Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

1. Rwanda ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol on 15 December 2008 without qualification.

2. This Initial Report of Rwanda on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was prepared for presentation to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in conformity with Paragraph 1, Article 35 of the Convention. The present Report on the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is elaborated pending the submission by Rwanda of the common basic document to the Human Rights Council in the framework of the Universal Periodic Review.

3. The Rwandan context is characterised by the adverse effects of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, which resulted in many additional Persons with Disabilities as well as mental health challenges. Rwanda is also engaged in ambitious efforts of reconstruction, national reconciliation, institutionalisation of good governance, and promoting economic growth.