Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the political situation in Rwanda.

We remain concerned about civil and political rights in Rwanda, and the space for opposition voices. We firmly believe that a strong opposition and vibrant civil society is vital for a healthy and well-functioning democracy and that civil society and opposition parties must be able to operate freely, holding the Government to account and contributing to the debate on how Rwanda should be governed.  We regularly raise specific cases of human rights concern with the Government of Rwanda and the Rwanda Investigation Bureau, both through the British High Commission in Kigali and at Ministerial level.

The UK continues to have a strong relationship and wide-ranging political engagement with Rwanda, including on important priorities such as open societies, girls' education, building back from COVID-19, climate, security and trade. Rwanda has made significant progress on social and economic rights since the genocide, and on delivering development: UK support has helped lift over 2 million Rwandans out of poverty since 2005, and Rwanda is one of the only countries where women make up more than 50% of parliamentarians.