Rwanda wants action, not words, on genocide prevention
.c The Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Rwanda’s foreign minister on Sunday questioned
whether world leaders would ever make good on new promises to act in
times of genocide like the one that devastated his nation 11 years
ago.
One of the most lauded elements of a document that came out of a
three-day summit that ended Friday was world leaders’ recognition of a
collective responsibility to protect people from genocide, war crimes
and ethnic cleansing.
Rwanda’s Foreign Minister, Charles Murigande, told the annual
U.N. General Assembly debate that his country would wait until nations
again confront such a crisis to declare that responsibility a success.
“Action, not words, would be the measure of our success or failure,”
Murigande said. “Will there be lengthy academic or legal debates on
what constitutes genocide or crimes against humanity while people
die?”
Rwanda’s 1994 genocide saw more than 500,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus
massacred during three months. The powerful U.N. Security Council
largely stood by as the killing took place.
Murigande said few countries in the world were more interested in U.N.
reform than Rwanda because there is no other nation where the United
Nations has “consistently neglected to learn from its mistakes,
resulting in massive loss of life and untold misery.”
He accused the U.N. of again failing to live up to its promises
because Rwandan appeals for the arrest of those who perpetrated the
genocide have gone unanswered. Many of them fled to the lawless east
of neighboring Congo, where they have become a destabilizing force
against that country’s government as well.
Murigande demanded that neighboring countries turn over Rwanda
genocide suspects, and if they don’t, that the Security Council take
action.
“We find it inexplicable that while some states profess commitment to
the Charter, human rights and international law, they allow known
suspects of the Rwanda genocide to live in their countries,” he said.
09/18/05 19:29 EDT