Former Military Prosecutor and Advisor to the Rwandan Minister of Defence, Captain Jean Damascène Kayitana, first became involved in disaster management when he was appointed Advisor to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs in Rwanda (MIDIMAR) in 2010. Until June 2011, he acted as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry. Since then, he has become a dedicated advocate of disaster law issues in Rwanda.
Captain Kayitana is convinced that Rwanda has to take action in disaster management rather sooner than later, as his country is vulnerable to a wide range of hazards. Over the last decade, the frequency and intensity of natural hazard-induced disasters, particularly floods and droughts, have significantly increased, raising the toll of human suffering as well as economic and environmental losses.
It has become his mission to raise knowledge and awareness about disaster risks and disaster management throughout the country. “The creation of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs two and a half years ago was the first step into the right direction,” Kayitana remarks. Priority should now be given to the development of relevant laws that will allow and enable effective disaster risk reduction measures. Captain Kayitana stresses the importance of having clear laws that describe the legal and institutional framework for disaster management. “New laws will enable the effective and efficient coordination of disaster management in Rwanda, allowing the country to lessen the adverse impacts of disasters, which can hamper socio-economic development.”
While drafting a new disaster management law, Rwanda used the Model Act for the facilitation and regulation of international disaster assistance (the Model Act) as a resource. The Captain reported that the Model Act served as a valuable reference for the drafting process. In addition to offering ideas on how to address gaps, its commentary provides examples from existing laws in other countries. “The aspect of disaster management was new to our country and therefore, we lacked experience on how to draft a law on this issue,” he commented. “We gathered different stakeholders such as the Ministry of Justice, the Rwanda Revenue Authority, the National Police, the Rwanda Defence Force and the World Food Programme to discuss and provide input on the draft law on disaster management.” This team benefited from the technical assistance of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), for which Rwanda was very grateful.
Some of the challenges the group grappled with when working with the Model Act included the adaptation to the specific national context, as well as the sensitization of the stakeholders to the issues addressed by the Model Act. The Model Act touches upon several sectors and it was challenging at times to reach a consensus among all stakeholders involved. Overall, his assessment of the utilization of the Model Act in the drafting process of the new Rwandan disaster management law was very positive. “The Model Act should be disseminated widely and it has to be advertised worldwide so that other countries can benefit from it to improve their disaster legislation,”
The new Rwandan law emphasizes the preparedness of the government, communities and other stakeholders for disaster management activities. The draft law was approved by the Cabinet and is currently being discussed for adoption in Parliament.
What are the challenges concerning disaster management in Rwanda that remain to be tackled? Captain Kayitana identifies Rwanda’s limited resources and consequent need for capacity building of all actors engaged in disaster risk reduction as critical. But despite, or perhaps driven by these challenges, he remains committed to quest to increase awareness of disaster law issues in his country.