YouSaid · the spoken record

Mutaboba

lines on the record: 320
first: 1999-08-25
most recent: 2012-07-26
sittings or episodes: 25
sources: un-security-council

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

“The ICTR knows of the one in France, the one in Italy who actually changed his name as a cover-up, the two nuns in Belgium, and lots more in Canada and elsewhere. We know them. We know where they are. I could go on, but to conclude, the excellent relations existing between the ICTR and the Government of Rwanda should continue and require members' support and understanding. The Prosecutor has done an excellent job in addressing real issues, and that is what we argue in favour of. We trust that she can devise ways to solve existing problems referred to earlier to make sure that we are all on the right track. But she needs members' assistance, too. Justice does not discriminate. Discrimination should be tackled in dealing with recruitment and witnesses.”
2000-06-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4150 (2000) · source
“When former Prime Minister Kambanda was judged, he was sentenced to life imprisonment, Serushago to 15 years, and, yesterday or today, Ruggiu to 12 years. As the years go by, the sentences diminish and yet responsibilities remain blatantly the same. How can Ruggiu enjoy only a 12-year sentence after what he admitted he did and said? We should think twice. Last but not least, while bearing in mind the neutrality of the judges, everyone wishes to jealously preserve, Rwanda included, how can one explain that no single judge from the ICTR has taken the liberty to visit Rwanda either individually or in a group to become acquainted with the place of the crimes on which the judges are deliberating? Can we be given a good reason why they have not visited the country? Do we have reasons why the ICTR does not have priests and nuns arrested?”
2000-06-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4150 (2000) · source
“The families and relatives of those victims have not been compensated for the loss of their loved ones or relocated in the same way as the families of killers are systematically being taken out of Rwanda for alleged reasons of safety. There are double standards everywhere, and this is immoral, I think. That should be reversed, and protection for all and compensation should be the words on members' lips and in their notebooks from now on, as was also suggested by Ms. Del Ponte. I hope that members' regrets expressed after the Carlsson report will not fade away, so that each country will think about what to do for the victims of our failures. The sentences rendered by the ICTR are also, interestingly, following a funny trend.”
2000-06-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4150 (2000) · source
“Again, this is the same group of people: parents or relatives of those injail in Arusha or elsewhere, in northern Europe, other parts of Europe or Canada. We have examples. The ICTR staffing has new types of shortcomings: 1994 Rwandan refugees and former human rights monitors expelled from Rwanda for inciting hatred and for failing in the work they had to do. They are exclusively people who have their own bias against Rwanda and people inside Rwanda, dead or alive. This network of recruitment should be broken before things get worse. Once again, the Prosecutor is aware of this situation, and we hope members will urge and help her Office to change things, but we have to help her to do so. Members recall witnesses who were killed after their return from Arusha.”
2000-06-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4150 (2000) · source
“I have names but I cannot mention them because this is not the appropriate time or place to do it, and the Prosecutor has those examples, I am sure. We hope to see that reversed as swiftly as possible. There is more to this. Those in jail have successfully managed to call for witnesses, not genuine independent witnesses, but their families and relatives who, once shipped out of Rwanda, go into exile and never go back to Rwanda. We have lots of cases of this group. Bound as we are to cooperate with the ICTR, we equally feel cheated, and a solution has to be found immediately. There also exist what are known as "tracking teams". We welcome them. However, the ICTR has been taking people out of Rwanda, allegedly protecting them from revenge killings, and relocating them in other countries.”
2000-06-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4150 (2000) · source
“Talking of recruitment - and this has already been communicated to the Prosecutor's Office - we wish to see Rwandan nationals recruited from all walks of life and different social groups; this is a diplomatic way to say that so far those recruited are Rwandan refugees based in Europe and elsewhere, some of whom have already had files opened on genocide charges or are relatives and friends of those jailed in Arusha, especially the group of interpreters and witnesses. A translator can be a traitor. I have lots of examples, without any prejudice. We had a case of somebody who asked, "Can you translate gukataijosi7". This means to cut the throat or the neck of somebody. Somebody translated it as legitimate defence.”
