The plan acknowledges the complexities accompanying the influx of population in a country. It points to influxes influenced by wars, social conflicts, and the various forms of natural calamities. It serves as a guideline for effective management of population influx and its accompanying issues to ensure the safety of both the host communities and migrating population.

The contingency plan relates to the western part of Rwanda mostly and Rwanda generally. The western part sits close to a region prone to eruption from two active volcanoes. It notes the eruption of one of the volcanoes in 2002, which although did not elicit lava flow into Rwanda, led to the influx of people into Rwanda. The plan thus seeks to beef up Rwanda’s preparedness and response systems towards any future occurrence. It clearly spells out the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders if such need arises.

The contingency plan, like all other contingency plans, aims to minimise the loss of lives and properties, as well as effects on the environment, that could arise as a result of uncertainty and poor preparations. This plan on earthquake covers activities to be effected in the case of an earthquake occurrence, based on history and geological activities, especially in the rift valley region. It also makes provisions for the aftermath effects of earthquakes; aftershocks, landslides, and fire outbreaks.

Terrorist attacks and incidents have become rampant in the world. They include explosive attacks, hostage-taking, chemical and biological attacks, and other terrorist attacks. The plan arises as a result of the perceived risky position of Rwanda, in terms of its regional position, regional security, and political background. It thus highlights the structures and processes crucial to ensure heightened preparedness and responsiveness to terrorist-related attacks.

This serves as the implementation of the fire safety response measures. It assesses the fire risks and ensures prompt response to fire incidents as they arise. “The contingencies contained therein are consistent with the areas of
delivery of fire services that are recommended for review by Rwanda National Police (co-lead), Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Natural Resources, Rwanda Defence forces, Ministry of Health, Rwanda National Police (Fire and Rescue Brigade), Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority, and the ministry of local government.

The ministerial instructions relate to the management of refugees and refugee camps. The activities prohibited in refugee camps include; political activities, biased or sectarian gatherings, military-related activities, neglect of parental duties, all activities without prior authorization, use of false identification, ownership or possession of any weapon, unlawful riots, drug use and trafficking, and theft of all forms.

The importance of family as a tool for social cohesion and social order is prominently recognised by the government of Rwanda. The national policy is to serve as a framework for monitoring and implementing programs to protect and support families in Rwanda.

The adverse effects arising from the 1994 genocide, chronic poverty, and the threat of HIV threatens the fundamental right that ought to be enjoyed by various orphans and vulnerable children in Rwanda. The 4-year strategic plan works to integrate issues relating to orphans and vulnerable children into all national policies and implementation frameworks, to ensure children’s rights are realised today and in the future.

The 1994 genocidal activities against the Tutsis have destroyed the social fabrics of the Rwandan people, leaving children without the necessary family love and affection they need. Widows and orphans have also been forced to take on the role of household heads, usually played by parents and men. The government of Rwanda recognises the importance of family as a bedrock of sustainable development. The 4year strategic plan aims to continue promoting family as the basis of Rwanda society.

Transformation of the country from an agriculture-based to a knowledge-based, driven by a sound Rwandan population is the vision of the government. The plan recognises that the first 3 years are the most important in the life of a child and seeks to propose interventions to aid children in becoming the best version of themselves.

The government of Rwanda has placed a premium, and shown commitment towards gender equality and building an inclusive society. It has ensured the integration and mainstreaming of gender issues into all relevant national policies, guidelines, strategies, and interventions. However, the Rwandan culture limits the extent to which females mingle in society, thus limiting their access to mentorship opportunities to improve their chances in life. The national strategy, therefore, seeks to bridge this gap by providing a clear pathway for the conduct of mentorship programs for young women and girls.

The Rwanda national action plan builds on the implementation experiences of the previous action plan of 2009-2012. It is aligned with other national, regional, and international instruments, laws, and ratifications geared towards gender equality and women empowerment. Meaningful contribution of women in governance and all institutions is the objective of this plan.

The genocidal activities of 1994 had their toll on the citizens, especially women and girls. Gender-based violence threatens rights to education, health, wellbeing, legal, as well as economic rights. This strategic plan highlights the federal government’s resolve to address gender equality issues and general human rights, as its effect the socioeconomic development of the country.

This national plan for gender and family promotion leverages the experience garnered from the implementation of the first and second phases of the economic development and poverty reduction strategy (EDPRS). As the country transitions towards its new vision 2050, for attaining high-income status, the 6year strategic plan, being cross-cutting and multisectoral, seeks to facilitate the attainment of the national goals backed by a stable and harmonious family structure and gender-neutral and inclusive society. It pushes to achieve, among others: strengthened families, participation of women in governance, financial performance for women and girls, and effective management of child abuse and gender-based violence.

Gender-based violence in Rwanda is linked to several factors, including; cultural beliefs, traditions, and the genocidal activities of 1994. The policy addresses the misconception around the concept of gender applying to women alone, the issues of awareness creation, reporting system, as well as coordination and harmonisation efforts. The policy seeks to maximise the capacity to prevent and respond to gender-based violence, as a tool to socioeconomic development and promotion of human rights.

This represents the national policy for addressing issues related to orphans and other vulnerable children. It makes provisions for the trampling of the human rights of these groups of children. It generally aims to ensure children grow up in environments that help them blossom into their best forms.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines social security as “a set of public measures that a society provides for its members to protect them against economic and social distress that would be caused by the absence or substantial reduction of income from work as a result of various contingencies like sickness, maternity, employment injury, unemployment, invalidity, old age, death and health care”. The policy assesses the current situation of social security in Rwanda, to propose interventions at ameliorating the conditions of Rwandans arising from risks and uncertainties.

The national integrated child rights policy serves as the coordinated and harmonised policy of the government relating to all activities covering children’s rights. It is backed by the need to improve the rights of children to health, education, and protection, as a consequence of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis. It is guided by 7 principles: every child matters, children are a priority, children deserve the best, children can, and should participate, exploitation and abuse of children should not be tolerated, the government should be accountable, and coordination of all actions.

The plan guides all actions channelled towards ameliorating the conditions of street children. It does not push for long term institutional care, as it seeks to promptly protect and reintegrate children into their families and/or communities, as well as prevent children from ending up on the streets. This relates to the rights of the child outlined in the 1989 International Convention ratified by Rwanda.

The strategy notes that despite the efforts and interventions of the government, a significant proportion of the population still lives in abject poverty, or are vulnerable to poverty. The strategy sets out interventions across 2 main spheres: regular and predicable cash transfer to support people living in, and vulnerable to poverty; and ensuring unhindered and unconditional access to basic public services such as education and health.