Last month Rwanda Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Louise Mushikiwabo spoke at the Wilson Center on a wide-ranging set of issues, from the country’s development successes to the prominent role women have played in post-genocide society.

She also answered questions from the audience on a 2015 constitutional referendum that theoretically allows President Paul Kagame to remain in power until 2034 and allegations of Rwanda’s meddling in the affairs of Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mushikiwabo said Rwanda should be judged on its own terms, given the trauma of the 1994 genocide. “Rwanda has had to make extremely difficult choices,” she said. “Choices were made because there was no alternative and because the country had to move on and move forward… We were basically a broken nation.”

At least 800,000 people – 10 percent of the population – were killed in 100 days of violence that ended with the overthrow of the government by a rebel army with Kagame at its head.

In the 22 years since, Rwanda has experienced a remarkable recovery. Rwanda’s parliament is the only one in the world to have a female majority. GDP has grown at eight percent a year since 2001. Child mortality has declined by two-thirds. And primary school enrollment is nearly universal.

Still, many remain deeply divided about its success, citing skin-deep reforms, crackdowns on critics, and Kagame’s entrenchment.

To watch Mushikiwabo’s full remarks, visit wilsoncenter.org.