On this page, you will find:
To find organisations working for LGBTQI+ rights, visit our Rwanda LGBTQI+ Resources page.
For Rwanda country of origin information (COI) experts, reports, commentaries, and relevant documents visit our Rwanda COI page.
Refugee protection
Click here to see the numbers and origins of refugees hosted by Rwanda.
The following sections contain information on the most important international treaties and agreements of which Rwanda is signatory, as well as national legislation relevant to the protection of refugees.
Rwanda is a party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. The Government domesticated and enshrined the contents and principles of the aforementioned documents in the revised Rwandan National Refugee Law
of 2001. In October 2009, Rwanda was also amongst the first countries to sign the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, but it has yet to ratify the same. Rwanda is also a party to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
Rwandan Law n°13er/ 2014 of 21/05/2014 Art 18 says that persons in Rwanda who have “obtained refugee status shall enjoy the
rights and liberties provided for by international instruments”, thus including the 1951 Refugee Convention Art 17 that says that
refugees must be given “the most favourable treatment accorded to nationals of a foreign country in the same circumstances, as
regards the right to engage in wage-earning employment” and that “Contracting States shall give sympathetic consideration to
assimilating the rights of all refugees with regard to wage-earning employment”.
Click here for Rwanda’s history of national legal frameworks relating to refugees.
Legal aid organisations
Address: Kicukiro District Near INILAK University
B.P. 7564 Kigali/Rwanda
Tel: +250 02 52 58 46 21
Email: Rightsrwanda@gmail.com or hrfrorg@yahoo.com
Contact Person: Nzovu Job Ruzage, Director
Email: jruzage@gmail.com
Human Rights First Rwanda Association envisages a just and equitable society. Its mission is striving to empower as well as promote, reinforce and safeguard human rights, rule of law and good governance in Rwanda. Human Rights First provides legal assistance to refugees and empowers them to know their rights through human rights outreach education initiatives delivered through legal clinics run by law students from the INILAK University in Rwanda.
Address: No. 16, KN 6 Street, Kiyovu, Kigali
P.O. Box 2360 Kigali
Tel: (+250)788-468-851
Email: president@iphr-ipdh.org
Contact Person: Paulin Muhozi
Initiatives for Peace and Human Rights (iPeace) is a non profit organization that works to help communities and individuals in Africa’s Great Lakes Region achieve sustainable peaceful coexistence using human rights and good governance education. iPeace has independently registered organisations in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, which closely collaborate to achieve their shared mission. iPeace provides legal aid to asylum-seekers and refugees in the DRC, Burundi and Rwanda.
Tel: +(250) 78 74 73 588
Email: info@pfrwanda.org
Provides legal assistance in Mahama, Mugombwa and Kigeme refugee camps, Nyanza transit centre and Huye for urban refugees and asylum seekers. Their projects ensure access to justice and respect of human rights, providing legal assistance, representation, civil registration and documentation to refugees. They also participate in peacebuilding, psychological support, social economic empowerment and spiritual resilience.
Tel: 1022 (Toll Free) / 845 (Toll Free) / +(250) 28 00 36 090
Email: info@legalaidrwanda.org
Providing legal assistance in Mahama, Mugombwa and Kigeme refugee camps, Nyanza transit centre and in Huye for urban refugees and asylum seekers. Legal representation in courts and other administrative institutions, mediation, legal assistance, legal advice and referrals. Assist in implementing the ‘Legal aid to refugees’ project which is aimed at assisting refugees and asylum seekers to access justice and solve other relevant legal issues affecting refugees in Rwanda. They also work on identifying and initiating research and advocacy on legal issues affecting indigent populations and vulnerable groups.
Organisations providing other support to refugees
Website
Tel: +(250) 78 84 57 617 (Communications) / +(250) 78 54 78 158 (First Aid Services)
Email: info@rwandaredcross.org
Helping refugees in Rwanda trace and re-establish contact with family members in another country. Particular focus on helping unaccompanied minors. Providing community services to the population aimed at reducing vulnerabilities through programmes such as health, prevention of diseases, disaster risk reduction and emergency response, strengthening community resilience, socio-economic reintegration of vulnerable and displaced persons, social protection and education.
International Organization for Migration (IOM) Rwanda
KG 632 St, Gasasa 239, Rugando Cell
Kimihurura P.O. Box 1126,
Kigali, Rwanda
Email: iomrwanda@iom.int
Tel: +250 788 389 723
IOM Migration Health Assessment Center (MHAC)
KG 501 St, Kacyiru, Kamatamu, Gasabo
Kigali, Rwanda
Email: infomhackigali@iom.int
Tel: +250 788 383 667
IOM Resettlement Movement Management (RMM)
KG 268 St 11, Gishushu, Nyarutarma Cell
Kigali, Rwanda
Email: movementoperationskigali@iom.int
IOM works in the four broad areas of migration management: migration and development, facilitating migration, regulating migration, and addressing forced migration. Cross-cutting activities include the promotion of international migration law, policy debate and guidance, protection of migrants’ rights, migration health and the gender dimension of migration.
In Rwanda, IOM works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners.
Rwanda LGBTQI+ Resources
Find organisations working for refugee LGBTQI+ rights in Rwanda.
Rwanda COI
Find Rwanda Country of Origin information (COI) experts, reports, commentaries, and relevant documents.
We are always looking to expand the resources on our platform. If you know about relevant resources, or you are aware of organisations and/or individuals to include in our directories, please get in touch.
Last updated May 2023