UNHCR, APRIL 2023 REFUGEES FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION Rwanda For other rights of refugees, including access to the labour market and land, see Refugee Policy Review Framework.217 On policies for local integration see Rwanda: Brief on the Management of Forced Displacement, by the Regional Durable Solutions Secretariat for the Great Lakes. 218 International instruments Rwanda is a party to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Rwanda is a party to CERD, ICCPR, CEDAW, CRC, CMW and CRPD. Rwanda is also a party to the ACHPR, the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, and the ACRWC, and pledged in 2019 to contribute to the adoption and subsequent ratification of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on Specific Aspects of the Right to Nationality and Eradication of Statelessness in Africa. Pledges At the 2011 ministerial meeting to mark the 60th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 50th anniversary of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness Rwanda pledged, among other things, to review its nationality laws and procedures relating to the acquisition of nationality in line with the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and to take all measures necessary to ensure birth registration for all children of refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless persons.219 Rwanda committed during the 2016 New York Leader’s Summit on Refugees to ensuring that 100 per cent of refugees on its territory would be in possession of valid refugee identity cards, as well as other measures to ensure economic inclusion and access to services. 220 These commitments were expanded in October 2019 at the High-Level Segment on Statelessness held at the UNHCR Executive Committee meeting221, and subsequently at the Global Refugee Forum held in December 2019.222 The pledges made in 2019 were: • • • To establish a national taskforce on statelessness and adopt a national plan of action to eradicate statelessness. To improve data on stateless persons by include the question of statelessness in the next national population and housing census. To amend the nationality law to facilitate the naturalisation of stateless persons. 217 Rwanda: Refugee Policy Review Framework Country Summary as at 30 June 2020 , UNHCR, March 2022 https://reliefweb.int/report/rwanda/rwanda-refugee-policy-review-framework-country-summary-30-june-2020march-2022. 218 Rwanda: Brief on the Management of Forced Displacement, Regional Durable Solutions Secretariat for the Great Lakes, March 2022 https://www.redssgreatlakes.org/. 219 ‘PLEDGES 2011: Ministerial Intergovernmental Event on Refugees and Stateless Persons’, UNHCR ministerial meeting to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 50th anniversary of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (Geneva, Palais des Nations, 7-8 December 2011) available with other resources at https://www.unhcr.org/ministerial-meeting.html 220 Commitments of Rwanda at the Leaders’ Summit on Refugees, UNHCR, https://www.unhcr.org/rw/12219-commitments-rwanda-leaders-summit-refugees.html. 20 September 2016 221 Complete list on UNHCR website: https://www.unhcr.org/ibelong/results-of-the-high-level-segment-onstatelessness/ 222 Pledges made at the Global Refugee Forum (Pledge ID GRF-00917 and GRF-00914; see Excel spreadsheet available at https://globalcompactrefugees.org/channel/pledges-contributions. 65