YouSaid · the spoken record

Anastase Gasana

lines on the record
64
first
1997-09-24
most recent
2001-09-24
sittings or episodes
3
sources
un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

  1. “Such measures should also be aimed at cancelling debt and ensuring adequate integration of these countries into the world economy. In this context, we call on the United Nations to reconsider the report submitted to the Security Council by the Independent Inquiry led by Mr. Carlsson, former Prime Minister of Sweden, on which there has been no follow-up to date. As a Member of the United Nations, we believe that the Organization to which we belong should undertake a follow-up to this report that defines well the need for economic and social reconstruction in post-genocide Rwanda.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

  2. “Throughout this general debate poverty and the problem of debt have been stressed as major obstacles to development and thus to entry into the era of globalization. Globalization, with its advantages for some and problems for others, does not seem to be able to resolve the problem of the gap between the rich and poor countries. To the contrary, the gap between them continues to grow. The marginalization of poor countries in international trade and the debt burden have severely hampered their efforts for development and have exacerbated their poverty. This is why the United Nations needs to define policies for the development of all and adopt international measures to support poor countries in the field of investment.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

  3. “Aside from Africa and the Middle East, we are pleased to note the significant progress made on the Korean peninsula, where both Koreas have shown encouraging signs of reaching a final settlement of a conflict arose in the context of the cold war. This fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly is the first after the Millennium Summit, and thus should follow it up and lay the new foundation for the future of mankind. The Summit stressed, among the values that underpin international relations and respect for the fundamental principles of the Charter, the role that the United Nations ought to play and recommended the creation of a propitious climate for the development of the least developed countries that were not yet on the path towards globalization.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

  4. “Also regarding Africa, we feel that a definitive solution to the problem of Western Sahara should also be found. We would like to see peace in the Middle East. The question of Palestinian refugees, which is several decades old, needs to be re-examined. Indeed, the existence of an independent Palestinian State, alongside an independent Israeli State assured of its existence as such is necessary for peace in the Middle East. The friends of the Israelis and the Palestinians within the United Nations, including us, ought rather at this stage to work on cultivating and strengthening relations of friendship and cooperation between these two fraternal States — the Israeli State and the Palestinian State. We are anxious to start work on this noble task.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

  5. “We hope that phase III of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), in close cooperation with the initiative of the RCD Goma-MLC Gbadolite, will lead to the complete disarmament of these groups and to stability and peace in the Great Lakes region. We are pleased to note the establishment of a Transitional Government in Burundi. We believe that this is a major step towards the reconciliation to which our brothers, the people of Burundi, aspire. Today the Great Lakes region is seeking solutions to the conflicts that undermine it. May the example of Burundi, under the inspiration of President Nelson Mandela, bear fruit in the general interest and for the benefit of the people of Burundi and Africa as a whole.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

  6. “We would like to recall here that the regular Rwandan army did not cross borders into the Democratic Republic of the Congo in order to annex the country, as the report claims, but, as we have 21 explained and demonstrated a number of times, to ensure the security of our territory and our population. We acted in the context “of the inherent right of individual ... self-defence” of a country, as we are authorized to do under Chapter VII, Article 51 of the Charter. Indeed, security in the north of Rwanda has been and continues to be constantly disrupted by the ex-FAR and the Interahamwe militia that committed the genocide in 1994 and that are using Congolese territory as their rear base in order to repeat their gruesome deeds. These armed groups are infiltrating Rwanda and killing thousands of innocent people.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

  7. “Regarding human rights, we would like to reaffirm our attachment to the rule of law in international relations. We are determined to strengthen the rule of law, as well as respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Government of Rwanda welcomed with great interest the report on human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is regrettable, however, that the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Roberto Garretn, was not present when the report was submitted on 8 November 2001. Because of his absence, no real debate between the parties concerned and the Rapporteur was possible. Once again, my delegation finds this highly regrettable. The report on human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo contains numerous gratuitous allegations, including one on the alleged annexation of that country.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

  8. “We wish to note with great satisfaction, the actions of the sisterly Republic of South Africa, which, given the failure of inter-Congolese dialogue in Addis Ababa — because of, among other things, lack of financial resources — generously offered food and lodging to over 300 Congolese delegates going to that greatly anticipated inter-Congolese forum. We wish also to congratulate the Rassemblement congolais pour la démocratie (RCD)-Goma and the Mouvement pour la libération du Congo (MLC)-Gbadolite on their fine initiative to create a special force to carry out the disarmament and disengagement of negative forces under their control on the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and on having invited the Kinshasa Government to join this initiative.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