2000-06-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4150 (2000) · source
“But, as I said before, it is never too late to do well and good. The Prosecutor has done a tremendous job by visiting Rwanda and Arusha and remaining there longer than her predecessors did. This alone shows that she means business, and we thank her for that. It has made, and is making, a big difference. We encourage her to continue in that vein, and we will collaborate fully with her. We are pleased to note that she has recruited a new chief investigator, whom we wish well. However, we would like to see better-qualified investigators recruited right away to match the highly qualified defence lawyers, who simply have a free ride over an underqualified prosecuting stafff though not always.”
2000-06-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4150 (2000) · source
“The personal and professional stand she took and the silence this Council subsequently kept went on to prove that no matter what suit we happen to be wearing, we remain human beings. We can be mistaken, and mistakes are made. We commend the efforts made by the Prosecutor and salute the results achieved thereafter, for the sake not only of Rwanda but also for the credibility of this body and what we all stand for: international peace and security through justice for all. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has done a great deal, although there could be improvements, of course. It certainly could have done a lot more. We thank all present for what they have been able to do and urge them to do more now, instead of postponing it until later. That later may be too late.”
2000-06-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4150 (2000) · source
“President, but your colleagues and I will tell you how much diplomatic activity there was in New York and outside United Nations Headquarters to address the issue of justice denied to genocide victims in the recent past. It is sad to recall that intimidation and all sorts of pressure came from this Council and the various capitals, aimed at bringing the Government of Rwanda to its knees, asking us to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda or else. That was the message. We politely listened to those threats, weighed the words and the truth embodied in them, and found that once again Rwanda was going to be failed forever. My Government and I stood firm, and, as always, we told the Council the truth and only the truth. Thank God, the Council realized that we had a point, and Ms. Del Ponte understood us right away.”
2000-06-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4150 (2000) · source
“We have among us today an eminent personality who means a lot to Rwanda and to international justice. The Prosecutor for the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda symbolizes the search for justice and international peace, to which we all aspire. From the outset, let me express my Government's sincere thanks to Ms. Del Ponte for her visits and for the work she has done since she took office, especially from the day we and the rest of the world expressed dismay at deliberations by the Appeals Chamber in The Hague on releasing the infamous Barayagwiza without putting him on trial at that time. You were not here yet, Mr.”
2000-06-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4150 (2000) · source
“Mr. Mutaboba (Rwanda) (spoke in French): I should like to congratulate you, Sir, and to echo the sentiments of other speakers in saying how delighted we are to see you presiding over the work of the Council. We would like also to extend congratulations to your predecessor, the Ambassador of China, who did outstanding work. We hope that the work entrusted to you today will continue to be done, until its completion, following the approach that you have endorsed; it is an excellent approach. We reiterate our cooperation and support for you. (spoke in English) I wish to thank all of the members of the Council for their continued work in the search for peace and security in the world. We hope that work will go on improving day by day. The Council has the full support of my delegation now and in the years to come.”
2000-06-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4150 (2000) · source
“That is why we strongly believe that President Sir Ketumile Masire needs to be supported both politically and financially. Peace is not a one-way business. You have peace and you give it to your family, your neighbours, your nation and the whole world. It is returned to you, and the cycle continues. Sovereignty is a two-way business, too. You cannot scream for your national sovereignty while blasting your neighbours. You do not solve matters by singing the same old tune all the time: you use your imagination and become creative; you compose songs expressing the mood of the time and you keep the momentum going all the way through. This is what is needed today in search for peace and security in the world. It is the United Nations duty as the world body, and it is ours as Members who support our Organization.”
2000-05-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4143Resumption1 (2000) · source
“We should learn from that, and from the success of the repatriation of over 2 million refugees who were then costing the international community over $1 million a day. The demobilization and repatriation of members of the Interahamwe, the ex-Rwandan Armed Forces and other similar forces is a prerequisite to a successful return of peace and security in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the region. Once this is seriously considered, and in the spirit of Lusaka, then the inter-Congolese dialogue may be a factor for overall lasting peace and security within and across the Democratic Republic of the Congo's borders. Law and order are necessary for political dialogue. The political dialogue itself brings respect for human and citizen's rights. That is why MONUC needs to be deployed without further ado.”
2000-05-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4143Resumption1 (2000) · source
“If you take them to your countries, they will miss this opportunity forever to repent and to reconcile themselves with their society. Those trying to take them should think about that. It is imperative that we find a durable solution to the problem of these armed groups. Demilitarization and demobilization can be done peacefully and voluntarily, we agree. However, there is a blatant need for those forces and their supporters to cooperate for it to be done peacefully and voluntarily. Otherwise it will be a mere contradiction. The experience of refugee camps in the then eastern Zaire is still vivid in our memories: the international community had failed in the name of an idealistic, peaceful and voluntary process.”
