCHAT ON HER RETURN FROM RWANDA - 3 JULY 2003
Only nine years ago it suffered a terrible genocide with nearly one million of its eight million people slaughtered, under orders, by machete, whilst the world looked away and ignored the obligations we had signed up to under the Genocide Convention. Following the killing, the forces of the genocide were driven out of office and established themselves in Zaire - now renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo - from where they plot and arm themselves to return to Rwanda and complete the genocide. But despite all of this, Rwanda has been rebuilding. There is now peace and order across the whole country.
Rwanda has qualified for debt relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative and has economic reform and development programmes supported by the World Bank and the IMF. Pass books labelling each Rwandan a Hutu or Tutsi have been thrown away. There are more children in school than ever in the history of the country. And a start has been made in using a traditional system of village justice - known as Gacaca - to return those charged with lesser offences during the genocide - to their villages where they can be sentenced to make restitution to those that they have harmed.
Of course Rwanda remains a very poor country and the memories and wounds of the genocide are still recent and deep. But a big effort is being made to end the culture of hatred and division that has led to outbreaks of genocidal killing culminating in the terrible events of 1994. The country has after a thorough consultation just voted to adopt a new constitution - with proportional representation, to get away from winner takes all politics and a requirement that President and Prime Minister come from different parties. Elections will be held in September.
Much remains to be done to secure a safe and dignified future for the long suffering people of this beautiful country - not least the implementation of Congo’s peace agreement and the disarmament of the forces of the genocide. But if Rwanda continues to make progress in reconciliation, economic and social development as it has in the last six years then there is real hope of a future without strife and genocidal killing. And if Rwanda can emerge from hell and make such progress then there is hope for the 20% of Africa’s people suffering injury, displacement and impoverishment as a result of bitter history, poor leadership and endless conflict.
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