  9. “With regard to peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and throughout the Great Lakes region in Africa, my country is determined to implement the Lusaka Agreement, which, with respect to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has two important components: the inter-Congolese dialogue, which should lead to a political solution to the Congolese crisis, and the disarmament and withdrawal of negative forces, which should lead to peace on the Rwandan, Ugandan and Burundi borders of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

  10. “The Democratic Republic of the Congo, which since 1994 has been harbouring these forces of evil, has fed them, has provided them with arms and munitions and has allied itself with them, must respond to the Security Council’s repeated appeals to stop all support for the negative forces on its territories, including the Interahamwe and ex-Far, which planned and carried out genocide in Rwanda.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

  11. “This reign of terror by a State, as the Assembly well knows, took more than 1 million human lives in 1994. The instruments of this blind, merciless terror, whose overwhelming result was genocide, are well known: the organization of paramilitary militias commonly known as the Interahamwe, and the former Rwandese Armed Forces, known as the ex-FAR. From this rostrum we call for these two organizations, which for a decade have been veritable killing machines, to be duly listed as terrorist groups to be fought and pursued throughout the world.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

  12. “Since the United Nations is the crucible of international peace and security, and since terrorist groups take innocent human lives, it is up to every Member State, every truly human organization and every person who cherishes peace and justice to fight as vigorously as possible against such a terrorist group, no matter what its pretext, no matter how powerful it may be. When we say no matter how powerful, we know what we are saying, having been victims ourselves. We were victims of the terror not of just any organization, but of a State that in reality became a non-State, but with all the State machinery available to it to fight the very people whose protection was its most fundamental duty. Rwanda and its people lived under the terror of a murderous, terrorist and genocidal State for three months.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

  13. “The Government of Rwanda learned of these ignoble acts with indignation and consternation, and has presented its condolences to the American Government and the families directly affected. The Rwandan Government reiterates its condemnation of terrorism and remains open to all initiatives designed to combat all forms of terrorism. It is in this spirit that my country unreservedly supports all the resolutions adopted against terrorism, in particular resolution 1373 (2001) of 28 September, and we reaffirm our determination to implement them. The acts of 11 September 2001 are a challenge to the United Nations and to each of its Member States.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

  14. “His remarkable efforts in strengthening the role of the United Nations and his numerous initiatives to resolve conflicts have been eloquently attested to by his election to a second term of office, and even more by the Nobel Peace Prize that has just been awarded to him. This session began in a very tragic climate in the wake of the cowardly and ignoble acts orchestrated by enemies of international peace and security. Those terrorist acts led to the deaths of thousands of innocent victims in the cities of New York and Washington. This was a very heavy blow to the Government and the 20 people of the United States and also a challenge to the United Nations and to the entire international community.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

  15. “It is a great honour for me, on behalf of the Rwandan delegation, to join previous speakers in extending from this rostrum of the United Nations our sincere and warm congratulations to Mr. Han Seung-soo on his election as President of the General Assembly at the fifty-sixth session. I should also like to take this opportunity to pay a well-deserved tribute to his predecessor for the farsightedness with which he led the work of the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly. I also wish, on behalf of my Government, to extend my warm congratulations to Mr. Kofi Annan on his re-election as Secretary-General of our Organization.”

    2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)