2000-05-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4143Resumption1 (2000) · source
“We need to see the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of a region in crisis, address the root causes and do this individually and collectively. That is why we still believe that there can be no peace and security in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the region until evil armed forces are disarmed, demobilized, demilitarized, rehabilitated and reintegrated into their respective societies. We have been hearing some rumours leading us to believe that some countries may be planning to take our citizens to their respective countries. We appreciate their hospitality, but none of them likes our people better than we do. Experience shows that those already repatriated, rehabilitated and reintegrated are happy to be home, sweet home. They themselves have had a chance to say that killing is wrong and should be punished.”
2000-05-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4143Resumption1 (2000) · source
“Reference to the incident in Kisangani as a deliberate violation by some of the Lusaka Agreement is totally wrong and should not be used as yet another delaying tactic from some parties to slow momentum. We need ever more pragmatic progressive approaches, such as those proposed by President Kagame and agreed to by President Museveni and the Security Council mission. I am happy to provide the members of the Council with a copy of the latest joint statement on the demilitarization of Kisangani and, on the instructions of my Government, it may be circulated as a document of the Security Council at members' earliest convenience. Peace and security in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the region cannot come our way as long as we fix our eyes on the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone.”
2000-05-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4143Resumption1 (2000) · source
“What they forgot to say is that we were sometimes brutally frank in order to make sure that telling the truth should supersede the speeches we often hear from those trying to conceal it in order to feel good. President Kagame asked me to thank all members of the mission, bearing in mind that he was able to share and to make concrete proposals that led to solving the tragic and regrettable incidents we did not start in Kisangani. None of us had the deliberate intention of getting local civilians hurt in the first place, nor has that ever been our Government's intention at all. Rwanda is still committed to the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement. We believe it is the sole viable framework for achieving peace and security in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the region.”
2000-05-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4143Resumption1 (2000) · source
“As this is the first time I have taken the floor since the most recent open meeting of the Security Council, I wish to express my delegation's delight at seeing you, Sir, in the presidency. We also wish to congratulate your predecessor, Ambassador Fowler, for a job well done, and the same appreciation goes to the whole membership around this table for a sustained effort in the search for peace and security in the world. We can only express a strong wish to see you, Mr. President, redoubling your efforts and vigilance to avoid such surprises as we have encountered before. The Government of Rwanda is very grateful to the Security Council for the mission led by the very able Ambassador Holbrooke. It was my pleasure to welcome the delegation to Kigali, and its members are right to say that we had frank discussions.”
2000-05-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4143Resumption1 (2000) · source
“This inclusive approach will give us all more chances of objectively knowing the truth and allowing us to double-check the evidence provided, as compared to receiving just some repeated allegations as erroneous as the ones that would mislead this Council in its deliberations. Rwanda wishes to reiterate its commitment to collaborating with the Security Council and Angola in finding lasting solutions to the problem of reinforcing the sanctions against UNITA. We hope that the return of peace and security to Angola and to the region will at last be forged through this body's wise deliberations, and we thank you.”
2000-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4129Resumption1 (2000) · source
“That is why, in the spirit of the new draft resolution, we wish to suggest that further investigations be made and subsequent updated reporting carried out to supercede previous ones. Today's draft resolution indeed refers to recent findings and input from States mentioned in the report, while calling for more of them in order to gather more information and comments. We welcome this reference meant to balance the otherwise biased reporting - as we said in the document I have mentioned before. In the same vein, my delegation has no problem with the establishment of a new team of experts as proposed in the report, but our reservations are along the line of our comments: we wish to see the team more independent, more representative and professionally unquestionable than the previous team, especially when Zimbabwe is included.”
2000-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4129Resumption1 (2000) · source
“Further to, and with reference to, our statements of 15 March and our letter of 29 March, which is a Security Council document (S/2000/283) dated 4 April containing my delegation's comments on the report, we wish to share with the Council that we lost no time in following up on the allegations made against my country and President Kagame, including those repeated by the representative of Zimbabwe tonight. As stipulated in the penultimate paragraph of our comments in that document, our authorities and specialized services have thoroughly investigated the allegations time and again and have come to the same conclusions: our statements are still valid and the allegations are false, especially those just made by Zimbabwe, to include the most recent ones.”
