“Promotion of human rights crucial for development” - MP

“Promotion of human rights is crucial for socio-economic development to be attained in Rwanda,” Rwanda’s speaker of parliament, Vincent Biruta, said on Friday. The Rwanda News Agency (RNA) quoted him as saying human rights and development were so interdependent that there could never be sustainable socio-economic development in any society when respect for human rights was not given priority in policy formulation. Biruta also noted that there was a need to implement the UN Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. “When we in developing countries talk about human rights, attention is paid to the civil and political rights yet the economic, social and cultural rights are equally crucial for the well-being of persons in poor nations,” he said. As a signatory to the UN Convention, Biruta highlighted that Rwanda has tried to incorporate international norms within its domestic law to ensure implementation of the Convention. He drew attention to the challenge for developing nations to avail material resources to their citizens for their socio-economic well-being, adding that realisation of economic, social and cultural rights require mutual cooperation between developed and developing countries. Biruta’s declarations followed an appeal on Thursday by Noel Twagiramungu, president of the Forum for Tortured People in Rwanda, for the government of Rwanda to respect the UN Convention on Prevention of Torture, RNA reported. Odette Nyiramirimo, minister of state for local government and social affairs, said she would try to influence the government to ratify the UN Convention.