Africa Region Working Paper Series No. 59

Rwanda: The Search for Post-Conflict Socio-Economic Change, 1995-2001

Abstract

Rwanda is recovering from the genocide of 1994, a human tragedy that has few, if any parallels. Since July 1994, Rwanda has been engaged in an effort to rebuild its devastated society and economy, and have taken some bold and innovative measures to that effect. A change to elected governments at all levels is expected by end 2003, realizing a goal that was set in the negotiations of the Arusha Peace Accord in July 1993, before the genocide, though about eight years later than planned in Arusha. This forthcoming change in governance would be the culmination of an ambitious transition process that involved the resettlement and reintegration of over 3 million refugees and displaced persons, dialogue at national and local levels to promote national reconciliation and build the consensus for change, the liberalization of the economy through a program of economic reforms, the decentralization of government with a series of local elections to that effect, and the establishment and reinforcement of other governance institutions. This paper reviews the efforts on the social, political and economic spheres to overcome the legacies of the genocide and endemic poverty, and lay the foundation for a stable future and improving living standards.

The paper concludes that despite diversions such as the insurgencies from dissident exiles in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda’s involvement in the war in the DRC as well as the conflicts with Uganda, and the other obstacles such as the weak human and institutional capacity, Rwanda has made remarkable progress in the transition. Future peace and stability however depend on the management of ethnic relations in the country, the improvements in the living standards of the population, and evolution of the conflicts in the Great Lakes region and the recovery of the economies. These in turn depend on the implementation of the governance agenda, the economic reform program and the institutional capacity building efforts, the active pursuit by Rwanda and other countries of peace and regional integration in the Great Lakes region, and the strong support of the international community for the peace process and broad economic recovery in the region.

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