Human rights are not the preserve of Western activists: The definition must extend to encompass the right to the dignified life; the right to send your kids to school, for that child to get health care, for access for greater prosperity for generations to come and to have a say in the destiny of your community and country. Under that definition, Rwanda has nothing to learn from advocacy groups who think they own the copyright on what constitutes human rights under all conditions in every corner of the world.

My purpose is to develop a country, to empower its population. It's from that same population that will emerge the man or woman who will succeed me. And they will be chosen based on the consensus that they have the capacity to lead the country.

Such problems are not solved in one day but there is a great step toward peace and security in the region.

Politics is not only about personal choice. That one also needs to take into consideration what the people want because in the end, they are the ones who decide.

I grew up in a refugee camp in Uganda, and I lived there for 30 years. That shapes one's character.

In Rwanda, we have a society that has experienced a very serious rupture and you can't expect all of a sudden that things will be perfect. Even so: You cannot find any more areas where any segment of the population would be afraid to go, like we used to have before. But there is always a lot more to do.

Human rights groups are locked in a fierce competition for big checks from wealthy donors and they need to generate big headlines.