IGIHE

Category: News

  • UN-Open Day Celebrations Held

    {{The UN-Open Day celebrations in Rwanda were held at Kigali Institute of Education (KIE) as the UN celebrated its establishment on October 24, 1945.}}

    The celebrations attracted all institutions supported by One-UN-Rwanda, which exhibited their achievements, especially in women empowerment under the theme “Partnership for Peace.”

    Lamin Momodou Manhen, the United Nations Resident Coordinator-Rwanda, lauded the country’s tangible role in contributing to peace building in other countries and implementing the UN Security Council resolution 1325/2000.

    The resolution is aimed at protecting women and girls during and after armed conflicts, and to fully involve females in conflict prevention, management and resolution, peace building and reconciliation.

  • Man Attacked With Machette, Injured

    {{Police in Gasabo District has arrested Jean Bosco Munyankiko, 35, a resident of Ndera sector, Rushya cell, for assaulting and injuring a man with a machete.}}

    Munyankiko, who is currently held at Rusororo Police station, is alleged to have seriously injured Nzabandora Samuel 21, in the head with a machete.

    According to Police investigations, Munyankiko, who is a guardian at a cattle farm in Ndera, attacked Nzabandora with a machete, apparently accusing him of stealing grass in their farm.

    The incident took place on Wednesday night at about 9:30pm. The victim, who is alleged to have been stealing grass, was taken to Kibagabaga hospital for treatment.

    Supt Albert N. Gakara, Police Spokesperson-Central Region, condemned the act, adding that “it’s against the law.”

    He called upon the community to avoid taking matters into their own hands “as the principle of law stipulates that no one can render justice for himself.”

  • President Kagame Meets New Heads of UN, UNICEF,AfDB

    {{President Kagame received new heads of the United Nations, UNICEF and the African Development Bank. }}

    The President also met the CEO of IKEA Foundation, Per Heggens, who paid him a courtesy call.

    IKEA Foundation is UNICEF’s largest corporate partner in areas of education, child survival and disaster risk reduction.

    Lamin M. Manneh, a Gambian national, was appointed as the United Nations Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative in Rwanda on September 12.

    Prior to his appointment in Rwanda, Manneh served as the UN Resident Coordinator in Congo Brazzaville for four years.

    Since 1996, Lamin Manneh has served in several Senior Managerial Positions within the United Nations Development Programme, both at Headquarters as well as in Country Offices.

    Before serving UNDP, Lamin Manneh worked with the African Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund as well as with the Ministry of Economic Planning and the Central Bank in the Gambia.

    Negatu Makonnen, the new African Development Bank representative in Rwanda has been serving for 10 years at the AfDB Head Quarters in the Economic department.

    He has a PhD in Economics from Sweden. Prior to joining AfDB he worked with Government of Ethiopia.

    Before her appointment as UNICEF Representative to Rwanda, Noala Skinner, a UK national, served as UNICEF Representative to Montenegro.

    Skinner also served as Chief of Education with UNICEF in Hanoi, Vietnam before working as Project Officer for Education with UNICEF Headquarters in New York.

    Speaking to the press after the meeting, Lamin M. Manneh, the new United Nations Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative said his main objective was to improve the existing cooperation between UN agencies and the Government of Rwanda:

    “Rwanda is the country where everybody wants to be right now; we are all impressed by the progress under the dynamic leadership of President Kagame.

    Rwanda has not only risen from a disadvantaged position but it’s becoming a leading nation in the continent in areas of health, poverty reduction education, ICT, aid effectiveness and seriousness and commitment of leaders.

    The UN has failed in Rwanda and we don’t want this to happen again and we aim to provide impactful support for years to come.”

  • African Cooperatives Enhance Development

    {{While opening African Co-operative Ministerial Conference in Kigali, Prime Minister Dr. Pierre Damien Habumuremyi said strengthening cooperatives can play a crucial role in development of the continent.}}

    He said that giving consideration to cooperatives is very important, noting that this year of cooperatives has created an opportunity for the global Cooperative Movement and allowed governments to discuss and take resolutions on the future of cooperatives.

