Adequate prisoner rehabilitation and reintegration is key to maintaining peace and cohesion within and across families and communities in Rwanda, given its tragic past of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Prisoner rehabilitation that takes into consideration the social and emotional well-being of prisoners, especially those convicted for crimes related to the genocide, and ensures they can acquire hands-on skills will contribute to their effective reintegration, reduce recidivism, and foster social cohesion among Rwandans. It is particularly important now because, 28 years after the genocide, a significant proportion of genocide perpetrators have completed their sentences and returned to their communities.

On November 10, 2022, Interpeace handed over to the Rwanda Correctional Service (RCS) a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) training facility and equipment constructed in Bugesera Prison, Eastern Rwanda, as part of its support to prisoner rehabilitation and reintegration in Rwanda. The TVET facility was constructed in line with the "Reinforcing Community Capacities for Social Cohesion and Reconciliation through Societal Trauma Healing in Bugesera District" pilot programme, funded by the European Union (EU) and co-implemented by Interpeace and Prison Fellowship Rwanda.

It will enable prisoners to learn technical and practical skills in various trades, such as welding and tailoring. Those skills will help them earn a living upon release and effectively integrate into their families and communities.

The training facility will follow the Rwanda TVET Board curriculum taught in all TVET schools across the country. Upon completion of the curriculum, trained prisoners will obtain an official certificate issued by the Ministry of Education through the Rwanda TVET Board, which will enable them to easily integrate into the job market after release.

One of the prisoners, who is part of the first cohort of 60 students, is confident that being enrolled in the training programme has started to boost his self-confidence as a functional member of society.

"I was worried about how I was going to catch up with the significant changes that occurred during my 10 years in prison and how I was going to integrate back into the job market so I could provide for myself and my family. This TVET facility is a timely solution for my worries." He emphasized.

The training facility will benefit more than 3000 prisoners who are detained in Bugesera prison.

Interpeace also handed over to Rwanda Correctional Service standardized curriculum that will guide the adequate rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners. Validated in July 2022, the curriculum was developed with financial support from Interpeace and will be implemented in all prisons across the country. More on the curriculum here: http://bit.ly/3Ex2CzL

Kayitare Frank, Interpeace Country Representative in Rwanda, stated that both the TVET training facility in Bugesera Prison and the developed curriculum complement the work Interpeace and its partners have been doing to address post-genocide challenges related to mental health, social cohesion, and livelihoods in Rwanda.

The Commissioner General of RCS, Commissioner General of Prisons Juvenal Marizamunda, appreciates the partnership with Interpeace and the European Union that has significantly contributed to achieving RCS’s goal of transforming prisoners into productive members of society and contributing to fostering social cohesion among Rwandans.

The Ambassador of the EU to Rwanda, Belen Calvo Uyarra, who graced the handover event, applauded the initiative, saying, "I am very pleased to note that this initiative is part of our flagship programme being implemented by Interpeace to foster social cohesion in Rwanda." "I am sure that this facility will empower inmates to become productive members of society upon their release." Said Her Excellency Uyarra.

Similar support will be extended to five more districts in Rwanda, namely: Musanze, Nyamagabe, Ngoma, Nyabihu, and Nyagatare (including the prisons in those districts) with funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

Women correction officers constitute one quarter of the workforce of the Rwanda Correctional Service (RCS). Alongside their male counterparts, they play a pivotal role in rehabilitating and reintegrating prisoners in the community. However, many challenges still hinder their professional performance and career growth.

On 20 September 2022, the RCS organised the 3^rd Rwanda Correctional Service Women Convention, in partnership with Interpeace and RCS’s local partner, the Dignity in Detention Organization (DIDE). The Convention aims to promote gender equality and accountability in the correctional sector.

The two-day event was timely because it occurred a few months after validation of the Curriculum for Prisoner Rehabilitation and Reintegration on 20 July 2022. The Curriculum was jointly developed by Interpeace and RCS, with the technical assistance of the Institute for Legal Practice and Development (ILPD). To implement the curriculum effectively and successfully will require the efforts of all RCS staff members and other stakeholders.

Speaking at the event, the Commissioner General of RCS, CGP Juvenal Marizamunda, explained that the convention’s first purpose was to enhance women’s empowerment in the RCS, in order to improve the performance of female correction officers as well as identify and address any challenges that they face while carrying out their duties.

Titled “Empowering female correction officers towards a professional career: a shared responsibility”, the conference enabled the participants to share professional experiences, information and good practices, and identify the needs and concerns of RCS female correctional officers as well as issues that impede their performance.

The Conference’s approach aligned with Interpeace’s Societal Trauma Healing Programme in Rwanda, funded by the European Union and the Government of Sweden through SIDA (Swedish International Development Agency).

The Societal Trauma Healing Programme includes a component that supports national efforts to rehabilitate and reintegrate prisoners, focusing particularly on those convicted for crimes related to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The rehabilitation component is led by DIDE and Prison Fellowship Rwanda, Interpeace’s local partners, which have set up healing spaces in prisons and strengthened the capacity of RCS staff members, including through psychoeducation.