  16. “Will the United Nations and the entire international community wait for genocide to be committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo before they dispatch a commission of enquiry after the event? Could not the International Criminal Court — whose recent establishment through the adoption of a suitable statute we welcome — quickly take up this matter and arrest the leader and his henchmen who are now engaged in murder in the Democratic Republic of the Congo? Those are the real questions that in our humble view should be asked about the present crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — a crisis to which a purely political solution has to be found through political negotiations between the Government of President Kabila and the Congolese rebels.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  17. “Why is a given actor present in the Congo? What are the real reasons for such a presence there, and why is another actor not present or even trying to be there? Why is genocide being committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the orders of the highest authorities, including President Kabila himself? What is the meaning of the presence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo of the combined genocidal forces that came from Rwanda in 1994 — the Interahamwe militia, elements of the former Rwandan Armed Forces, elements of the ex-forces of the former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin Dada, terrorists in the pay of one country or another, and other trouble-makers? Around whom and against whom are these fascist forces uniting in the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo?”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  18. “Will they continue to support a genocidal regime that has come to be abhorred by its own people? The Governor of Shaba-Katanga province also made a discreet appeal to the United Nations and, thus, to the international community; he revealed that he had official orders to massacre all Congolese Tutsis, anyone of Rwandese origin, and any Congolese who resisted this grim plan. How did the United Nations respond to that appeal from the Governor of Shaba-Katanga province? Many people are wondering whether or not Rwanda has a presence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They have, indeed, made this an overriding issue. The problem of the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and of attempts to resolve it is not to find out who is and who is not in the Congo; it is to try to understand why.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  19. “Gaëtan Kakudji, quietly approached the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the High Commissioner for Human Rights and told them that unless they quickly organized the evacuation of all those who had been arrested, those people would be killed. We wonder what the United Nations did in response to that alarm sounded by a Congolese official, none other than the Minister of the Interior, who has now dissociated himself from President Kabila’s acts of genocide by abandoning his ministerial post and fleeing his country for Europe, according to information in the media. The defection of the Congolese Minister of the Interior, who is a cousin of President Kabila, may be food for thought, and perhaps for inspiration, for President Kabila’s new allies.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  20. “Copies of the Dallaire fax on the genocide in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are without question to be found here in New York, at the United Nations Office at Geneva, at the European Union headquarters in Brussels and in every Western capital. In the light of the existence of the Dallaire fax, no one can claim not to have been informed in time to condemn President Kabila’s acts of genocide and those of the Interahamwe militia and the elements of the former Rwandan Armed Forces, who planned and carried out the genocide in Rwanda more than four years ago. At the very beginning of the crisis, the Congolese Minister of the Interior, Mr.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  21. “But although President Kabila and his cronies have brought disappointment and despair to the Congolese people by sowing ethnic hatred in their country, Rwanda — which had the misfortune to be the victim of the 1994 genocide — has the right to denounce the crime against humanity that is now being perpetrated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in order to prevent it from being exported to Rwanda, as appears to be on President Kabila’s political and military agenda. We hope that the United Nations will speedily condemn the genocide being perpetrated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and will take the necessary steps to halt it before it is too late.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  22. “That is why my Government shouldered its responsibility and did its neighbourly duty to the Congolese people, inter alia by demonstrating solidarity with the fraternal people of Congo in helping it rid itself of the 32-year dictatorship of the former President Mobutu, who had bankrupted the country. 6 In its efforts to find a solution to the present crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Government of Rwanda supports political negotiations leading to the emergence of a leadership worthy to guide the Democratic Republic of the Congo to a future other than that of genocide — which, unfortunately, is the situation under the regime of President Kabila.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  23. “Fifthly, the philosophy of genocide and the culture of murder that President Kabila is cultivating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the assistance of former elements of the Rwandan Armed Forces and the Interahamwe soldiers that committed the genocide in Rwanda, as well as terrorists in the pay of either country, must be quickly eradicated from the Congolese population by a new, enlightened leadership devoted to the national cause, the cause of all Congolese without exception. We have spoken at some length on the problems of the Great Lakes region, and particularly those of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; this is necessary in view of my Government’s great esteem, respect and consideration for the fraternal people of the Congo.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  24. “Thirdly, the Congolese army should be national, not a Katangese militia composed of followers of President Kabila; the Congolese of the eastern part of the country, the Banyamulengue, the Congolese of Masisi, those of Jomba and those of Rutshuru and other eastern locales, as well as other regions of the country, should also be part of it. Fourthly, the inter-Congolese conflict will be resolved by good governance and good leadership that does not incite people to commit genocide and massacre of part of the population that it is supposed to protect. The political negotiations between the Kabila Government and the rebels must encourage the emergence of this kind of leadership, which the Democratic Republic of the Congo so urgently needs.