BAN KI-MOON SPEAKS ON GENOCIDE WITHOUT MENTIONING DARFUR
Jane Wells
Huffington Post, NY
May 1 2007
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon opened the exhibition ‘Lessons From
Rwanda’ at the UN HQ in New York last night. In his speech he made
two significant announcements about the UN’s policy on genocide but
failed to mention the elephant in the room.
"Lessons From Rwanda’ was created by The Aegis Trust for genocide
prevention and shows the international community’s failure to protect
and the horrible human cost that resulted.
It is a concise, powerful and brilliantly curated exhibition that was
originally scheduled to open on April 9th to coincide with the 13th
anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. However a controversy erupted at
the UN over the exhibition’s reference to the Armenian genocide and
in deference to complaints by the Turkish delegation it was postponed
until last night.
Ban Ki-Moon announced his intention to upgrade the Office of Special
Advisor on Genocide and to ‘operationalize’ the September 15th 2005
"Responsibility To Protect" edict. Clearly these are important and
welcome advances.
What was less welcome is that on the day after Sundays ‘Global Day
for Darfur’, in which rallies were held in over 300 cities worldwide,
the Secretary General failed to mention the genocide in Darfur and
in an oblique reference to the Armenian/Turkish controversy asked us
not to dwell on history. So, as political expediency once more trumps
moral urgency at the UN, let us not forget that as many as 400,000
people have died in the conflict in Darfur and over 2.5 million more
have been displaced.
There are many lessons to be learned from the Rwandan genocide and it
is to the credit of the Rwandan government that they do not flinch from
recognizing and acknowledging these lessons. Their Ambassador and the
Armenian Ambassador were present. The Ambassadors whose governments
have blood on their hands and have most to learn from this exhibit
were absent. Let’s hope they drop by on the way to meetings over the
next few days. The evidence is there, the facts irrefutable and the
ironies too apparent for anyone to ignore.
This exhibition could not have been more timely and it’s presence in
the foyer of the UN itself an astonishing reminder of the repeated
failure of the might of the UN to fulfill its promise and purpose.
If Ban Ki-Moon could act to end the genocide taking place on his
watch he might redeem both his tenure and the institution he serves.
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