Johnston Busingye, Rwanda's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, has emphasised Rwanda’s commitment to contribute to global peace and security drawing from lessons in history. He was speaking during the London Conference on International Law 2022 under the theme “States in Emergency – International Law at a Time of Reckoning” that took place on October 10-11. The conference centred on answering questions on the role of international law in dealing with political, economic, security, health, and environmental crises and emergencies as well as the impact they have on the international legal order as a whole. Participants included law academics, judges, practitioners, representatives of civil society, business leaders, and other stakeholders. Busingye explained in detail Rwanda’s tragic history of different intended activities that brought about division and dehumanisation among people, and led to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi on the watch of international organisations. “In the aftermath of the genocide, we had to look inward to solve internal problems. But today we are looking forward and outward, ready and willing to contribute to regional security and beyond,” he said. Rwanda is committed to taking action for the ends of peace, whether it is on a multilateral or bilateral level, Busingye added, “As Rwandans, we are not hesitant to act, because we, more than any other nation know the price of inaction.” According to him, insecurity is found where good governance and the rule of law have been overlooked or abandoned. “We ought to remember that security is built on foundations of people-centred governance.” He emphasised that African nations must ensure closer cooperation to resolve shared challenges. “A strong, inter-connected, collaborative Africa is the way forward. It is only through cooperation, multilateral or bilateral, that we can achieve the collective security we deserve.” Talking about human and collective security, Busingye gave several examples to the over 500 legal professionals about what the country has been able to achieve with good governance over the past 28 years. Different topics were on agenda including, addressing the climate emergency: from COPs to courts, international criminal law and the politics of impunity, human and collective security, international settlement of disputes in a time of crises. They also included the protection of human rights during crises, formation and development of international law in times of emergency, international economic law in an enduring period of economic crisis, among others.