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  25. “Security in the north of Rwanda is constantly menaced by elements of the former Rwandan Armed Forces and the Interahamwe soldiers who committed the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 and who still use Congolese territory as a rear base in order to reprise their gruesome crimes. The security of neighbouring countries must be a constant source of concern to the Government and the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo must be constantly mindful of the fact that each time the forces of evil seek to sow insecurity in a neighbouring country, the country of origin of these destabilizing forces forfeits its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  26. “Indeed, we wonder why President Kabila’s former ministers, such as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Karaha, and the Minister of State to the Presidency of the Republic, Mr. Bugera, and many other Congolese citizens from the eastern part of the country have been banished from their homes and from Congolese territory. It is Rwanda’s view that we cannot eternally have stateless people on our borders, especially the eastern border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Secondly, this inter-Congolese conflict has repercussions for the security of the neighbouring countries, particularly Rwanda, given that Kabila’s forces are a combination of all the criminal elements of the countries of the region.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  27. “Some persons have been removed from their homes, their hotel rooms and even from the premises of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kinshasa, as a result of curfews and various manhunt operations decreed by the Kabila Government.” All these facts are cited from that Congolese human rights association. The Rwandan Government believes, once again, that the solution to this inter-Congolese conflict lies in political negotiations between the Kabila Government and the rebels, for the following reasons. First, the Congolese must resolve among themselves, once and for all, the question of nationality and citizenship, though this is not negotiable. Normally, a question of nationality or citizenship is not up for negotiation, but we believe that this problem has to be resolved among the Congolese.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  28. “The association denounced these arrests and disappearances on 10 August and 3 September 1998, and the following facts were stated by this Congolese human rights association: “Several individuals of Tutsi origin were arrested and arbitrarily detained in the Kokola and Tshatshi camps and in various jails belonging to the information service and in the Kin-Mazière jail in Kinshasa- Gombe; more than 500 soldiers from the former Zairian armed forces were arrested, and some are still missing to this day. “Other Congolese who are married to Tutsis, friends of Tutsis or who look like Tutsis have been arrested in connection with this inter-Congolese conflict.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  29. “Another person was executed purely and simply because he was speaking English. President Kabila’s governmental troops are using all possible means to wipe out the evidence of the atrocities they commit. Several witnesses, including some fishermen, agree that they saw human bodies carried on the waters of the Congo river. Other persons suspected of being rebels have been buried alive in Kitambo and Masina. 5 The mass arrests, arbitrary detentions and forced disappearances in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been denounced in particular by an African human rights association (ASADHO) that works in Kinshasa.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  30. “People have been burnt alive because they were caught with red mud on their shoes — red being the colour of the mud in the region of the lower part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, at that time occupied by rebels. The Government’s soldiers have fired point blank at other suspects whose bodies were abandoned in the streets. Several mentally ill people were summarily executed because of a rumour, spread by Kabila’s Government, that the rebels had disguised themselves as madmen in order to pass unnoticed. On 27 August 1998, a mentally ill person living at the corner of Kasai and Usoke streets in the town of Barumbu was riddled with bullets in the central market of Kinshasa. An unidentified person was summarily shot down because he was caught speaking on a cellular phone.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  31. “The Congolese Minister of Justice, who after all is supposed to be safeguarding everyone’s human rights, has said, “These Rwandans, these Tutsis, they are insects, microbes that must be methodically eradicated.” In support of the words of President Kabila, who said he would export war to Rwanda, the Congolese Minister of Health, Dr. Jean-Baptiste Nsonji, stated, “The Rwandans will become like snakes whose head and tail have been cut off, unable to move, unable to escape.” In response to these incitements to hatred and violence spread by President Kabila and the Congolese Minister of Information, Mr. Didier Mumengi, the Minister of Health, Dr. Jean-Baptiste Nsonji, and the Director of President Kabila’s cabinet, Mr. Yerodia Abdoulaye, the population has begun to attack persons suspected of being in league with the rebels.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  32. “In that context, the Government of Rwanda requests the international community to put an end to these groundless racist theories and this campaign to demonize Rwanda and its people. President Kabila and his close collaborators are inciting the Congolese people to acts of mindless violence against any person suspected of being a rebel, any person of Tutsi origin and any person who, according to them, is in league, directly or indirectly, with the rebellion. The governmental authorities of Kinshasa are calling upon the people, through the official media, “to treat the enemy like a virus, a mosquito, a piece of garbage that must be crushed with determination and without mercy”.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  33. “In that regard, my Government believes that that statement by President Kabila shows his racist leanings and theories, similar to those spread during the 1980s by the late President Habyarimana and his ilk, who invented this pseudo-empire to stifle the claims of Rwandese refugees who had been in exile for more than 30 years and who were beginning to vociferously reclaim their inalienable rights to unconditional return to their motherland. These, then, are the racist theories cunningly invented and orchestrated by the former President of Rwanda, Mr. Habyarimana, and his regime in order to demonize the Tutsi. Now, unfortunately, Mr. Kabila is making use of them once more to demonize not only the Tutsi but the whole of Rwanda and all its people.