VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLGB #0436/01 1771435
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 251435Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY KIGALI
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5406

UNCLAS KIGALI 000436 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO OFFICE OF SENATOR NELSON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM RW
SUBJECT: RWANDA SCENESETTER FOR SENATOR BILL NELSON 
 
 ¶1.  (SBU) Introduction: Senator Nelson's visit to Rwanda 
comes at a promising time in U.S.-Rwandan relations. 
The U.S. Government has a deep partnership with Rwanda on 
a wide-range of bilateral, regional and global issues 
such as expanding economic development, peacekeeping in 
Darfur, resolving the volatile longstanding conflict in 
eastern Congo, and fighting the spread of global 
scourges such as HIV/AIDS and malaria.  Additionally, 
Rwandans deeply appreciate that the United States is the 
largest bilateral aid donor operating in Rwanda, with 
almost $170 million in assistance in FY07. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Although Rwanda is a highly stable country, 
it is still struggling to overcome the legacy of the 
devastating 1994 genocide when upwards of one million 
Rwandans lost their lives, and the nation's 
infrastructure, economy and society were terribly 
damaged.  Today, the Government is deeply 
committed to forging national unity through the 
reconciliation of Rwanda's ethnic groups, and has made 
great strides in restoring security and establishing 
the underpinnings for a developing democracy. 
The economy has been largely rebuilt and Rwanda is 
seeking to position itself as "the Singapore of 
Africa."  Yet much remains to be done, and we are 
working with the Government of Rwanda (GOR) to implement 
a newly-agreed upon three year, $24 millionMillennium 
Challenge Corporation (MCC) Threshold Country Plan. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Regionally, Secretary Rice's December 
facilitation of the Heads of State Tripartite-Plus Summit 
in Addis Ababa built upon and strengthened the November 
Nairobi agreement.  In this agreement Rwanda and the 
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) agreed on a "common 
approach" to resolve the security threat posed by the FDLR 
 (the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) an 
armed group operating inside the DRC consisting of the 
remnants of the former Armed Forces of Rwanda and the 
Interahamwe militias, who in large measure carried out the 
genocide.  Subsequent to the Summit in Addis Ababa, the 
January Goma Peace Conference, held in the DRC, 
resulted in a clear road-map for disarmament of other 
indigenous militias.   A Joint Monitoring Group meeting in 
Gisenyi in June resulted in new commitments toward 
peace-making, and an August Tripartite-Plus conference in 
Kigali (facilitated by the USG) will add emphasis to these 
initiatives. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Elsewhere in the region, Uganda and Rwanda enjoy 
their most positive relations in years, and the simmering 
internal political problems in Burundi show signs of 
improvement.  Kenya's post-election turmoil highlighted 
Rwanda's dependence upon long transport corridors from 
Indian Ocean ports; Rwanda briefly imposed fuel rationing 
when tanker trucks from Mombasa were delayed by the 
violence. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) AU/UN Mission in Darfur:  The Rwandan Defense 
Forces (RDF), one of the most competent and professional 
militaries in sub-Saharan Africa, currently has four 
battalions deployed in Darfur, attached to the African 
Union Mission/United Nations Hybrid Operation (UNAMID). 
The USG has been providing logistical and training 
support for the Rwandan contribution to peacekeeping 
efforts in Sudan since initial deployment in August 
¶2004.  The U.S. Air Force and US-funded contract 
airlines have provided transport for nearly all troop 
deployments.  American contractors under the ACOTA 
program (Rwanda became a full ACOTA partner in June, 
2006) have conducted training for over a dozen battalions 
in preparation for the Darfur deployments.  We are now 
providing over $20 million in new equipment for these 
battalions. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Global Health:  Rwanda is one of 15 "focus 
countries" under the PEPFAR program.  The national HIV 
prevalence rate is approximately 3.0 percent (3.6 percent 
for women, 2.3 percent for men).  A 2005 survey suggests 
that women are contracting HIV/AIDS at a younger age than 
men, and that for both sexes prevalence in urban areas is 
approximately three times higher than in rural areas.  By 
the middle of FY 2008, the PEPFAR program in Rwanda will 
provide at least 50,000 persons with anti-retroviral 
treatment (ART), prevent 158,000 new HIV infections, and 
provide care and support to 250,000 persons affected by 
HIV/AIDS, including orphans and vulnerable children. 
FY07 PEPFAR funding for Rwanda was approximately USD 
103 million.  FY08 levels are expected to be nearly USD 
123 million. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In addition, Rwanda is a phase II country for 
the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI). This program 
works to dramatically reduce the incidence of malaria 
through new treatments, indoor residual spraying, 
home-based management of fever in children and 
increased bed-net use.  PMI funding for the first year 
of the program was $20 million and we anticipate $17 
million in FY08.  The Mission also implements successful 
programs in child survival, maternal and child health, 
reproductive health and family planning.  These programs 
have annual budgets of approximately $8 to $10 
million. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Domestic Political Issues:  In 2003, President 
Kagame was elected to a seven-year term with 95 percent 
of the vote; members of the Chamber of Deputies were 
elected to five-year terms in the same year (indirect 
Senate elections were also held).  The Presidential and 
Deputies elections were peaceful, but marred by serious 
irregularities.  The next legislative elections will be 
held this September, with presidential elections 
following in 2010.  Although constitutional and 
regulatory restrictions on political party operations 
