Tag Archives: Rwanda
30 March 2015
Experts from Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda convened in Kigali to discuss the Treaty of Transboundary Collaboration in the Greater Virunga Landscape. The consultation focused on harmonising comments on the text of the Treaty, taking into account sovereignty concerns of the states on whose territories the protected areas are located. The Treaty seeks to establish a permanent framework for cross-border cooperation to enhance conservation of the biodiversity and improve livelihood of communities in the Greater Virunga Landscape. (more…)
Source: Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration | Closing of the Consultations on GVTC Treaty at Grand Legacy Hotel in Kigali
21 April 2014
On 16 April, the United Nations Security Council marked the 20th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda and adopted a resolution that calls on the international community to recommit to prevent and combat such grave crimes. During the special meeting UN Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, emphasised that present-day conflicts reveal that the protection of peoples suffering from atrocities is still ‘lagging and elusive.’ Eliasson called on all states to meet their responsibility to prevent genocide and other severe crimes, to protect and promote human rights, and to reinforce diversity and civil society.
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Source: UN News Centre | Rwandan genocide: Security Council told failure of political will led to ‘cascade of human tragedy’
8 April 2014
Following accusations by the Rwandan President Paul Kagame of French involvement in the Rwandan genocide, France did not attend the ceremony on 7 April 2014, marking the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. According to the French Foreign Ministry, Rwanda barred the ambassador from the commemoration.
Kagame told the magazine Jeune Afrique in an interview last month that both France and Belgium had a ‘direct role in the political preparation of genocide and participation in its execution.’ Kagame accused France of training and arming the Hutu armed groups who were the main perpetrators of the genocide and of involvement in the slaughter of Rwandans who attempted to escape through a French-controlled territory. (more…)
Source: Reuters | France to shun Rwanda genocide ceremony after Kagame accusations
Source: The New York Times | 20 Years After, Rwanda Pauses to Recall Carnage
Source: The Wall Street Journal | Rwanda, France Spar on Anniversary of Genocide
9 April 2013
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon honoured the memory of the more than 800.000 people who lost their lives during the Rwandan genocide in 1994, and stressed that countries have a ‘shared responsibility’ to prevent mass atrocities from happening again. Mr. Ban said ‘Collectively, we must go beyond words and effectively safeguard people at risk. And individually, we must nurture the courage to care – and the resolve to act.’
He also stressed that since the Rwandan genocide occured, the United Nations has worked every day to prevent a recurrence of such horror, with the Responsibility to Protect having become a global principle.
Source: UN News Centre | On anniversary, Ban honours victims and survivors of Rwanda genocide
3 April 2013
While many have speculated as to why Ntaganda decided, after so many years, to hand himself in, what is interesting from the perspective of shared responsibility under international law is the ease with which he was transferred to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The situation was fraught with potential legal complications, given that it involved multiple international actors with the potential power to prevent the transfer. Despite this, Ntaganda was seamlessly handed over to the ICC within 5 days.
Bosco Ntaganda is a suspected warlord and key figure in the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The ICC has issued two arrest warrants against him, one in 2006 and the other in 2012, for international crimes including rape, murder and the recruitment of child soldiers. The arrest warrants concern crimes committed in 2002-2003, however he has continued to be active in the region. More recently Ntanganda is thought to have headed the M23 rebel group, which took the DRC city of Goma last November. (more…)