In 2022, the WJP, an international civil society organization that strives to advance the rule of law worldwide, gave Rwanda a score of 0.63 out of 1, making it the African champion and 42nd in the world for non-discrimination. For the East African country, this index is an improvement on the 0.61 of 2019 and 0.62 of 2020 and 2021.
To achieve this, Rwanda scored well on the criteria listed for being a rule of law state. These include limitation of government powers, absence of corruption, order and security, fundamental rights, open government, enforcement of rules, civil justice and criminal justice.
“Rwanda’s success is due to good governance and civil justice”
Each country’s score is based on questions that assess, in different contexts, how people are treated in relation to their gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status and national origin. According to Dr Felicien Usengumukiza, Head of Research and Local Solutions at the Rwanda Government Board (RGB), “our success is attributed to good governance and civil justice.
As a reminder, the WJP Rule of Law Index measures experiences and perceptions of the rule of law. It is derived from in-depth surveys of over 154,000 households and 3,600 legal experts and practitioners worldwide. For example, for equal rights, the average score is currently 0.57 out of 1, with only six of the 140 countries and jurisdictions in the 2022 index scoring above 0.80. With scores of 0.84, 0.82 and 0.82 respectively, Finland, Estonia and Singapore top the list.
“Despite improvements, discrimination continues to be widespread around the world”
Despite improvements, the WJP says that “discrimination continues to be widespread around the world”. According to its data, the phenomenon is widespread and even increasing. For example, the WJP report shows that “the rule of law weakened in more countries than it improved in 2022, declining globally for the fifth consecutive year”.
Source: Africa News Agency