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  34. “This is tangible evidence of recruitment by President Kabila of Interahamwe militias and former members of the armed forces of Rwanda who committed genocide in Rwanda and took refuge in Congo Brazzaville, a fact recently denounced by the High Commissioner for Refugees. At that same Victoria Falls Summit, President Kabila implied that Rwanda was seeking to establish a Hima empire in the Great Lakes region.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  35. “With regard to summary executions and incitement to hatred taking place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the following facts are illustrative. The present genocide and the massacres in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are similar to those that occurred in Rwanda in 1994 when the Radio Télévision Libre de Mille Collines (RTLM) was inciting people to hunt down Tutsis and their Hutu accomplices, as they were called by the radio station at the time. During the Victoria Falls Summit, which took place on 7 and 8 August 1998, President Kabila declared that those who committed genocide in Rwanda were right and were worthy of support then and now.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  36. “In this respect, Rwanda, like other observers near and far, is concerned at the increase in human rights violations committed by the Government of President Kabila, which is inciting the people to genocide, massacres and racial and ethnic hatred. The Government of Rwanda believes that the United Nations must condemn the genocide as well as human rights violations being committed in the Democratic Republic of the 4 Congo and take the necessary steps against the Government of President Kabila. This genocide and these human rights violations are characterized by summary executions, incitement to hatred by President Kabila and members of his Government, massive arrests, arbitrary detentions and forced disappearances.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  37. “Kabila’s implicit recognition of this rebellion was also shown when he arrested and imprisoned six journalists from the Kinshasa news agency “La Voix du Peuple” because he suspected them of supporting the Congolese rebellion. The position of Rwanda is to join its mediation efforts with those of the international community to find a solution to the Congolese crisis through negotiations between the Congolese rebels and the Government of President Kabila. Unfortunately, these efforts of the Government of Rwanda have collided with the obstinacy of President Kabila, who believes that the solution to this inter-Congolese conflict is to persecute and massacre the Banyamulenge, the Tutsi and the Rwandese living in Congo, as well as Congolese who refuse to support his grim designs.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  38. “The commission of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), composed of the four member countries Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Namibia and Zambia, acknowledged in its report to SADC, following its fact-finding mission, that a rebellion exists against Mr. Kabila in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. President Kabila himself implicitly recognized the existence of this rebellion when he published a long list of Congolese authorities that he banished by withdrawing their Congolese passports and issuing international arrest warrants against them. These Congolese were banished by President Kabila because they are leading the Congolese rebellion against him. Mr.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  39. “One United Nations Secretary-General even lost his life there in the search for a solution to the problems of that country. Today, more than in the past, this country, Congo — which has since become the Democratic Republic of the Congo — is experiencing the darkest times in its history, because genocide is being committed there on the orders of the highest authorities of that country. Since 2 August 1998, Rwanda, like everyone, has been witnessing a rebellion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo against the Government and President Kabila. Since then, the Government of Rwanda has consistently pointed out that that crisis is purely internal and that Mr. Kabila had definitely been facing a highly structured rebellion.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  40. “We are prepared to continue our contribution to and support for the collective efforts to bring about more democratization in the Security Council at the dawn of the third millennium. The existence of the specialized agencies within the United Nations has made this institution an instrument of development, particularly in the economic, social, political and cultural fields, and in many other areas. The Government of Rwanda supports the existence of the specialized agencies of the United Nations. The United Nations reform under way should take them into account in order to better structure them to be more operational. Since the 1960s, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has constantly been a source of concern to the United Nations and the international community.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  41. “The Government and the people of Rwanda are grateful to the Secretary-General for the working visit he made to Rwanda in May 1998. That historic visit made it possible for him to take stock of the results of the genocide committed in Rwanda in 1994, and we thank him for his words of encouragement to the Government and the people of Rwanda for efforts made in the process of rebuilding the country. Each time we have had an opportunity to do so, the Government of Rwanda has supported the proposals of the Secretary-General with regard to the essential reforms of our Organization and deemed that the same proposals for reform were likewise valid for the reform of the Security Council.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  42. “On behalf of the people of Rwanda and on my own behalf, allow me to convey sincere and heartfelt congratulations to you on your outstanding election as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session. This election reflects the unanimous recognition by States of our Organization of your country, Uruguay. A well-deserved tribute is likewise extended to your distinguished predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, who demonstrated dedication, skill and open-mindedness at the last session. Heartfelt fraternal thanks go to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his skill, performance and far- sightedness. This fifty-third session of the General Assembly is the second in his term of office.”

