JUSTICE MINISTRY WELCOMES RULE OF LAW DIALOGUE,

UNCLAS KIGALI 000199

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/C, DRL, AND G/TIP

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV ELAB RW
SUBJECT: JUSTICE MINISTRY WELCOMES RULE OF LAW DIALOGUE,
CONSIDERS TRAFFICKING A RELATIVELY LIMITED PROBLEM



1. Summary: In a meeting February 27 with the Ministry of
Justice, Ambassador expressed his desire to engage the
Rwandan government on a range of important issues, including
rule of law, democracy and governance. Secretary General
Johnston Busingye welcomed the opportunity for further
dialogue on these issues. He pointed out that while
trafficking in persons is not a widespread problem in
Rwanda, the GOR is looking at ways to address the situation,
including focusing more on prosecution and detention and
less on rehabilitation in the coming year. End summary.


2. In a meeting February 27 at the Ministry of Justice,
Ambassador told Secretary General Johnston Busingye of his
many discussions with the GOR on working cooperatively on a
range of issues, including rule of law, democracy and
governance. In recent weeks, he has engaged several senior
officials, including the Special Envoy to the President for
the Great Lakes Region, the Foreign Minister, the Supreme
Court President, and the Police Commissioner General, on
issues related to the judiciary, human rights, and
supervision of police. He hoped that the GOR and USG could
build on those initial meetings for further constructive
dialogue. Busingye agreed on the need for further
engagement and welcomed the idea.


3. In discussing the trafficking question, Ambassador
informed Busingye that "trafficking," as specifically
defined by the USG, includes prostitutes under the age of
18, whether they are trafficked across the border or by an
organized criminal network within the country. He iterated
his understanding from an earlier meeting with the Police
Commissioner that prostitutes in Rwanda are not sent to
prison or detention centers but are encouraged to be
rehabilitated.


4. Busingye pointed out that prostitution is illegal under
the Rwandan Penal Code, but that no one has been prosecuted
and detained for prostitution in the last 12 years. He
explained that since 1994 police and prosecutors have had
greater latitude in making decisions on how to handle
specific kinds of crime due to the heavy caseload of
genocide-related crime. He noted that the GOR, in
coordination with a consortium of NGOs, including Sharing
Rwanda, has a very active program to rehabilitate
prostitutes into respectable, responsible citizens and that
it has succeeded in introducing many of them to a different
way of life. Given the limited extent of prostitution, if
the rehabilitation program succeeds, so much the better, he
said. He acknowledged, however, that some prostitutes,
despite rehabilitation efforts, will return to prostitution.


5. Up till now, the GOR has taken "the carrot" approach in
its attempts to rehabilitate prostitutes, remarked Busingye.
In 2006, however, the GOR plans to adopt a more punitive
approach, using "the stick" and asking prosecutors to pursue
these cases. Currently, police round up prostitutes, write
up the files, but then release them. Cases have not gone to
court because prosecutors have decided not to prosecute due
to the overburdened court system. Busingye said the focus
has necessarily been on rehabilitation rather than
prosecution and detention. In 2006, the GOR plans to focus
not only on those who want to reform, but on repeat
offenders. He emphasized that the judiciary should render
judgments to serve not only as punishment but as a message.


6. When asked about houses of prostitution and organized
leaders and rings, Busingye confirmed that to his knowledge
none exist and that prostitution is very much an individual
situation in Rwanda, without bosses taking a percentage of
pay. He pointed out that if there were structured groups or
organized networks, many prostitutes would simply refuse to
seek an alternative lifestyle. He attributed an estimated
98 percent of prostitution to "a way of life" as the result
of a disadvantaged upbringing, with little or no education,
unwanted pregnancy, or lack of parental care and guidance.
He observed that poverty and prostitution are intricately
interlinked.


7. There are a range of alternative measures, ranging from
preventive to punitive, to address the situation. Measures
to prevent continued illicit activity by prostitutes include
restraining orders to keep them at home and probation to
closely monitor their activities. According to Busingye,
punitive measures in the 1982 penal code include
imprisonment of 3 months to one year and a fine of RwF 5,000
(approx. USD 9) for repeat offenders; imprisonment of three
months to five years for those who entice others into
prostitution; imprisonment of 6 months to 6 years and a fine
of RwF 5,000 (approx. USD 9) for those who procure
prostitutes; and imprisonment of one to five years for those
who financially benefit from the proceeds.


8. Ambassador stressed that the USG takes trafficking in
persons very seriously and hoped that Rwanda, within its
capacity, would do its part to address the worldwide
problem. He provided Busingye a draft copy of an anti-
trafficking bill from an African country as an example of
legislation the GOR may wish to consider. Busingye
expressed appreciation and said the GOR would consider
carefully the question of introducing similar legislation.
He noted that all government bodies involved in the issue
would need to carefully review the document and to reach
consensus before any further action can be taken. He
encouraged Embassy to also share copies of the anti-
trafficking bill with other relevant GOR ministries.
(Comment: Embassy will do so. End comment.)


9. While the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Gender, and
Ministry of Internal Security are the government agencies
formally involved in the issue of prostitution, local
leaders are also mandated to mobilize resources to combat
prostitution and to strengthen women's education. Busingye
said that the GOR has not yet designated a lead agency on
this issue, but that the police have been the most active in
rounding up prostitutes and the Ministry of Internal
Security has generally taken the lead. In addition, he
noted that a parliamentary women's forum established in
early 2005 and chaired by parliamentarian Judith Kanakuze
has been very active in strengthening girls' education,
taking actions against prostitution, domestic violence, and
rape, and exerting pressure at the local level. Last year,
it held a meeting with international organizations to
discuss domestic violence and other issues affecting women.
This year, it plans to work with the Ministry of Justice on
updating the penal code.


10. On an unrelated note, when asked about the volume and
pace of gacaca cases to be tried in the conventional court
system this year, Busingye observed that the number of cases
processed in Rwanda's court system has more than doubled
since last year. However, there is still a large number of
genocide-related cases. He said that the Ministry may have
to recategorize Category I cases (the most serious category
of genocide-related crimes) or increase the number of judges
to avoid overburdening the judiciary if it determines that
the genocide caseload is too high. He estimated that the
current total caseload is 47,000 pending cases, including
non-genocide related cases. In response to a query from the
Ambassador, Busingye confirmed that Rwanda's Constitution
grants the President ultimate authority to pardon prisoners,
upon recommendation of the Ministry of Justice and in
consultation with the Cabinet.


11. Comment: Widespread poverty in Rwanda's socio-economic
fabric has been identified as a significant contributing
factor in incidents of prostitution; however, trafficking in
persons remains a discrete, individualized problem with no
reported connections to organized crime or networks. The
GOR acknowledges that its focus on rehabilitation of
prostitutes may not have been fully successful and is
prepared to take a harder, broader approach to the problem
through prosecution and detention of traffickers and repeat
offenders.

ARIETTI