Remarks by His Excellency Paul KAGAME,

President of the Republic of Rwanda,

at the 14th Session of ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly

Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly – Hon Glenys Kinnock and Hon René Radembino-Coniquet;
Honourable Parliamentarians from Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific and Europe;
Excellencies;
Rwandan Government Officials
Ladies and Gentlemen:

I join my fellow Rwandans in welcoming you, distinguished members of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly to our country.

We realise that your Kigali Meeting is part of the long and rich history of promoting development in Africa, and the countries of the Caribbean and the Pacific.

It is therefore our pleasure to host you in Kigali in the same spirit with which we have collaborated for the past four decades – exchanging constructive views among friends and colleagues for ways of improving lives.

I am most certain that Rwandan parliamentarians and their compatriots will provide a conducive environment in which to address the issues on your agenda.

I understand that in this assembly you will examine the peace processes in Africa, including the situation in Somalia, Darfur and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as matters of international trade. This agenda demonstrates the relevance of your unique institution – we are keen to participate in this discussion especially since we are directly affected by these challenges.

In the case of Somalia, the international community has to do far more than we have done so far. It is simply unacceptable that we all watch while people die every day, in a situation made worse by the fact that Somalia has not had a functioning state for more than a decade.

In addressing this grave matter, you add voices to those of us calling for an immediate international intervention to maintain peace, in order to permit the Somali people to rebuild their country. We in Rwanda are making a modest contribution by training the Somali Security Forces.

The situation in Darfur has at times shown signs of improvement, more recently with the approval of the hybrid force of the United Nations and the African Union. However, this joint force needs to be urgently equipped, and properly mandated so that it can undertake its mission. Each delay means displacement of thousands of people and lost lives. Within our own capabilities, we continue to play our role as part of the noted hybrid force.

With regards to the Democratic Republic of Congo, it is the continued presence in that country of the forces that committed genocide in Rwanda that remains the underlying problem, compounded by governance deficit in the DRC, as well as what seems to be indifference or lack of focus on the part of the international community.

The agreement that Rwanda signed earlier this month, in which the DRC commits itself to resolving this problem, as well as the pledged support by the international community is cause for optimism – notwithstanding the well-known history of broken promises.

I acknowledge and appreciate very much the strong stance taken by the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly by passing a resolution calling for the disarmament of the negative forces in the DRC.

We in Rwanda are now in our fourteenth year of socioeconomic reconstruction – I hope that you will get a sense of some of our modest achievements while you are here with us.

On the economic front, under our open and liberal policies, Rwanda’s economy continues to grow, on the basis of both domestic and foreign investment.

In addition to our traditional agricultural economic base, tourism, ICT, and mining are making an important contribution in creating prosperity in Rwanda. We still face considerable economic challenges, notably in such sectors as transportation, energy and in expanding our human resources base for public and private sector efficiency and effectiveness. We are determined, however, to meet these difficulties by making more investments in these areas.

We continue to build our national institutions, including our law-making organs, such as Parliament. We are keen that our oversight institutions have adequate capabilities to lead us in their respective competencies and responsibilities.

These accomplishments are due to the resilience of Rwandan people, but we would not have made such progress without support from our African and international partners, including the European Union.
One of our principal challenges has been in the fields of justice and reconciliation.

In the case of justice, as you may know, neither the classic legal infrastructure in Rwanda, nor the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda could provide viable solutions because of the sheer numbers involved. It was estimated that it would have taken the conventional court system more than a century to successfully try genocide suspects due to sheers numbers involved.

An alternative approach had to be found, and this is how the Gacaca court system was instituted. I am pleased to tell you that Gacaca has served its purpose, and will come to a close at the end of this year.

It is important to point out, furthermore, that Gacaca is more than a justice system – it is also a cornerstone for reconciliation among Rwandans as it is designed to foster mediation through open debate, reparations and acts of contrition.

On economic and trade issues I encourage you to have a robust discussion during this meeting. This should be contextualised in the ongoing preparations for the European Union/Africa Summit scheduled for Lisbon next month.

It is at this Summit that African and European leaders are set to adopt a comprehensive strategy encompassing political, social and economic relationships between our two continents. The views from your consultations here in Kigali can make a very valuable contribution, especially if communicated in a timely fashion to respective continental leaders.

These discussions are very important for our continent – trade and investment are central to our strategy for lifting Africa and the countries of the Caribbean and the Pacific out of poverty into greater prosperity.

In you, we have friends and colleagues that will continue to ensure that Europe commits itself to open markets and fair trade in addition to its historical relationship with Africa and the countries of the Caribbean and the Pacific.

We in Rwanda are delighted to host this 14th Session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly. I trust that our partnership grows even stronger and lead to concrete results.

I wish you a productive session and look forward to the outcomes of your deliberations.