Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Rwanda (Ratification: 2010)

Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. Collection and analysis of statistics. Consultation with the social partners. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the Revised National Employment Policy (RNEP) 2019–24, which aims to contribute to the National Strategy for Transformation, including the creation of 1.5 million decent jobs. It notes that the number of new jobs created reached 223,781 in 2019 but fell to 164,189 in 2021, with youth accounting for most new jobs created (86 per cent of new jobs created in 2019). Since the adoption of the RNEP, the Government has implemented various programmes, including skills development initiatives for the current and future labour market, entrepreneurship promotion, and measures to support SMEs and MSMEs. The Government indicates that the National Employment Agency and the Kigali Employment Service Centre have worked to promote access to sustainable employment and decent work, particularly for disadvantaged groups, including women, youth, persons with disabilities, and those working in the informal economy. The Committee notes the growth in business establishments from 186,822 in 2017 to 226,359 in 2020, including a rise in those managed by women. Between 2019 and 2022, 29,267 business projects for youth and women were supported, with 91.5 per cent accessing finance. In the same period, 4,167 higher education graduates were placed in internships, 20,359 youth trained through workplace learning, and 7,326 jobseekers received counselling and soft skills training. According to the 2021 Labour Force Survey figures provided by the Government, the employment-to-population ratio increased from 45.3 per cent in 2019 to 46.3 per cent in 2020, before falling to 42.6 per cent in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Labour force participation also fell from 56.4 per cent in 2020 to 54 per cent in 2021, with higher participation among men (62.0 per cent) than women (46.9 per cent), and in urban areas (62.7 per cent) compared to rural areas (51.6 per cent). Unemployment stood at 21.1 per cent in 2021, with 24.1 per cent for women and 18.5 per cent for men. The Committee notes that, according to 2024 Rwanda Labour Force Survey, unemployment fell to 14.9 per cent in 2024, remaining higher among women (17.6 per cent) and youth (18.5 per cent). The Government indicates that it maintains close and productive cooperation with the ILO to develop and implement employment policies, programmes and legislation. The Committee notes in this regard that Rwanda joined the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions in 2024. In September 2025, the Ministry of Public Service and Labour held a strategic workshop with stakeholders to address barriers to formalization in key economic sectors. The workshop produced a draft Action Plan for integration into Rwanda’s national Global Accelerator Roadmap, framed within Vision 2050 and the National Strategy for Transformation. Youth, women and persons with disabilities were identified as priority groups for targeted interventions. The development of the Roadmap is supported by the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office, the ILO, and UN Women, with the involvement of UNHCR, IOM and UNICEF in the process. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated and detailed information on the impact of measures taken to implement the Revised National Employment Policy, as well as other related employment initiatives, including those under the Global Accelerator Roadmap. It also requests the Government to continue providing statistics on labour force participation, employment, unemployment and underemployment, disaggregated by sex, age and urban/rural areas. Referring to Article 3 of the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to provide more detailed information on the consultations held with social partners in the design, implementation and monitoring of employment policies, with particular attention to policies targeting women, youth, persons with disabilities and workers in the informal economy.

Informal economy. The Government indicates that, in order to support the informal sector and entrepreneurship, measures have been taken to simplify business registration procedures, exempt newly established SMEs from trading license taxes for two years, and enhance digitalized administrative processes. Initiatives have also been introduced to help MSMEs access markets, including certification assistance and export advisory services, as well as programmes to improve access to finance through credit guarantees, leasing facilities, seed capital and targeted support for women and young entrepreneurs. In addition, business development advisers have been established at the local level to provide guidance and facilitate access to financing for MSMEs. The Committee notes that, according to the 2024 Rwanda Labour Force Survey, informal employment accounted for 90.4 per cent of total employment, with even higher rates among women (91.6 per cent) than among men (89.3 per cent), which underlines the scale of the challenge the Government’s formalization measures must address. The Committee also notes that, in its concluding observations of 6 June 2024, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women noted with concern the disproportionately high unemployment rates among women, in particular in rural areas, and the overrepresentation of women in the informal economy and the high proportion of women working in unpaid subsistence agriculture, and the limited coverage under the social security system (document CEDAW/C/RWA/CO/10). Given the persistently high levels of employment in the informal economy, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on coordinated efforts and measures taken to facilitate the transition from informal to formal employment. It also requests the Government to provide updated statistical information on the results of these measures and to assess their effectiveness in improving access to decent work for women and young persons.

Education and training programmes. The Committee notes the implementation of the National Skills Development and Employment Strategy 2019–24 through the Skills Development Fund, which includes rapid response training, vocational training for out-of-school youth, apprenticeships, internships, recognition of prior learning, and skills upgrading for the informal economy. During Phase I of the Skills Development Fund 2017–22, a total of 9,100 beneficiaries participated across the three programme windows, while Phase II reached 9,595 beneficiaries by March 2022, with near gender parity (51 per cent for men and 49 per cent for women). The Committee further notes that, according to the 2022 Skills Development tracer survey of Phase II beneficiaries, the overall employment rate stood at 68.5 per cent, with 59.7 per cent of employed graduates being men and 40.3 per cent women. The Committee notes that, according to the 2024 Rwanda Economic Update, a World Bank Group report on accelerating skills development to foster private sector and growth, the country continues to face significant challenges in skill development. Current skill levels in key sectors such as agriculture and industry are insufficient to meet national development goals, partly due to challenges in basic education. The skills gap is exacerbated by a mismatch between education outputs and labour market needs. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on measures taken to address the skills gap in the country. It also requests the Government to continue providing updated data on the number of beneficiaries, disaggregated by sex and age, of education and training programmes, as well as on their employment outcomes, including placement rates in full, productive and lasting employment.

Youth employment. The Government indicates that, to tackle the rise in unemployment, particularly among young women and men, it has expanded existing programmes and introduced new measures. These include the scaling up of workplace learning programmes, such as rapid response training, industry-based training, internships, and dual training, the latter of which showed the highest employment impact (80 per cent) in a 2022 impact assessment. Additional measures include skills development initiatives in rural and border districts, and start-up support for youth and women’s enterprises. Moreover, the Government highlights youth employment mainstreaming through initiatives such as the Eco Brigade Programme, which has engaged 13,504 young people across 108 youth cooperatives, and the Youth Road Maintenance Programme, which has created 7,760 casual jobs and 467 permanent positions through the establishment of 153 new youth-run enterprises. As a new initiative, the Committee notes the Social Protection and Decent Work Portfolio (2022–27), targeting youth and women in the Western Province and the City of Kigali. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the impact of youth employment initiatives, including statistical data disaggregated by sex on the number of young women and men benefiting from the measures, as well as on the results achieved in terms of sustainable employment outcomes.

Persons with disabilities. The Committee notes the measures taken by the Government to promote the rights of persons with disabilities, including their integration into national development programmes, such as the Vision 2020 Umurenge Programme, improved access to vocational training, participation in income-generating activities and cooperatives, and affirmative action in higher education institutions. The Committee also notes that the Revised National Employment Policy provides for awareness-raising on equal opportunities, enforcement of labour rights, and the development of skills and infrastructure to enhance productivity. The Government refers to the adoption of an employment and entrepreneurship strategy for persons with disabilities, developed jointly with the Private Sector Federation and the United Nations Development Programme, which addresses thematic areas such as employment and entrepreneurship, access to healthcare, inclusive education, financial inclusion, social protection and inclusive governance. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated information on the implementation and impact of measures targeting persons with disabilities, particularly in facilitating access to decent work in the open labour market. It also requests the Government to provide statistical data on the employment rates of persons with disabilities.