Since my last annual report on the work of the Organization, the situation in Rwanda has shown signs of gradual normalization, continuing a process that started with the end of the genocide and civil war and the establishment of the present Government on 19 July 1994. With the completion of the withdrawal of the French-led Operation Turquoise from south-west Rwanda on 21 August 1994, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) assumed full responsibility for the former humanitarian protection zone prior to a gradual take-over by the new Rwandan civilian administration.
In my reports to the Security Council on UNAMIR, I have emphasized that while the situation in Rwanda has to some extent stabilized, a number of serious obstacles remain to be overcome. Continued problems in repatriation, reconciliation and reconstruction efforts have triggered frustration in Rwanda, which, in turn, has contributed to the deterioration of security and affected relations between UNAMIR and the Rwandan authorities. The Government of Rwanda expressed the wish that, at an appropriate time, UNAMIR's mandate and its possible phase-out from Rwanda should be discussed. However, I urged the Government to continue to extend the necessary cooperation without which the Mission could not carry out its tasks, while requesting my Special Representative, Mr. Shahryar Khan, to consider, in consultation with the Government, adjustments to UNAMIR's mandate.
Following those consultations, I recommended that the mandate of UNAMIR, which was due to expire on 9 June 1995, be renewed for another period of six months and its focus shifted from a peace-keeping to a confidence-building role. In its resolution 997 (1995), the Security Council extended the mandate and authorized a reduction of its force level to 2,330 troops within three months and to 1,800 troops within four months. The mandate is to end in December 1995, with all troops withdrawn. Since the adoption of UNAMIR's new mandate, relations between UNAMIR and the Rwandan authorities have improved. UNAMIR is helping them to promote national reconciliation, the return of refugees and the setting up of a national police force. It is also responsible for the protection of humanitarian organizations, human rights observers and members of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. In my report of 4 June, I described Rwanda as relatively stable and largely at peace, with some utility services back in operation, schools reopened and the economy and agriculture showing signs of revival.
Three major factors have nevertheless complicated international efforts to help the Government to restore normal conditions in Rwanda. Firstly, there has been the delay in bringing to justice individuals implicated in the 1994 genocide. In October 1994, the Independent Commission of Experts concluded that acts of mass extermination against Tutsi groups had been perpetrated in a planned and systematic way by certain Hutu elements and that this constituted genocide under the United Nations Convention on Genocide.
On 8 November, the Security Council, in its resolution 955 (1994), decided to establish a tribunal to prosecute persons responsible for genocide and other such violations committed between 1 January and 31 December 1994. Mr. Richard J. Goldstone was appointed Prosecutor and the Prosecutor's Office, headed by the Deputy Prosecutor, Mr. Honoré Rakotomana, was to be established at Kigali. Under his supervision, the investigation of some 400 identified suspects, among them leaders of the former regime and principal planners of the genocide, who sought refuge in neighbouring countries, is being conducted in and outside Rwanda.
In its resolution 977 (1995), the Security Council determined that the seat of the Tribunal should be established at Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania. Since the Tribunal shares a common appeals chamber with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the General Assembly has appointed only six judges for the Tribunal: Mr. Lennart Aspegren (Sweden), Mr. Laïty Kama (Senegal), Mr. T. H. Khan (Bangladesh), Mr. Yakov A. Ostrovsky (Russian Federation), Ms. Navanethem Pillay (South Africa) and Mr. Willam H. Sekule (United Republic of Tanzania). Their first plenary session was held at The Hague from 26 to 30 June 1995. During the session, the judges adopted the rules of procedure and evidence of the Tribunal and elected a President (Mr. Kama) and a Vice-President (Mr. Ostrovsky). The judges will assume their functions with the commencement of trial proceedings. The Tribunal is expected to process the first indictments in the second half of this year; however, the justice system as a whole is not yet operational and is in urgent need of support. It will be difficult to achieve national reconciliation and a meaningful political dialogue if justice in the wake of the horrific events of the summer of 1994 is not seen to be done.
In July 1994, an estimated 1.2 million Rwandan refugees arrived in the Kivu provinces of Zaire following the April-July civil war in Rwanda. The presence of such a large number of refugees in Zaire, and its impact on the security and economy of the country, was one of the main subjects of the discussion I held with Prime Minister Kengo Wa Dondo during his visit to Headquarters on 15 December. At that time, the Prime Minister requested me to appoint a "special representative for Rwanda in Zaire". It was agreed that a civilian UNAMIR liaison office should be established at Kinshasa to facilitate communication between my Special Representative for Rwanda and the Government of Zaire. The Prime Minister offered to provide 1,500 troops for a proposed United Nations force to ensure security in the refugee camps. The Government of Zaire cited the presence of the Rwandan refugees as one of the factors that had contributed to the postponement of the first multi-party parliamentary and presidential elections and to the extension for two more years of the transitional period in Zaire until 10 July 1997.
On 27 January 1995, the Government of Zaire and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees signed an aide-mémoire outlining specific measures to improve security in the camps. Under the agreement, the Government of Zaire agreed to deploy a contingent of 1,500 military and police personnel -- the Zairian Camp Security Contingent -- to provide security in the camps. The measures included the prevention of violence, escort of repatriation convoys and maintenance of law and order, especially at food distribution centres.
