February 20th is a day that is annually observed as World Day of Social Justice. The United Nations declared the celebration of the day in 2007, in a bid to recognize and uphold the principles of peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations. Some of these principles include but are not limited to; promoting gender equality, respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and migrants as well as removing barriers that people face because of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture or disability.
As a peacebuilding and social justice organization, this year’s theme; “If You Want Peace & Development, Work for Social Justice”, resonates well with our approaches and value system. We believe that social justice is the underlying foundation for peace and sustainable growth and development. We believe that youth can be active agents of social and political change in their own environments if and when they are equipped with the sociopolitical competencies necessary to articulate social and community problems and propose solutions. The implementation of activities aimed to contribute to the promotion of peaceful dialogue and democratic values through human rights-based approaches in Rwanda is an example of NAR’s commitment to social justice.
Undoubtedly, there has been a lot of progress made in promoting social justice. This has been through some of our programs, like the “Societal Healing and Participatory Governance for Sustainable Peace in Rwanda (SHPG)” program. Through this program, NAR promotes the values of peacebuilding, participatory governance, diversity, equality, enhances the principle of the rule of law, and promotes human rights approaches.
“Our society is made up of many different communities; social justice is therefore meant to respect the rights of all the people in the community in a fair and equitable manner.” Dr. Joseph Nkurunziza Ryarasa – executive Director.
NAR will continue to implement a variety of activities aimed to support young people and other citizens to express their views on democratic values, take on leadership roles as part of their wider political participation to effectively promote and protect human rights and celebrate their diversity. In collaboration with other partners, NAR will continue to promote peaceful dialogue that can build towards the common vision of a society that enjoys sustainable peace and development driven by creative, active and critical-thinking youth and citizens.
We will continue to work for social justice by empowering Rwandans with opportunities to become active citizens through peacebuilding and development and an emphasis on the inclusion of all.