Abunzi and Rwandan Ways of Making Peace

1Who the Abunzi are

Abunzi means "those who reconcile", people who bring others back together. The Abunzi are Rwanda's community mediation committees.

• Their members are respected people of integrity, elected by their own community.
• They work in every cell. If someone is not satisfied, they can take the case to the Abunzi of the sector. After that, the case can go to the courts.
• They handle small, everyday disputes: farm boundaries, family property, debts, inheritance, and animals that damage a neighbour's crops.
• They try first to reconcile the two sides, helping them reach a solution they both accept.

The Abunzi are one of Rwanda's home-grown solutions: an old Rwandan tradition of settling disputes within the community, brought back in a modern form.

2Why the Abunzi help

• They are close to home, so people do not travel far.
• They cost little, and cases are settled quickly.
• They use Kinyarwanda and understand local life.
• Neighbours usually stay on good terms afterwards.
• Courts have fewer small cases, so they can focus on serious ones.

3Other places for dialogue in Rwanda

• Family and village meetings, where families and neighbours discuss problems and settle disagreements together.
• Meetings after Umuganda, where citizens raise problems with local leaders.
• Umushyikirano, the National Dialogue Council, where citizens and leaders discuss the country's problems.
• Religious leaders and elders, who often help families make peace.
• At school: teachers and class leaders can help pupils resolve conflicts.

4Dialogue works at every level

The same idea works everywhere: in a family, a village, a nation and between countries. Countries also resolve conflicts through dialogue and peace talks, often with a neutral country or organisation as the mediator.

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