2000-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4129Resumption1 (2000) · source
“It has been a cause of concern to us all for long enough, and the Security Council's decisive action under Canada's leadership looks more focused than it has been so far. My delegation wishes to commend this body and Canada for that change for the better, as far as Africa is concerned. We hope that this sign of change will be guided all along by appropriate research methodology principles and practices and the rigor they call for. However, nothing will work if we lose momentum.”
2000-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4129Resumption1 (2000) · source
“Once again we wish to congratulate Canada for putting on the Security Council agenda the consideration of important issues which Africa wants to see addressed, namely the situation in Angola under consideration today and the Carlsson report, which this body examined last Friday. I offer my thanks and appreciation to you all. It is a coincidence that I am speaking after the representative of Zimbabwe, from whom I was expecting an update on the situation in the region and in his country in particular. But I do not wish to divert you from today's topic. May I, with your permission, Sir, welcome the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Angola and wish him well. Knowing what Rwanda has gone through, we know very well how hard the situation in Angola has been.”
2000-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4129Resumption1 (2000) · source
“(Press release SG/SM/7263, 16 December 1999) That should be a statement not only of the Secretary- General, but of the Security Council and of us all. We hope that, in this way, General Dallaire and the survivors of the genocide will be given a chance to shake hands with God and with the other heroes: those amongst us who have made long-term partnerships with Rwanda to rebuild the country and to restore the badly torn fabric of Rwandese society.”
2000-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4127 (2000) · source
“The report clearly challenges the conscience of the international community and invokes the responsibilities of the parties to the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Reluctance to acknowledge that genocide was going on in Rwanda was nothing but a manifestation of the unwillingness of the powerful to live up to that responsibility. It is a fact that many of those who masterminded the genocide in Rwanda are at large to this day. As Rwanda struggles to rebuild itself, surely let the words of the Secretary- General, who is not with us today, be a basis for action: "Of all my aims as Secretary-General, there is none to which I feel more deeply committed than that of enabling the United Nations never again to fail in protecting a civilian population from genocide or mass slaughter".”
2000-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4127 (2000) · source
“I believe they too have an ear to listen to what we are saying today; we pay tribute to them. The country and the survivors lost everything they worked for and lived for. I am here representing them all. They too have a right to justice, recovery, rehabilitation, reintegration and genuine reconciliation as part of a concerted compensation effort from individual members and from others, from the countries of Council members and from the rest of the membership of the Organization. We have concerns. The Carlsson report is the members' report. What they do with it is what matters to the world and to the victims. If the Government of Rwanda and the Rwandese people can assist members to assist them better, let me reiterate our full support and cooperation where immediate action is of the essence.”
2000-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4127 (2000) · source
“Moreover, recommendations 13 and 14 specifically appeal to all, as individual Member States, for belated action so that victims of genocide, including the bitterest, most desperate survivors, can feel the wind of change coming their way from the international community. A unique "mini-Marshall plan" is needed for Rwanda, as many members often rightly say in the corridors of this building, but on an individual basis. It is possible to shock the world again - but by doing something dramatically positive at last. All members can do this as individual countries, and as countries of the world. It is never too late to make things right or to mend fences. The Rwandese people whom the whole community failed had the right to life and lost their best gift from God.”
2000-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4127 (2000) · source
“I know that this is not an easy thing to do; it is a courageous stand that is meant to reconcile us with the sad past. We wish also to reiterate our sincere thanks to those who assisted us in difficult times; those times are not yet gone. Every Rwandese person - and indeed every friend of Rwanda - has been in one way or another a victim of what happened. Victims of genocide in Rwanda are cruelly suffering from physical, psychological and post- traumatic hardships. The Government of Rwanda is bleeding itself to contain their cries, but in vain given the overwhelming dimension of the problem and the scarce means it has at hand. The Carlsson report's conclusions and recommendations are worth revisiting to make sure that nothing of this sort happens again.”
2000-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4127 (2000) · source
“The world and Rwanda are now waiting to hear from all members of the Security Council; we have already heard their statements, for which we thank them, but what comes next? As a committed and concerned Member of the United Nations, my country, Rwanda, wishes to hear from all members of the Council about the policies and measures that this body has taken or has the intention of taking to make sure that what tragically happened in Rwanda, as witnessed on the world's television screens, never again occurs elsewhere on the globe. The report shows beyond any possible doubt that the world failed Rwanda. The Rwandese Government and the Rwandese people are grateful to those who have put their hands on their hearts and apologized on behalf of their peoples and their Governments for failing Rwanda.”
