8 - Evaluating UNICEF Rwanda’s Approach

Summary

Chapter 8 evaluates in detail UNICEF Rwanda’s approach, exploring risks, criticisms and limitations: did interpreting the standards in a context-specific way (which included prioritisation and progressively working towards implementation and compliance) weaken the normative content of the standards? Did UNICEF Rwanda’s broadly collaborative and constructive (rather than coercive) approach risk usurpation, co-option and compromised independence? Responding to these challenges, the chapter finds that UNICEF Rwanda, whilst pragmatic, remained true to child rights principles and retained its independence. The chapter then presents examples of where the empirical data (using process tracing) suggest that UNICEF Rwanda exerted a positive influence on Rwanda’s implementation of, or compliance with, international standards. It also analyses the factors that influenced UNICEF Rwanda (the Rwandan context itself, the nature of the CRC and UNICEF’s institutional particularities) so as to situate its approach in the broader context. The chapter concludes that UNICEF Rwanda’s pragmatic yet principled approach was overall appropriate and achieved some positive results, although there were shortcomings, and that this approach may be an appropriate means of operationalising international juvenile justice standards (or human rights standards more generally) in a post-conflict society.