    The tenth International Co-operatives Alliance (ICA) conference whose theme, “Co-operative Enterprises Build a Better Africa” will discuss how the alliance can function as a relevant organisation.

    Rwanda’s minister of Trade and Industry, Francois Kanimba, assumed the chair of African Co-operative Ministerial Conference replacing a Kenyan Joseph Nyangah.

    The president of ICA, Dame Poline Green, urged participants to join and strengthen their cooperatives as they are important to national development.

  • Rwanda Foreign Missions to Have EAC Desks

    {{Rwanda’s Minister of EAC, Monique Mukaruliza has said the government will establish information desks in its diplomatic missions in all the partner states of the East African Community (EAC) to provide information helping Rwandans who would want to start up businesses in the countries.}}

    She was briefing journalists about the upcoming EAC Week.

    Mukaruliza added that the information desks will help to know how many Rwandans have invested in (EAC) member countries and it’s important to know how they are treated and their performance as integration process deepens.

    Recent figures from the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) show that over 60 regional companies have invested in the country over the last 10 years.

    The aim of the EAC Week is to highlight the country’s achievements, progress, and challenges from EAC integration as well as urging local governments to mainstream EAC integration into their development plans.

    The Week organised under the theme: Mainstreaming EAC integration into National Development plans”.

  • African Youth Decade Alliance to launch 5 & 5 Campaign

    {{The African Youth Decade Alliance (AYDA) is launching a big campaign in Africa, which is developed and run by African youth for the benefit of African youth and through African youth.}}

    African Youth Decade Alliance aims to reach 100 million African youth.

    The campaign will be launched on African Youth Day, in November 1, 2012, at Intercontinental Hotel in Addis Ababa. Representatives from Continental and International organisations, youth organisations, embassies and diplomatic missions based in Addis Ababa will attend this continental event.

    The Five and Five Campaign will raise awareness of African youth and increase their contribution to the implementation of the Youth Decade Plan of Action (DPoA), in order to accelerate youth development and empowerment in Africa.

    The campaign will also mobilize youth participation in the regional International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Beyond 2014 review process.

    The Guest of Honour at the campaign’s launch will be, Archbishop Ndungane, who is the Founder and President of African Monitor, former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town.

    The campaign will be implemented in partnership with: African Monitor, Africa 2.0, CIVICUS, IFAPA-Youth Desk, Solidridge, Network of African Youth for Development, Talent Youth Association, You-Monitor, Southern Africa Youth Movement, South African Youth Council, Association Jeunesse Vertes du Cameroun, Nahdet El Mahrousa of Egypt:

    Also through One Young World African Network, International Young Catholic Students, No One Left Behind, Organization of African Youth, Allied Youth Initiative, Northern Youth Networking Organisation, African Youth Trust, Rwandan Youth Organisations Networks, Blooming Africa, Nurture Youth Association, Impinyuza Cultural Group, Tender Hearts, West African Youth Network, and other organisations who are yet to come on board.

    African Youth Decade Alliance is a continental platform that was established in November 2011, during a consultative meeting with leaders of youth organizations, networks and associations in the 5 sub-regions of Africa.

  • ICC Prosecutor Meets Kenya Violence Victims

    {{The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has visited victims of the violence that followed Kenya’s 2007 election.}}

    Fatou Bensouda says she was concerned about ICC witnesses being intimidated ahead of a criminal trial at The Hague in the Netherlands.

    In her first official visit to Kenya, Bensouda sat surrounded by some of the 350,000 people displaced by the deadly violence in 2007-2008, still living in a camp of tightly packed tents known as “Pipeline Camp” in the Rift Valley, one of the hardest-hit areas.

    The next general election is expected within the next six months, but Bensouda sought to distance herself from Kenya’s restive domestic political scene.

    “Ours is a judicial process and what we want to do is to bring justice,” she said. “Justice for those who suffered the post-election violence. It is a separate process. It is not part of the elections. It is not part of the politics.”

