Discrimination is prohibited in different provisions of the 2003 Constitution of Rwanda (the Constitution), in different pieces of legislation and in international and regional human rights treaties ratified by Rwanda. According to the 2003 Constitution, one of the fundamental principles which have to be upheld by the State is the ‘eradication of discrimination and divisionism based on ethnicity, region or on any other ground as well as promotion of national unity’. Article 15 of the Constitution provides for equality before the law and Article 16 of the Constitution prohibits discrimination and it provides for the grounds on which a person shall not be discriminated against. Rwanda is also one of the very few African countries whose constitutions criminalise discrimination and different laws have been enacted to deal with the offence of discrimination. The Supreme Court of Rwanda, the highest court in the country, has handed down decisions on Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution. The purpose of this article is to analyse these decisions and illustrate how the Supreme Court has dealt with the issues such as the definition of discrimination and the difference between discrimination and differentiation. The author also discusses the issues that the Rwandan judiciary and prosecutors are likely to face when dealing with the offence of discrimination.

中文翻译：

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卢旺达不受歧视的权利

2003 年卢旺达宪法（《宪法》）的不同条款、不同的立法以及卢旺达批准的国际和区域人权条约都禁止歧视。根据2003年宪法，国家必须坚持的基本原则之一是“消除基于民族、地区或任何其他理由的歧视和分裂，促进民族团结”。《宪法》第 15 条规定法律面前人人平等，《宪法》第 16 条禁止歧视，并规定不得歧视任何人的理由。卢旺达也是极少数非洲国家之一，其宪法将歧视定为刑事犯罪，并颁布了不同的法律来处理歧视罪行。卢旺达最高法院是该国的最高法院，已就《宪法》第 15 条和第 16 条作出裁决。本文的目的是分析这些决定，并说明最高法院如何处理歧视的定义以及歧视与差异之间的区别等问题。作者还讨论了卢旺达司法机关和检察官在处理歧视罪行时可能面临的问题。本文的目的是分析这些决定，并说明最高法院如何处理歧视的定义以及歧视与差异之间的区别等问题。作者还讨论了卢旺达司法机关和检察官在处理歧视罪行时可能面临的问题。本文的目的是分析这些决定，并说明最高法院如何处理歧视的定义以及歧视与差异之间的区别等问题。作者还讨论了卢旺达司法机关和检察官在处理歧视罪行时可能面临的问题。