remain in place, and use of broadly-worded criminal 
statutes sanctioning "divisionism" and "genocide 
ideology" concern the human rights community, a June 2007 
law allows parties to organize down to the lowest 
administrative level.  As a result, Rwanda's political 
parties report renewed interest among average Rwandans 
in politics. Other human rights concerns include 
lingering restrictions on a free press, a judicial 
system still hampered by capacity limitations, and a 
developing civil society that must satisfy extensive 
licensing requirements.  Pending legislation may loosen 
many restrictions on civil society, and to a 
lesser degree on the press; their final form will be 
determined in the course of the next several months. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Press Freedom:  Press freedom remains the 
subject of much debate and action in Rwanda.  While 
senior GOR officials recognize in principle the 
need for an effective free press, both for the 
development of Rwanda's democracy and for international 
perceptions of the country, there have been incidents of 
harassment, occasional run-ins with the police 
and other government authorities, and jailing and 
prosecution of several journalists.  Press freedom 
diminished in 2007, although independent newspapers 
continue to publish articles critical of senior 
government officials and institutions and the 
ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front.  New restrictions on 
independent journalists' attendance at government 
events are troubling.  In addition to difficult relations 
with government officials, independent journalists 
often say that day-to-day economic obstacles to making 
journalism profitable are key concerns. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Justice and the Genocide:  Over one million 
suspected "genocidaires" (those who participated in the 
1994 genocide) are the subject of judicial inquiry by the 
"gacaca courts," a traditional system modernized and 
expanded by the GOR.  Over 95 percent of the pending 
cases had been adjudicated by approximately 3,000 gacaca 
courts by the spring of 2008.  The gacaca service is 
optimistic it can finish all cases including appeals by 
the end of 2008.  The GOR decreed last summer that gacaca 
prisoners would serve their suspended and community 
service sentences first, and return to prison at 
a later date.  Since then, the large prison population 
has diminished, alleviating crowded and unsustainable 
conditions, as the government began releasing prisoners 
previously convicted.  While a small number of the most 
serious genocide offenders will continue to be judged by 
Qserious genocide offenders will continue to be judged by 
the regular courts, the gacaca courts represent the 
principal attempt by the GOR to achieve justice and 
reconciliation -- a difficult policy balance -- 
given Rwanda's history of ethnic animosities. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Democracy and Governance Programs:  USG 
programs focus on local government and reconciliation. 
We are supporting decentralized governance 
through an innovative program in which health 
and governance objectives combine to ensure local 
management and delivery of high quality health services. 
The program is intended to demonstrate ability for local 
governments to manage and fund public services.  This 
program is complemented by support for capacity building 
programs for local civil society organizations. We also 
support a series of smaller projects related to 
reconciliation, such as activities in land management 
and land policy and legislation, and youth radio.  We 
also fund youth radio for peace and reconciliation 
through a Great Lakes regional initiative.  We have 
also just secured ESF funding for a $500,000 program to 
work with political parties for the 2008 and 2010 
elections. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Economic Development:  Rwanda's main 
development challenges remain its small economy, relative 
isolation, poor infrastructure, the high cost of energy, 
and poorly developed human capital.  Rwanda's economy 
remains largely dependent upon foreign aid (roughly half of 
its one billion dollar-plus budget comes from donors), 
while its population remains overwhelmingly rural with over 
85 percent of families earning a living through subsistence 
agriculture and 56.9 percent of households living below 
the poverty line of 250 Rwandan francs a day (about 
$0.45).  However, Rwanda has achieved an average GDP 
growth rate of 6 percent over the past six years and 
increased the total value of exports each year.  The 
government has established important policy benchmarks 
for overhauling the economy, and seeks to establish 
Rwanda as a regional crossroads bridging the 
Francophone west and Anglophone east.  It has achieved 
major improvements in the areas of tax collection, 
banking, trade agreements, anti-corruption, and fiscal 
policy.  It has improved road conditions throughout 
the country, and maintained a low corruption rate 
relative to neighboring countries. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Specialty Coffee:  In 2001, the country 
produced only low-grade commercial quality beans for 
export despite coffee being the traditional number 
one export earner.  Over the past six years, the USG 
has invested an estimated USD 11 million in promoting 
and developing the Rwandan coffee industry, building 
and rehabilitating coffee washing station, training 
farmers and "cuppers" (coffee tasters), organizing 
cooperatives, encouraging banks to lend to Rwandan 
investors to build coffee washing stations, and 
improving rural infrastructure.  Today, Rwandan coffee 
has become known as one of the "best of the best" 
coffees in the world. Rwanda exported 2,600 tons of 
specialty coffee in 2007.  While still a small 
proportion of overall coffee exports, these 
crops earn top prices for the coffee growers, and 
have resulted in better health care, education, and 
housing in coffee farming communities.  In 2006, 
Starbucks launched a promotional campaign featuring 
the best of Rwandan coffee, a program seen by an 
estimated 19 million customers in over 5,000 
Starbucks retail stores throughout the U.S. 
Starbucks and Costco today purchase sizable amounts 
of Rwandan specialty coffee. 
 