  • Embassy Life Like ‘a Space Station,’ Assange Says

    {{Four months holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London has been “a little like living in a space station” but beats prison, fugitive WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Thursday.}}

    Assange sought refuge in the embassy in June, after losing a court battle against extradition to Sweden. Since then, he has been living in a single room with a frosted-glass window while the business of the diplomatic mission goes on around him.

    “It’s a little like living in a space station, because there’s no natural light and you’ve got to make all your own stuff. You can’t go out to shops and so on,” Assange told CNN in an interview Thursday.

    “But I have been in solitary confinement. I know what life is like for prisoners. It’s a lot better than it is for prisoners.”

    Embassy staffers would not allow CNN to view his living quarters, but Assange appeared relaxed and healthy despite his restricted circumstances.

    His comments came the same day WikiLeaks began disclosing a new round of U.S. military documents dealing with handling prisoners in American military custody.

    Ecuador granted Assange asylum in August, amid a diplomatic row between the United Kingdom and his South American hosts.

    British courts have approved his extradition to Sweden, and Assange faces arrest if he sets foot outside the embassy.

    Assange has not been charged with a crime, but Sweden has said it wants to question him about allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman there.

    Assange has denied the allegations and says they’re a ruse to get him to Sweden, which would then extradite him to the United States.

    Though the first of the newly published documents include no bombshells, Assange said the records his group will put out are “documents of incredible historical importance” and demonstrate a “climate of unaccountability” within the U.S. government.

  • WorldBank: Africa Could Feed Itself

    {{Africa could feed itself if trade restrictions were reduced and fertile land was put to good use, and according to the World Bank almost 20 million people are affected by hunger in the Sahel region of West Africa, the bank says.}}

    WB says removing cross-border barriers would free up trade, reduce prices and generate billions of dollars for African governments.

    Trade restrictions also raise the price of food to consumers and reduce the incentive for farmers to produce, as they receive only a small proportion of the end price.

    High transport costs, including roadblocks and bribes at border posts, as well as strict rules restricting the use of high yielding seeds and more effective fertilisers, exacerbated the problem, the bank said.

  • Letter to Igihe.com Readers

    {{Dear readers of igihe.com,}}

    I am happy to share with you some ideas about execution of foreign judgments in the Republic of Rwanda.

    Due to Rwanda’s open policy and commitments to contribute positively to international justice, peace and security, Rwanda has made major political and policy decisions, which we wish all Rwandans to understand.

    In terms of international peace keeping missions, Rwanda contributes troops in international trouble spots, where Rwandans, sons and daughters, risk their lives in the quest of international stability, peace, law and order.

    Rwanda does this consciously and has accepted to pay the cost that it entails.

    Similarly, in terms of justice, Rwanda has signed treaties and memorandum of understanding with different international actors, including the ICTR, the UN Special Court for Sierra Leone, bilateral engagements, etc., to have foreigners serve their sentences in Rwanda, as part of executing foreign courts judgments on the Rwandan national territory.

    It follows therefore that if MrRajat Gupta is sentenced and ordered by the Court to serve his sentence in Rwanda, Rwanda would have no objection to such order by the Court.

    It is in the same spirit that there are Sierra Leoneans serving their sentences in Rwanda.

    It is equally in the same way that some Rwandans sentenced by the ICTR in Arusha are serving their sentences in countries like Mali and other countries. There is nothing new or strange in this.

    Rwanda will remain open to facilitate the cause of International Justice in accordance with the laws of this country, for as long as Rwanda sees value in its international obligation and national policy frameworks.

    If the United States of America court decides that Mr Gupta or any other American should serve their sentence in Rwanda, Rwanda would have no objection to executing that Court Order for as long as there is clear understanding between Rwanda and parties concerned on the modalities for executing such sentences in Rwanda.

    Thank you all for your understanding.

    {{Tharcisse KARUGARAMA

    Minister of Justice&Attorney General

    Republic of Rwanda}}