Civil society is the oxygen of democracy says the UN Secretary General on the Occasion of 2015 International Day of Democracy.  

The Day of Democracy was celebrated in the Rwanda Parliament this year on October 2nd 2015, through a conference on Public Participation in Rwanda. The 2015 UN theme is ‘space for civil society’. The event was held in Parliament in recognition of its important role in nurturing democracy in Rwanda.

Speaking during the occasion, The UN Resident Coordinator in Rwanda, Mr. Lamin Manneh said that “enabling more space for citizen participation is essential for nurturing vibrant democratic regimes such as in Rwanda." He reiterated the message of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in his speech on the occasion of the International Day of Democracy 2015 “in the world’s most vibrant and stable democracies, government and civil society work together for common goals.”

The conference was organized by the National Parliament of Rwanda in conjunction with the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB), the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and the One UN in Rwanda. 

During his opening remarks, the President of the Senate, Honorable Bernard Makuza noted that ‘while democracy has a set of principles recognized universally, it is ultimately context specific and is shaped by the country’s history and naturally aligned to the country’s unique cultural and societal norms.’

The conference was attended by members of parliament from both the senate and chamber of deputies, government offices that are engaged in promoting democracy; including NEC, RGB and the National Forum for Political Parties (NFPO), as well as the media, civil society organizations and academia.

Two papers were presented during the conference: a paper by a Rwandan philosopher, Dr. Isaie Nzeyimana, titled ‘The Theoretical Framework and Models of Democracy’ and 'Implementing Democratic Participatory Governance in Rwanda: achievements, shortfalls and the way forward’ by Dr. Felicien Usengumuremyi, the head of research at the RGB. Both papers triggered a lively debate about Rwanda’s model of democracy and the importance of the country’s unique culture and history that has shaped its consensus model of democracy.

In her closing remarks, the Honorable speaker of the chamber of deputies Ms. Donatille Mukabalisa emphasized that democracy is a pillar of sustainable development. She further referred to Rwanda’s achievement in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as an indicator of a well-functioning consensus model of democracy. The consensus model of democracy focuses on solving societal issues in adherence to the country’s cultural values and history, commonly known as home grown solutions. She noted that Rwanda achieved all but one of the MDGs, and has already begun to implement the SDGs in policy and decision making.