2000-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4127 (2000) · source
“The United Nations, the world and Rwanda owe thanks and appreciation to former Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson and his team, which was composed of Mr. Han Sung-Joo and Lieutenant General Rufus M. Kupolati, assisted by Ms. Elinor Hammarskjold and Mr. Lee Shin-wha, for their painstaking and comprehensive work in compiling what is known today as the Carlsson report. The report describes in fine detail what happened and what did not happen when it was or was not meant to happen during a specific period of time during Rwanda's genocide while United Nations peacekeeping forces were on the ground in my country. Every word, every phrase, every paragraph contains details of what went wrong, when, how and - shyly - why. This is the time for us not to dwell on the past but clearly to state what comes next and to maintain the momentum.”
2000-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4127 (2000) · source
“Thank you, Mr. President, for giving me the floor on a subject of great importance to my country and to the family of the United Nations as a whole. I thank Canada for convening this open debate on the Carlsson report today, almost four months to the day since the report was issued. My appreciation and congratulations also go to your distinguished predecessors, Sir, whose leadership of the Council led this body in its wise deliberations. We wish you all the best. We wholeheartedly thank all members for their statements, and for their words of regret, sympathy and support for us and for those who perished - especially those who bravely died trying to save lives. The Government and the people of Rwanda wish to thank His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan for commissioning such a courageous report on behalf of the Organization; we congratulate him.”
2000-04-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4127 (2000) · source
“Rwanda formally challenges the Panel to produce concrete evidence of the unfounded and uncalled-for allegations, and wishes to reiterate its commitment to the resolutions of this body and of the United Nations as a whole. The burden of proof falls on the Panel to give evidence to the Security Council, and to the countries mentioned in the report, in order to substantiate these allegations, and Rwanda should be allowed, like any other Member of the United Nations, to work on its continued support for sanctions against UNITA. Rwanda still believes that the Angolan people have suffered enough and wishes to reiterate its support for whatever needs to be done to bring peace and security to Angola and the region.”
2000-03-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4113Resumption1 (2000) · source
“I insist on that. This allegation is another result of rather vague, non-specific, unresearched and unverified information. This raises serious questions. The Panel of Experts owes the Security Council better investigations, instead of a simplistic "Mobutu versus Kabila" factor, as to why Rwanda is allegedly dealing with UNITA today. This is wrong and an intellectually lazy way of thinking and of patching stories together to discredit someone and a country that, as rightly expressed by the report, had never had any contacts with Savimbi or his movement before. History should take them somewhere else - not to Rwanda, the ever-surviving poor victim of all United Nations failures.”
2000-03-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4113Resumption1 (2000) · source
“The fact that Rwandan troops used Angolan territory to evacuate Rwandan troops did not necessarily mean a pact with Savimbi. Angola knows how we evacuated our troops in a successful military rescue operation. I insist on this. Nobody ever had contact with Savimbi, or with any UNITA officials for that matter. It could have been the first one, and thank God it never happened. To suggest, as the report does, especially in paragraph 26, that some Rwandan troops stayed together with UNITA forces is simply a blatant lie with no logic at all. There is absolutely no truth to the allegation in paragraph 26 of the report that Rwandans "have allowed UNITA to operate more or less freely in Kigali for the purposes of arranging diamond sales". Also, individuals mentioned in paragraphs 26 and 148 had no business contacts with Rwandan authorities.”
2000-03-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4113Resumption1 (2000) · source
“What is also very clear is that contrary to its mandate to investigate reports, even where the Panel was given clarifications, those were not taken aboard, as is evidenced throughout the report. When the Panel visited Rwanda, it was given information and explanations - which are not even mentioned as having taken place - and we wonder how and why the Panel has decided to leave them out of the report. Generally speaking, the report is misleading. It has a lot of confusion and contradictions due to poor sources of information and useless details. There are many examples to illustrate this lack of consistency, but because of the constraints of time we will detail them to the Security Council in writing. For the record, the Rwandan Government wishes to make it clear that there is no military cooperation with UNITA.”
