{"id":394,"date":"2011-11-09T10:11:17","date_gmt":"2011-11-09T09:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.interpeace.org\/2011\/11\/09\/rwanda-promoting-peace-effectively\/"},"modified":"2015-07-30T15:53:52","modified_gmt":"2015-07-30T13:53:52","slug":"rwanda-promoting-peace-effectively","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.interpeace.org\/fr\/2011\/11\/rwanda-promoting-peace-effectively\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwanda: Promoting peace effectively..."},"content":{"rendered":"

Interpeace and its local partner in Rwanda, the Institute of Research and Dialogue for Peace (IRDP), have now received the results of an external evaluation of their peacebuilding programme covering 2009 to 2011.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn external evaluation is always a tough process to go through. We are delighted with the analysis of our achievements over the last three years,\u201d states Johan Svensson, Interpeace\u2019s Regional Director for Eastern and Central Africa. \u201cAnd the team of evaluators, Guus Meijer and Dr. Th\u00e9og\u00e8ne Bangwanubusa, got fully involved. Their evaluation provides valuable guidance as we continue to embed lasting peace in our society.\u201d<\/p>\n

IRDP was primarily set up to provide answers to the question \u2013 \u2018How to deal with the aftermath of genocide?\u2019 The evaluation report states: \u201cThis all-encompassing question reflects the total distrust that prevailed after the genocide and the problem of coexistence of Rwandans returning from different cultural backgrounds, with different identities and life experiences. Disregarding such a question would have perpetuated the seeds of conflict that escalated into the 1994 genocide. Interpeace local partner, IRDP, has been working on some of the most challenging of the issues since 2001.\u201c<\/p>\n

The report goes on to define the continuing challenge: \u201cDespite the fact that the country has made tremendous progress in many domains and is seemingly \u2018at peace\u2019. There is still an element of mistrust among people, the Government still needs to reinforce its ability to listen to the people, and the fundamental principles of democracy are not fully applied, so IRDP\u2019s work on the themes of Governance, Citizens\u2019 Participation and Ethnic Identity and Social Cohesion remains highly relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Experienced evaluators focused on IRDP\u2019s work and impact for a month<\/strong><\/p>\n

The two external evaluators, Guus Meijer and Dr. Th\u00e9og\u00e8ne Bangwanubusa, spent about a month analyzing the programme directly on the ground which ended two weeks ago. Guss has conducted numerous evaluations on peacebuilding programmes, mainly in Africa. Th\u00e9og\u00e8ne is a Rwandan sociologist and lecturer at the National University of Rwanda (NUR) in Butare, specializing in development and peace; he has conducted evaluations and other consultancies for a range of Rwandan agencies and organizations. They conducted interviews with 29 people, considered documentation of the programme and directly participated in some of IRDP\u2019s activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe evaluation concludes that the IRDP\/Interpeace Peacebuilding Programme continues to be of great strategic relevance for the prospects of peacebuilding in Rwanda.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Page v of the <\/em> Evaluation Report of the IRDP\/Interpeace Rwanda programme<\/a><\/p>\n

Positive overall findings<\/strong><\/p>\n

The overall findings are highly positive. The evaluation concludes that \u201cthe solutions sought by IRDP are not \u201cmiracles\u201d, but realistic, achievable measures towards reconciliation, and it sees its peacebuilding programme as a work-in-progress. \u201cPeace\u201d is not treated as something abstract, but as linked to very real and tangible issues that emerge from the research.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe IRDP\/Interpeace Peacebuilding Programme continues to be of great strategic relevance for the prospects of peacebuilding in Rwanda. It has succeeded in bringing into the open a number of highly sensitive and controversial issues, yet of crucial importance for the future of peace in the country; in the process, it has engaged a broad range of people in growing numbers, from youth in schools and universities and ordinary \u201cpeople on the hills\u201d to local authorities and the main decision-makers at national level. In particular, it has uniquely succeeded in bringing groups of the Rwandan diaspora around the world into this ongoing and ever widening dialogue. Its approach of participatory research and action, its inclusiveness, its moral authority and credibility, its constant search for viable solutions based on a broad consensus \u2013 all these elements together have made it possible for IRDP to break new ground in opening up spaces for debate and dialogue in Rwandan society and make concrete and constructive contributions to official policymaking.\u201c <\/em>Page v of the <\/em> Evaluation Report of the IRDP\/Interpeace Rwanda programme (PDF)<\/a><\/p>\n

Taking the right approach<\/strong><\/p>\n

The evaluators confirm in the report the key elements of the Interpeace-IRDP approach: \u201d ...its consultative and participatory aspect, its non-confrontational and constructive style and its focus on finding solutions, the way any criticism is always backed up by research (\u201cevidence-based\u201d) and its high level of inclusiveness.\u201d Page 21 of the <\/em> Evaluation Report of the IRDP\/Interpeace Rwanda programme (PDF)<\/a><\/p>\n

Tackling some of the most sensitive issues<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the biggest achievements of Interpeace\u2019s and IRDP\u2019s work in Rwanda is the initiation of open discussion of highly sensitive and controversial issues that are of crucial importance in the peacebuilding process. The programme also managed to engage a high number of Rwandans, especially with youth in schools and universities.<\/p>\n

IRDP is bridging the gap between local decision-makers and the national level<\/strong><\/p>\n

The evaluators stressed that IRDP\u2019s approach builds bridges between \u201cordinary \u2018people on the hills\u2019, local authorities and the main decision-makers at the national level\u201d. \u201cIts approach puts IRDP in the position of intermediary between ordinary \u201cpeople on the hills\u201d and government bodies, able to capture the gaps and shortcomings of government policies and channel them upwards (\u201cacting as people\u2019s real spokesperson\u201d)\u201d. Another extraordinary feature of the programme, that the evaluators highlighted, is that it successfully engaged large parts of the Rwandan diaspora in the dialogue about the future of Rwandan society.<\/p>\n

IRDP increases levels of trust in Rwandan society<\/strong><\/p>\n

The evaluators conclude that IRDP is \u201c.... certainly contributing to higher levels of trust in society, of citizen\u2019s participation in democratic governance and of public authorities\u2019 accountability. By carefully monitoring and navigating the political space, IRDP has succeeded in safeguarding its neutrality and independence and thus remaining a legitimate interlocutor for all stakeholders and a credible advocate for its evidence- and consensus-based proposals for constructive changes towards a more just and peaceful Rwanda.\u201d Page v of the <\/em>Evaluation Report of the IRDP\/Interpeace Rwanda programme.
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Recommendations <\/strong><\/p>\n

The evaluators also included a range of recommendations for IRDP and Interpeace to consider in order to strengthen the programme even further:<\/p>\n