    1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)

  43. “The embargo on this report, which has hindered its publication, should be lifted immediately in order to facilitate everyone’s efforts.”

    1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)

  44. “In order to support the efforts of the Secretary- General, the High Commissioner for Refugees and the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and to enlighten better the international community about the refugee problem in eastern Zaire, the Rwandan Government calls on the United Nations to publish and circulate as a document of the Security Council the report of the International Commission of Inquiry on the trafficking in and distribution of weapons in refugee camps in eastern Zaire. The United Nations International Commission of Inquiry was established under Security Council resolution 1013 (1995) of 7 September 1995. The Commission submitted its report, duly signed by its members, one year later, on 28 October 1996.”

    1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)

  45. “Before concluding, we would like to say from this lofty rostrum that we welcome the progress made towards resolving the misunderstanding on the question of the International Commission of Inquiry sent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced at his press conference yesterday afternoon. The Rwandan Government therefore encourages those specifically involved in this matter — namely, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo — to work together to put an end to this problem. They have our confidence and support.”

    1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)

  46. “They visited and spoke with people from all sectors of the population, including peasants on communes and in municipalities and students and State officials who had been repatriated and who were participating in orientation seminars on the positive aspects of national unity, tolerance, reconciliation, respect for human life and 28 solidarity. They also spoke with local authorities who are working to train our people. The Government of Rwanda needs support for this exercise. It needs the assistance of the international community.”

    1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)

  47. “Again, results in this area have also been quite satisfactory. In fact, a month ago I organized a meeting of the entire diplomatic and consular community at Ruhengeri, one of the provinces in the north of the country. After that meeting the diplomats had the opportunity to visit any areas of Ruhengeri they chose. Likewise, before I came to New York for the General Assembly, Mr. Pasteur Bizimungu, President of the Republic of Rwanda, headed a meeting of ministers at Gisenyi, one of the country’s three northern provinces. After the meeting the President of the Republic and the members of the Government went into the field for three days.”

    1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)

  48. “The exercise has gone well and is still being successfully pursued. At the communal and municipal level, we have also created reception committees composed of local authorities and members of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Unfortunately, some troublemakers have filtered in with the 1.4 million refugees who have recently returned to Rwanda. Since February 1997, these fugitives have been committing murders among the civilian population. They have primarily targeted the survivors of genocide, in order to do away with anyone who might be a witness in a court of law, and local authorities who are devoted to the cause of national unity and reconciliation. The Rwandan Government has taken the necessary measures to ensure the safety of the people in the north of the country, which has been the site of these murders.”

    1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)

  49. “For the victims of this famine, we request emergency food relief and development assistance for every sector of national life — agriculture, health, education, the social and socio-economic reintegration of the repatriated, the survivors of genocide, justice and the rehabilitation and reconstruction of basic infrastructures, including those for water, electricity and roads. As for the social and socio-economic reintegration of the repatriated, since November 1996 the Rwandan Government has been sending into the field teams led by two Ministers for each province and composed of other ministers, members of Parliament and high-level administrators. These field missions aim at supporting the local administrative authorities in their tasks of receiving and reintegrating the repatriates.”

    1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)

  50. “This mini- Marshall Plan for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of post-genocide Rwanda was drafted by Ambassador Sahnoun, Special Representative for the Great Lakes region of the Secretaries-General of the United Nations and the OAU, at the request of the Rwandan Government of National Unity. We also make a ringing appeal to the United Nations and the entire international community to provide Rwanda with substantial assistance, as it has received since November 1996 more than 1.4 million repatriated persons — one fifth of its population — who had fled to the former Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania and Burundi. Following this mass return of refugees, famine has today struck heavily in over four of our provinces.”

    1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)