2000-03-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4113Resumption1 (2000) · source
“While reserving its right to express its views on the entirety of the report of the Panel of Experts in writing, there are some sections of it to which the Government of Rwanda wishes to react to immediately, today. These are contained in paragraphs 25, 26, 50, 67, 82, 83, 107, 148, 155 and 156. In those paragraphs, the Panel of Experts is making very wild allegations about Rwanda's cooperation with UNITA. Those allegations could be summed up as having to do with military cooperation, arranging diamond sales and facilitating meetings with weapons brokers. The Rwanda Government wishes to state categorically that these allegations have no foundation and are merely hearsay from quarters that distort facts for reasons known only to themselves.”
2000-03-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4113Resumption1 (2000) · source
“I wish to recall that when the Panel of Experts was constituted, it was given the following mandate: to collect information and investigate reports relating to the violation of sanctions imposed against UNITA with respect to arms and related material, mercenaries and other forms of military assistance to UNITA; to collect information and investigate reports relating to the violation of sanctions imposed against UNITA with respect to petroleum and petroleum products, diamonds, and the movement of UNITA funds; to identify parties aiding and abetting the violation of Security Council sanctions against UNITA; and to recommend measures to end such violations and improve implementation of the sanctions imposed by the Council against UNITA.”
2000-03-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4113Resumption1 (2000) · source
“My delegation wishes to commend the President, and his predecessors, for the work he is doing and for presiding over this body. We hope he will bring its deliberations to wise conclusions. We also wish to express support for the mission of the Committee on sanctions and for its Chairman's commitment to gather information and recommendations for the Council to work on. The Government of Rwanda has, like other Members of the United Nations, just learned of the contents of the report of the Panel of Experts on Angola sanctions.”
2000-03-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4113Resumption1 (2000) · source
“Why are killings between Africans always described as tribal warfare, while killings between Europeans in the former Yugoslavia, for example, are always described as "ethnic cleansing"? It is more imperative than ever that we all engage in some serious introspection and ask ourselves if we have truly learned our lesson. When we really come to terms with our past failures and arrive at a better understanding of the ever-changing and different social and political realities around us, only then will we be able to prevent the occurrence of future conflicts in Africa and in the world.”
1999-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4081Resumption1 (1999) · source
“We need to see sanctions committees, such as those on Angola and on Rwanda, take on their responsibilities fully and produce results, instead of the convenient status quo of silence, which sounds to some like complicity. Let me conclude by saying that after Rwanda we had Sierra Leone, Liberia, the resurgence of the Interahamwe in the Great Lakes region, and the continuation of Somalia and other forgotten wars in Africa. We should ask ourselves questions in this respect. Why is it that this year, as tragedy unfolded in Kosovo, we referred to those who were masterminding the killings as "generals", whereas those masterminding killings in Africa are called "warlords"?”
1999-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4081Resumption1 (1999) · source
“The failure to maintain the momentum of July and August 1999 has led some actors to sing the same old tune of aggressors versus invited guests, as if this were timely and what people should be concentrating on at this stage of events. My colleague from South Africa said it better and in a more concise way. Today's reports, which members have probably heard, say that President Masire of Botswana has finally been accepted by the two parties - the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the rebels - as their facilitator. We all know how forceful President Masire is, and we wish him well. We need to see more political will from this body in reinforcing its own decisions.”
1999-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4081Resumption1 (1999) · source
“My delegation is glad to see such an initiative stemming from your presidency, Sir, which runs through to the year 2000 - a year we would like to see as the year for Africa. As regards political will for timely action, and speaking from my delegation's point of view, the conflict we are witnessing today in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a legacy of the failure of the international community to intervene in Rwanda during the awful spring of 1994. It is not the result of non-intervention on the part of some members of the Council in 1996, as a handful of people are attempting to make the world believe today. They should have intervened then, in 1994, or soon after - not later. They should intervene now and put the Lusaka Agreement into practice.”
1999-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4081Resumption1 (1999) · source
“With just a change of mandate brought about with the flick of a pen and the adoption of a Council resolution under Chapter VII, we could have avoided the loss of more than 1 million lives. The intervention would not have required a major military operation. The killers were militarily incompetent mobs armed mostly with clubs, spears and machetes. The Commander of UNAMIR at the time, General Dallaire - to whom we owe great respect and admiration for speaking out in due time - claimed that 5,000 men and a mandate would have been sufficient to stop the killings. To revisit the resolutions and actions taken afterwards is to understand the extent to which this body genuinely needs to be improved and to act in more thought-out manner.”
