EXCHANGE STRATEGIES WITH OTHERS CSO’s TO STRENTHENING ADVOCACY
The steps taken by the government of Rwanda in its efforts to protect and ensure the enjoyment of human rights of members of the LGBTI Community is one that should be commended unlike its other east African counterparts like Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda. The government has decriminalized homosexuality and Rwanda is a signatory of the United Nations Joint statement condemning violence against LGBTI people, being one of the only few African countries not forgetting its very progressive constitution of 2003 as amended in 2015. The constitution of Rwanda provides and protects rights to privacy, freedom of thought, opinion, conscience etc. It has a non-discrimination clause amongst others which ordinarily should be a minimum to protect LGBTI members and their organizations. Despite the above mentioned strides like no law criminalizing sexual orientation, consensual same sex acts has been decriminalized but not necessarily legalized .This is why LGBTI persons have continued to face discrimination, arbitrary detention and abuse, incidences of incited violence, institutionalized discrimination against individuals on the basis of sexual orientation and LGBTI groups have often alleged and reported occasional harassment by neighbors and police. This is the reason to why HOPE AND CARE organization continue to EXCHANGE STRATEGIES with others CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATION TO STRENTHENING ADVOCACY.