The Ministry of Justice (MINIJUST) has informed various institutions in the country and international organizations that it is preparing a program that will be implemented by investors to help them respect human rights in their work in Rwanda.
The Minister of Justice, and the State Ambassador, Dr Emmanuel Ugirashebuja, says that investment has a positive effect on the development of the country, but that if it is not managed properly, it causes negative effects on the health and well-being of people.
Minister Ugirashebuja gives the example of a pesticide factory in India in Bhopal, where on December 2, 1984, the fumes of methyl isocyanate in the factory exploded, killing more than 16,000 people and injuring more than 558,000.
MINIJUST and the Rwanda Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) will establish measures that investors must comply with based on laws and studies conducted by various institutions.
Institutions that have found that investments in Rwanda are infringing on human rights, including the Rwanda Security Service (RSSB), says that in 376 private companies it visited in 2021/2022, it found requirements to protect people from accidents and diseases. less than 50% are from work.
The President of the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), Murungi Providence, says, “You see in the newspapers those who have been exploited by the mines and they are suffering, but if you go to the employers you will find that they have not prepared for them.”
Murungi says that the institutions have come together, and studies and campaigns have been carried out to help the private sector comply with the laws governing Human Rights and the Environment.
The Secretary of State in MINIJUST, Mbonera Theophile, says that they will take care of the impact of human activities on the environment and people’s lives, including the revision of the Law, so that the investor does not harm the citizen.
Mbonera said “There is also a desire to revise the Law on the relocation of people for reasons of public interest, so that it can solve the few problems that are left unsolved by the current one, because this is another example of investment that has negative consequences when all the requirements are not met.”
The Director of Law and Operations of the Board of Directors of the Private Sector (PSF), Marie Claire Uwase, says that they are going to convince employers to comply with the Labor Law and other laws.
Employees of various public and private institutions, representatives of their countries in Rwanda, Rwandan and International Organizations are called to help those who want to invest in Rwanda, to comply with the laws and regulations governing human rights.
