Fact Sheet

MCC Working with Rwanda To 

Strengthen Voice and Accountability

The two-year, $24.7 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) threshold program will help the government of Rwanda improve its scores on the Political Rights, Civil Liberties and Voice and Accountability governance 

indicators. The program will strengthen civic participation and promote civil liberties and rights by providing 

training, technical support and grants to local and national civil society organizations, offering training on election 

monitoring and voter education and supporting independent community radio stations to enhance citizen engagement. The program will also reinforce Rwanda’s efforts to support judicial capacity building, legislative reforms 

and improve overall public administration. Finally, the program will provide training and technical assistance to 

journalists as well as the Rwandan National Police in an effort to increase transparency.

Component 1: Strengthen the Judicial Sector

Training and technical assistance to the judiciary

 Assist the Institute of Legal Practice and Development to develop its post-graduate curriculum for judicial 

staff.

 Assist the Institute of Legal Practice and Development to develop continuing education modules for 

legal practitioners, including lawyers, judges, and court officials, to increase their confidence, skills, and 

knowledge.

 Support judicial exchanges to increase knowledge and understanding of the functioning of judiciaries in 

other countries.

 Provide on-the-job training and technical assistance for judicial staff to supplement and enhance knowledge 

and skills gained in the classroom.

Facilitate the rapid implementation of the legislative reform agenda

September 17, 2008 | www.mcc.gov
MCC Working with Rwanda To Strengthen Voice and Accountability, September 17, 2008 2

 Support Rwanda’s new Law Reform Commission to conduct specific policy analysis and research, build the 

capacity of its members to review existing and planned legislation, and make recommendations for continued legal reform and judicial independence.

 Provide technical assistance and training to the Ministry of Justice’s Legislative Drafting Unit to increase 

the staff’s legal drafting and research skills and enable it to act on recommendations from the Law Reform 

Commission in order to further the government of Rwanda’s legal reform agenda.

 Provide resources to libraries of a legislative drafting unit providing information technology equipment and 

resources

Component 2: Strengthen Civic Participation

Build the capacity of civil society organizations

 Provide training and technical assistance to national and local civil society organizations to ensure their independence and sustainability, as well as to engage more effectively with government, media, private sector, 

and the public.

 Provide small grants to national and local civil society organizations for activities focused on capacity building, civil liberties, political rights, and voice and accountability.

 Establish community radio stations in rural areas to enhance citizen engagement and empowerment.

Strengthen the capacity of local officials for public participation

 Provide training and technical assistance to local officials in public participation methods and public engagement, including the code of conduct for civil servants.

 Support the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to translate the budget into Kinyarwanda; develop 

pamphlets summarizing the budget for distribution in all districts to the general public, civil society organizations, and donors; and carry out workshops and other sensitization activities to ensure that citizens and 

civil society actors understand the budget process and the role they play in it.

 Support the roll-out of a citizen report card and community score card system in several pilot districts to 

improve the transparency and accountability of public institutions and strengthen civic participation in development planning and policy; train and provide technical assistance to councilors and civil society actors 

to jointly manage and implement the report and score card system.

Develop and disseminate a code of conduct for civil servants
MCC Working with Rwanda To Strengthen Voice and Accountability, September 17, 2008 3

 Provide support for the development of a code of conduct for civil servants involving multiple civil society 

actors and a series of public discussions.

 Conduct a training-of-trainers to create cadres of civil servant instructors in government ministries and 

local governments.

 Support training, particularly in ministries that engage significantly with the public, focused on the content 

of the code as well as on compliance with the code.

 Provide support to the Ministry of Public Service to plan and execute a sensitization program for the general 

public on the content of the code.

Component 3: Promote Civil Rights and Liberties

 Support the professionalism of journalists and the media

 Provide training to enable journalists to produce high-quality stories characterized by fairness and accuracy.

 Provide training to publishers and media owners so that they understand the importance of their role in 

promoting an independent, professional media in Rwanda.

 Provide technical assistance to the Association of Rwandan Journalists and the Press House, increasing their 

capacity and sustainability as independent civil society organizations.

 Support media associations so they can support individual journalists by providing them with access to information technology equipment, small travel grants, and technical guidance; provide training to journalists; 

advocate for the interests of the media; and educate the public about the role of the media and journalists in 

a democratic society.

Support the Inspectorate Service of the police to effectively monitor police performance

 Provide training to Inspectorate officers in investigation techniques and the proper handling and treatment 

of fellow officers suspected of unethical conduct.

 Provide technical assistance to the Inspectorate to formulate investigative procedures, internal policies, and 

avenues for citizen participation in the disciplinary processes.

 Provide technical support to the Inspectorate to improve the process for making, receiving, tracking, investigating, analyzing and concluding complaints and commendations regarding police conduct.

 Train trainers on the role of the Inspectorate.

 Provide training and technical support to the Inspectorate to develop their public relations capacity to (a) 

publicize information about the police and the professional and ethical standards the police are required 
MCC Working with Rwanda To Strengthen Voice and Accountability, September 17, 2008 4

to abide by and to (b) liaise more effectively with the media and civil society on the results of Inspectorate 

investigations.

 Provide technical assistance and, where appropriate, training to the Office of the Commissioner General of 

the Rwandan National Police to build capacity to identify and correct problems in police performance.

Highlights of Expected Results 

of the Rwanda Threshold Program

 Parliament passes eight new laws, or amendments to existing laws, that significantly improve civil liberties, 

political rights and voice and accountability.

 The quality of court decisions is improved based on international standards.

 The majority of national and local civil society organizations receiving assistance under the Rwanda 

Threshold Program undertake advocacy initiatives.

 The percentage of local civil society organizations that have read the national budget and feel that they 

understand the budget process and their role in it is increased.

 Rwanda’s professional media associations are perceived by their members to actively represent their 

interests.

 The number of complaints about police misconduct that are investigated, resolved and made public in conformity with international standards is increased.

Implementing Partners

The United States Agency for International Development will be the lead U.S. government agency administering 

the Rwanda Threshold Program. The U.S. Department of Justice will administer the police training activities in 

Component 3.