[ Human Trafficking, Country-by-Country ]

RWANDA (Tier 2) – Extracted in part from the U.S. State Dept 2023 TIP Report

The Government of Rwanda does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.  The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, if any, on its anti-trafficking capacity; therefore Rwanda remained on Tier 2.  These efforts included identifying more trafficking victims, repatriating trafficking victims from overseas, and convicting more traffickers.  For the first time in recent years, the government awarded restitution in one trafficking case.  However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas.  The government continued to lack specialized SOPs to adequately screen for trafficking among vulnerable populations and did not refer any victims to services.  The government provided support to and coordinated with the March 23 Movement (M23) armed group, which forcibly recruited and used children.

Prioritized Recommendations

Cease support to and coordination with armed groups recruiting or using child soldiers.

Systematically and proactively screen and identify trafficking victims, especially among vulnerable populations, including among gender-based violence (GBV) victims, persons in commercial sex, LGBTQI+ individuals, children experiencing homelessness, and migrants residing at government transit centers.

Increase and institutionalize training for front-line officials on victim identification and referral standard operating procedures (SOPs) and develop specialized SOPs to screen for trafficking among vulnerable populations.

Implement and consistently enforce strong regulations and oversight of the labor sector, including training labor inspectors to identify and report trafficking crimes and holding employers or labor recruiters criminally accountable for crimes committed.

Expand victim and shelter services, including for male victims.

Expand trafficking victim identification and protection measures for Rwanda’s refugee population.

Conduct additional training and capacity building for law enforcement agencies on recognizing and combating internal forms of trafficking.

Ensure victims are not inappropriately penalized solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked.

Ensure underserved communities are provided with adequate victim identification and protection measures.

Develop and implement a centralized data system to track the government’s efforts to combat trafficking crimes, with data disaggregated by type of trafficking, and train law enforcement and immigration officials in relevant ministries on its use.