1999-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4081Resumption1 (1999) · source
“We can measure the blindness of the international community at the time the order was given, at the very start of the killings, to withdraw the forces of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) - the peacekeeping force stationed in the country in 1994 - thereby abandoning Rwandan nationals to their own fate and to the mercy of the bloodthirsty Interahamwe militias, which are still active across the borders. The problem is not the number of troops. The problem is the kind of mandate the Security Council gives and should give. We keep saying that we have learned our lessons after the pull-out of the peacekeeping forces that were stationed in Rwanda in 1994. We have come to learn that we actually had the full potential to halt the genocide if the Security Council had only mandated UNAMIR to do so.”
1999-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4081Resumption1 (1999) · source
“The ideas we and they have, along with logistics and the resolutions of the Security Council would complement the findings I referred to earlier. This ought to be revisited so as to give a chance for proper coordination and understanding between actors in the search for common ground. The OAU and the Security Council should take the lead, as was emphasized earlier by previous speakers. I would now like to speak about peacekeeping. Peacekeeping is a United Nations responsibility, and so it remains. Today, thanks to the large number of books, articles, eyewitness accounts, "lessons learned in Rwanda" units and so on that have emerged since 1994, we are beginning to know something about the events that led up to the genocide and how punctually and implacably it was carried out.”
1999-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4081Resumption1 (1999) · source
“But are they really experts in every sense of the word? We should avoid piling mistake upon mistake while believing that we are doing well. We should never do that. Wrong approaches stem from wrong and false expertise; they, naturally, generate wrong notions and concepts that lead to wrong policies and wrong decisions towards Africa. This should be corrected, and it is correctable. There is a need to do research and to coordinate findings and results with the African continental organization, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), and the Central Organ of the OAU Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution. You cannot ignore the OAU any more, and you should not ignore it under any possible pretext. Africa has to have a say and should be assisted in doing so.”
1999-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4081Resumption1 (1999) · source
“Previous speakers have rightly said that it is high time we got people to learn about Africa as it is today, not as it was during or before colonial times. Africa has changed and is changing. It is certainly changing for the better, and we should help and assist it to take the next steps ahead and not discourage it through silence or conveniently undocumented decisions. More visits to the continent by the members of this body - and here we are grateful for the visit made by Ambassador Holbrooke - could add knowledge and enlightenment and provide corrections which is all we need in order to take the right decisions at the right time. We need to position real and proper experts on Africa at all levels within this Organization if we mean well and good for Africa. You will tell me that, "Yes, there are experts".”
1999-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4081Resumption1 (1999) · source
“For example, calling people who spoke the same language and who had the same culture, the same religion and the same political system "tribes" or "ethnic groups" and even "different racial groups" was and still is nothing but a sign of ignorance and double standards. The Council knows very well that in the same kind of blind anthropology we could be talking of Welsh, English, Irish or Scottish tribes today. But, thank God, that is not the case; and it should not have been the case in Rwanda either. Not addressing the issues at stake in the Democratic Republic of the Congo today and dwelling on concepts or notions of invited or non-invited guests in the business of this Council is nothing but a diversion from the real problems to be solved. But, no, I am not saying that the meetings were useless.”
1999-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4081Resumption1 (1999) · source
“The easy way out when we have failed to find adequate responses to problems that arise has been to conveniently call African issues tribal or ethnic, then adopt resolutions, take decisions and go on. Ultimately, the problems resurface some days later - or months after - and the lessons to be learned are never learned, and crises go on unabated. It is this trend of putting the cart before the horse and the failure to identify the real problem in real time that culminated in what this family of nations had said "never again" to. Many so-called international experts on Rwanda have for a long time failed to relate the history of my country to the crisis it was drawn into.”
1999-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4081Resumption1 (1999) · source
“It is my pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr. President, and we appreciate your initiative to call this important debate on the situation in Africa. We are equally grateful for the lead your Government has taken in devising a new partnership with our dear continent. I would like to make a few points about this topic. One, which is more obvious today than it was yesterday, is the need to learn more about Africa. As we debate the complex issue of conflict prevention, we should ask ourselves several crucial questions before we analyse the crux of the matter at hand, namely, how we should prevent conflict. There is a generalized tendency to always put the cart before the horse when we deal with African issues.”
1999-12-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4081Resumption1 (1999) · source