¶14.  (SBU) Poverty Reduction:  The government has made 
efforts, with measurable results, to reduce poverty and 
to improve access to health care and education, 
despite its severely limited resources.  Under its 
national policy of universal primary education, the GOR 
provides free primary education to all children.  A 
joint GOR-donor task force is focusing on improvement 
of girls' education.  The GOR is also attempting to 
improve access to health care through greater 
decentralization.  In addition, it has 
implemented plans for the prevention, protection, 
and reintegration of street children (currently 
7,000 out of 4.2 million children), including 
vocational training to promote self-reliance 
through development of income-generating skills. 
Rwanda completed its Economic Development and Poverty 
Reduction Strategy (EDPRS) at the end of 2007 with the 
help of the donor community.  Rwanda had completed the 
Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) debt relief 
initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative 
by the end of 2006.  Completion of these two debt 
by the end of 2006.  Completion of these two debt 
initiatives significantly reduced its overall debt, 
freeing significant funds for social programs. 
Anticipated GDP growth for the immediate future should 
continue at 5-6 percent, while inflation has risen 
slightly given high energy costs and large donor 
inflows.  Rwanda does face challenges to food security 
from cyclic rainfall shortages. 
 
¶15.  (SBU) Millennium Challenge Corporation Country 
Threshold Program: Rwanda was selected in 2006 for the 
Threshold program. The GOR Country Plan has just been 
approved by the MCC Investment Committee, and a formal 
announcement will occur in Rwanda in several weeks 
(after MCC Board approval).  Rwanda's three-year, 24 
million dollar Threshold Country Plan is intended to 
improve its scores on three MCC Ruling Justly 
indicators: civil liberties, political rights and 
voice and accountability.  The Threshold program will 
focus on three main components: strengthening the 
judicial sector, aiding civic participation, and 
promoting civil rights and civil liberties. 
 
ARIETTI