Please find below the statement of Secretary General Kofi Annan,
made at the
> opening of the Memorial Conference on the Rwanda Genocide, at
the United
> Nations on Friday, March 26, 2004. The Secretary General
addresses the
> failure of the United Nations and the international community to
stop the
> genocide, and states that he will soon appoint a Special
Rapporteur on the
> Prevention of Genocide. A BBC report follows the statement.
>
> Regards,

Ibrahim

http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp
>
>
> New York, 26 March 2004 - Secretary-General's remarks at
"Memorial
> Conference on the Rwanda Genocide", organized by the
governments of Canada
> and Rwanda
> Thank you very much. Mr. Murigande, [Minister for Foreign
Affairs, Rwanda]
>
> Mr. Graham, [Minister for Foreign Affairs, Canada], David Malone,
> Excellencies,
>
> Ladies and Gentlemen,
>
> The genocide in Rwanda should never, ever have happened. But it
did. The
> international community failed Rwanda, and that must leave us
always with a
> sense of bitter regret and abiding sorrow.
>
> If the international community had acted promptly and with
determination, it
> could have stopped most of the killing. But the political will
was not
> there, nor were the troops.
>
> If the United Nations, Government officials, the international
media and
> other observers had paid more attention to the gathering signs
of disaster,
> and taken timely action, it might have been averted. Warnings
were missed. I
> recall a 1993 report by a United Nations special rapporteur that
spoke
> specifically of an impending catastrophe.
>
> The international community is guilty of sins of omission. I
myself, as head
> of the UN's peacekeeping department at the time, pressed dozens
of countries
> for troops. I believed at that time that I was doing my best.
But I realised
> after the genocide that there was more that I could and should
have done to
> sound the alarm and rally support. This painful memory, along
with that of
> Bosnia and Herzegovina, has influenced much of my thinking, and
many of my
> actions, as Secretary-General.
>
> None of us must ever forget, or be allowed to forget, that
genocide did take
> place in Rwanda, or that it was highly organized, or that it was
carried out
> in broad daylight. No one who followed world affairs or watched
the news on
> television, day after sickening day, could deny that they knew a
genocide
> was happening, and that it was happening on an appalling scale.
>
> Some brave individuals tried to stop the killing, above all
General Romeo
> Dallaire of Canada, who is here with us today, the force
commander of the
> small UN peacekeeping force that was on the ground at the time.
They did all
> they could. They were entitled to more help.
>
> Eight hundred thousand men, women and children were abandoned to
the most
> brutal and callous of deaths, as neighbour killed neighbour.
Sanctuaries
> such as churches and hospitals were turned into slaughterhouses.
An entire
> country was shattered. A terrible chain of events gradually
engulfed the
> entire region in conflict.
>
> Ten years later, we are trying to pick up the pieces.
>
> In Rwanda itself, the United Nations is doing its utmost to help
people
> recover and reconcile. We are present throughout the country --
clearing
> mines, repatriating refugees, rehabilitating clinics and
schools, building
> up the judicial system, and much else.
>
> In Tanzania, a United Nations criminal tribunal continues to
pursue the main
> perpetrators of the genocide. The tribunal has handed down
pioneering
> verdicts: the first conviction for genocide by an international
court; the
> first to hold a former head of government responsible for
genocide; the
> first to determine that rape was used as an act of genocide; and
the first
> to find journalists guilty of genocide ­ because they helped
create the
> state of mind in which thousands of people could set aside the
most
> fundamental moral instincts of all human society, and embark on
the
> wholesale massacre of fellow human beings.
>
> With these and other steps, the United Nations is doing what it
can to help
> Rwanda find a path to lasting security and peace, with itself
and its
> neighbours. We cannot undo the past. But we can help Rwandans,
especially
> the young generation who are the future of the country, build a
new society
> together.
>
> The genocide in Rwanda raised questions that affect all
humankind --
> fundamental questions about the authority of the Security
Council, the
> effectiveness of United Nations peacekeeping, the reach of
international
> justice, the roots of violence, and the responsibility of the
international
> community to protect people threatened by genocide and other
grave
> violations of human rights. There has been intense debate, and
some genuine
> advances -- practical and philosophical -- on some of these
questions over
> the past decade. But still one must ask, are we confident that,
confronted
> by a new Rwanda today, we can respond effectively, in good time?
We can by
> no means be certain we would.
>
> I have suggested a number of measures that would better equip
the United
> Nations and its Member States to meet genocide with resolve,
including a
> special rapporteur or adviser on the subject. More can and must
be done, and