Two of the main challenges that participants identified were the low representation of women in leadership positions in RCS units, and the limited access of women to learning opportunities.

The Curriculum aims to equip inmates and RCS staff with more knowledge in a range of areas, including human rights, legal awareness, family dynamics, the safe return of inmates, and positive connections with the community. It will help inmates and RCS staff to tackle some of the challenges that Conference participants identified, especially the need to strengthen capacity through training.

Rehabilitating and reintegrating prisoners remains a struggle in many countries and communities around the world, including Rwanda. In recent years, many Rwandan prisoners, especially those convicted of crimes related to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, have finished their terms and returned to their communities. Most individuals convicted of the most heinous genocide-related crimes and sentenced to between 20 and 30 years in jail are expected to be released within the next four to five years. According to Rwanda Correctional Service (RCS) statistics, this number exceeds 20,000 people.

RCS has made remarkable efforts over the past several decades to improve the well-being of convicts, including the implementation of numerous rehabilitation and reintegration programmes. However, serious issues persisted. For instance, there was a lack of a national curriculum, particularly regarding the psychosocial preparation of soon-to-be-released inmates, as well as a strong coordination structure between the many actors involved in the rehabilitation process.

On July 20, 2022, RCS and Interpeace launched a comprehensive curriculum which is a 6-month certificate programme divided into eight key modules and each module focuses on the different themes. Those modules include interpersonal skills and conflict management; physical and mental wellness; career development and entrepreneurship; drug and substances abuse education; human rights and legal awareness; family dynamics; civic education and genocide ideology, and safe return and connection with family and society. It will be implemented in all 13 prisons across the country by RCS staff members in collaboration with RCS stakeholders. The curriculum was developed with technical assistance from Interpeace as part of the European Union-funded programme "Reinforcing community capacity for social cohesion and reconciliation through Societal Trauma Healing in Bugesera District." It will serve as guiding tool to correctional officers and partners to ensure effective psychosocial rehabilitation and reintegration of inmates into their families and communities.

Studies have indicated that without an appropriate psychosocial rehabilitation and reintegration programme, released convicts may continue to experience feelings of humiliation, worthlessness, guilt, sadness, and a skewed self-image, all of which may impact their social lives in the community. In most cases, ex-prisoners face rejection by their families and communities, especially by community members who are not ready to receive them due to their crimes. The dismissal and lack of community support drive some to relocate to other places where they are not known. This may exacerbate social tensions by triggering fear and anxiety, particularly among genocide survivors.

According to the baseline research conducted prior to the development of this curriculum, the existing programmes are predominantly informal and not uniformly implemented in all prisons. They are provided by a range of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and some governmental institutions rather than by RCS employed staff. The new curriculum consolidates and harmonizes existing initiatives and programmes and incorporates elements of relevant good practices identified from other contexts.

Frank Kayitare, the Country Representative of Interpeace in Rwanda, indicated that the research revealed the urgency of having a harmonized approach to prisoner rehabilitation and reintegration as part of trauma healing in the country.

"Re-integrating ex-prisoners for genocide-related crimes ranked among the highest challenges identified by families and communities in the survey. Difficulties for ex-prisoners and their immediate families to sufficiently reconnect, worsening anxiety among genocide survivors in the communities where these ex-genocide perpetrators are reintegrated; and the challenge of ex-prisoners adapting to a fundamentally changed society in many respects, including gender norms and family dynamics, are among the main issues that this curriculum is intended to help contribute to solve," said Kayitare.

The new curriculum combines and harmonizes existing initiatives and programmes with elements of relevant good practices identified in other contexts. It has also considered the psychological aspect of prisoner rehabilitation, which was lacking in existing initiatives. As a result, it will not only equip inmates with socio-emotional skills such as self-management and dealing with trauma stemming from a long life in prison, but also develop vocational and livelihood skills to make an independent living in the community after release.

During the curriculum’s validation, the Commissioner General of RCS, ACP Alex Bahizi Kimenyi, recognized the added value of the curriculum as it offers a well-structured and holistic approach to tackling challenges his institution has been facing on this matter. He called upon all actors to lend their hand in ensuring effective and efficient curriculum implementation.

"This curriculum will enable us to work in a well-harmonized and coordinated manner, which will improve the quality of our work. However, adopting this curriculum is not the end of the journey; it is rather the beginning. I call upon all our partners, including donors, government institutions, and communities, to support this initiative so its implementation can be fully effective."

Thibaut Moyer, Head of Cooperation at the Delegation of the EU to Rwanda, appreciates the partnership with Interpeace that has led to the development of this curriculum. He reiterates the EU’s commitment to support its effective implementation.

"With the anticipated tens of thousands of prisoners to be released in the upcoming years, the EU has set aside 7 million Euros that will be used to work with local organizations, the government and other stakeholders to ensure a peaceful transition back into the communities for these prisoners and continue to foster peace in Rwanda."

The curriculum will contribute content to the "Halfway Home" initiative, where prisoners about to be released will be transited. From there, they will be offered opportunities to meet their respective communities and have an open discussion with family and community members. The move aims to facilitate the reestablishment of relationships, acceptance, tolerance, and trust between prisoners and community members and foster social cohesion.