> I am currently analyzing what further steps could be taken. The
silence that
> has greeted genocide in the past must be replaced by a global
clamour ­ a
> clamour and a willingness to call what is happening by its true
name.
>
> The General Assembly has designated 7 April as the International
Day of
> Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda. The Government of Rwanda,
for its
> part, has asked that the world's observance of the Day include a
minute of
> silence at noon local time in each time zone.
>
> Such a minute of silence has the potential to unite the world,
however
> fleetingly, around the idea of global solidarity. I have written
to all the
> world's Heads of State and Government, asking them, and
especially their
> public servants, to honour it. I have also instructed all UN
offices,
> throughout the world, to take part. Here today, I would like to
urge all
> people, everywhere, no matter what their station in life,
whether in crowded
> cities or remote rural areas, to set aside whatever they might
be doing at
> noon on that day, and pause to remember the victims. Let us be
united in a
> way we were not ten years ago. And let us, by what we do in one
single
> minute, send a message ­ a message of remorse for the past,
resolve to
> prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again ­ and let's
make it resound
> for years to come.
>
> May the victims of the Rwandan genocide rest in peace. May our
waking hours
> be lastingly altered by their sacrifice. And may we all reach
beyond this
> tragedy, and work together to recognize our common humanity. If
we can
> accept that everyone on this earth, regardless of colour, creed,
language or
> ethnicity is fully human -- and, as such, fully worthy of our
interest,
> sympathy and acceptance ­ we will have taken a giant step
forward from
> dehumanization and toward a stronger sense of global kinship.
>
> Thank you very much.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3573229.stm
>
>
> UN chief's Rwanda genocide regret
> The United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has said he
could and
> should have done more to stop the genocide in Rwanda 10 years
ago.
>
> At a memorial conference at the UN, Mr Annan said he realised he
personally
> could have done more to rally support for international efforts
to stop it.
>
> "The international community is guilty of sins of
omission," Mr Annan said.
>
> The genocide - in which some 800,000 people died - occurred when
Mr Annan
> was head of UN peacekeeping forces.
>
> I believed at that time that I was doing my best
> Kofi Annan
> The UN Security Council failed to reinforce the small UN
peacekeeping force
> in the country.
>
> "The international community failed Rwanda and that must
leave us always
> with a sense of bitter regret," Mr Annan said.
>
> He said the painful memory had influenced many of his later
decisions as
> secretary general.
>
> "I believed at that time that I was doing my best," he
said.
>
> "But I realised after the genocide that there was more that
I could and
> should have done to sound the alarm and rally support."
>
> No protection
>
> Rwandans have accused the peacekeepers who were there at the
time of
> failing to protect them.
>
> One survivor, Specios Kenya Bugoi, described how 4,000 Tutsis
took shelter
> close to Belgian troops hoping to be safe.
>
> I lost my husband, members of my family, all of my friends,
neighbour
> Genocide survivor
>
> Speaking through an interpreter she described how the troops
left and the
> killings began.
>
> "During that massacre I lost my husband, members of my
family, all of my
> friends, neighbours," she said.
>
> "I slept among the cadavers for the whole night."
>
> In April 2000 the UN Security Council admitted responsibility
for failing
> to stop the genocide.
>
> The Canadian Foreign Minister, Bill Graham, told the conference
that 10
> years after the genocide the international community had still
not learned
> how to stop such killings from happening again.
>
> "We lack the political will to achieve the necessary
agreement on how to
> put in place the type of measures that will prevent a future
Rwanda from
> happening," he said.
>
> Lessions learned?
>
> The head of the small UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda at the
time,
> Lieutenant General Romeo Dallaire, told the conference that
no-one was
> interested in saving Rwandans and the bulk of his force was
ordered to
> leave.
>
> He suggested that attitudes now had not changed.
>
> "I still believe that if an organisation decided to wipe
out the 320
> mountain gorillas there would be still more of a reaction by the
> international community to curtail or to stop that than there
would be still
> today in attempting to protect thousands of human beings being
slaughtered
> in the same country."
>
> The UN has designated 7 April as international day of reflection
on the
> genocide.
>
> Mr Annan announced he was backing a call from the Rwandan
government for
> the world to observe a minute of silence to remember the victims
and resolve
> to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again.
>
> "Let us be united in a way we were not 10 years ago,"
he said.
> Story from BBC NEWS:
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/3573229.stm

>
> Published: 2004/03/26 22:18:29 GMT
>
> © BBC MMIV