Some 1,513 Zairian Camp Security troops and more than 38 members of the UNHCR civilian Security Liaison Group are now deployed in refugee camps. Their deployment has greatly improved security conditions. However, rumours about military training of elements of the former Government's army have persisted in some camps. Thus, in furtherance of Security Council resolution 997 (1995), I sent a Special Envoy, Mr. Aldo Ajello, to the region to discuss the issue with all countries concerned and to explore the possibility of deploying military observers, in particular in the airfield of eastern Zaire, to monitor the alleged flow of arms. From 20 to 28 June, my Envoy visited Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania. On 9 July, I reported to the Security Council that some countries of the region were opposed to the deployment of United Nations military observers on their territory. However, Zaire reiterated that it would welcome an international commission of inquiry, under United Nations auspices, to investigate allegations of arms deliveries to the former Rwandese Government Forces. For its part, the Government of Rwanda has reiterated its determination to promote the earliest return of the refugees and has stated its readiness for dialogue with those of them who were implicated in the genocide.
The second complicating factor is that national reconciliation can hardly become a reality without the safe return of the refugees and internally displaced persons not implicated in acts of genocide. For that purpose, the assistance of the international community will be needed to build up structures for the resettlement of the refugees and internally displaced persons and their reintegration into society. However, efforts in this direction have been jeopardized by the continuing military activities of members of the former Rwandese Government Forces in refugee camps in neighbouring countries, including the launching of organized incursions into Rwanda. The Government is concerned that the elements abroad of the former Rwandese Government Forces receive training and arms deliveries, whereas Rwanda is still subject to an arms embargo.
Given the serious lack of security in the refugee camps outside Rwanda, I authorized United Nations participation in a joint working group with Zairian authorities to improve the situation. Following consultations with the Secretariat and UNHCR, I emphasized in a report to the Security Council (S/1994/1308) that any operation to achieve the repatriation of refugees and the improvement of security in the camps was futile without parallel efforts to promote national reconciliation and reconstruction. On 1 February 1995, I informed the Security Council that on 27 January UNHCR had concluded an agreement with the Government of Zaire for the deployment of 1,500 security personnel, as well as a UNHCR liaison support group, to camps in eastern Zaire to maintain law and order, to prevent intimidation of refugees by elements opposed to their repatriation and to protect returnees and relief workers. However, while the situation has improved, the problem is far from solved.
The Government made it clear that it wished to close down the camps of internally displaced persons for reasons of security, in particular those in Kibeho, Ndago, Kamana and Munini. At the insistence of UNAMIR, which opposed the closing of the camps by force, the Government agreed to postpone such action. However, on 18 April the Government decided to close Kibeho camp, an action that led to panic, a stampede and indiscriminate firing at displaced persons, resulting in the killing of a large number. I immediately expressed my horror at this deplorable incident and sent a Special Envoy to Kigali. In the aftermath, most displaced persons were repatriated to their communes with the help of UNAMIR and UNHCR. In its report (S/1995/411), the independent International Commission of Inquiry created to investigate the circumstances and causes of the Kibeho tragedy concluded that it was neither premeditated nor an accident that could not have been prevented. The speedy establishment of the Commission and the steps it has taken to penalize the military personnel involved have mitigated some of the tragedy's adverse effects.
Thirdly, there has been frustration at the slow pace of delivery of international economic and reconstruction assistance to Rwanda, including aid pledged at the UNDP round table of January 1995. Of $714 million pledged, only $69 million has been disbursed and of this $26 million has been absorbed by debt-servicing costs. With regard to the Rwanda portion of the United Nations consolidated inter-agency appeal for the Rwanda crisis, launched in February this year, out of the $219,490,162 requested for Rwanda, only 50 per cent has been funded. For the subregion, under 60 per cent of the total $586,778,007 required for programmes in the neighbouring countries has so far been received.
Although the international donor community made generous pledges to the Government of Rwanda's rehabilitation and reconstruction programme, the slow process in turning them into actual support has frustrated the Government. I have repeatedly invited Member States and other potential donors to contribute to the trust fund for Rwanda, which could serve as a useful channel for contributions to meet the immediate needs of the Government and people of Rwanda. To date, $6,536,911 has been contributed. I also continue to believe that the early implementation of some of the key recommendations of the OAU/UNHCR Regional Conference on Assistance to Refugees, Returnees and Displaced Persons in the Great Lakes Region, held at Bujumbura from 15 to 17 February, would ease the tremendous humanitarian crisis in the region. I appealed to all Member States to act in accordance with the Conference's recommendations.
In this sense, the experience of Rwanda casts a revealing light on some of the problems that a peace-keeping operation is bound to meet when operating in such difficult circumstances. A new integrated approach, enlisting and combining all the resources of the United Nations family, is urgently needed.
Only a small proportion of the Rwandan people who fled their country at different times have returned to Rwanda this year and of those who have the vast majority come from those living in Uganda since the early 1960s. Among the refugees who fled in 1994, enthusiasm for repatriation has waned since March, especially in the Goma area and in northern Burundi. This is a result both of intimidation in the refugee camps and of the high number of security incidents inside Rwanda, including the assassinations of the Prefect of Butare and the head of medical services in the Gisenyi area. The rate of arrests of suspected participants in genocide and strong speeches by some Rwandan authorities have also had a negative impact on repatriation. Despite these set-backs, UNHCR continues to prepare for larger-scale repatriation in the months ahead. In addition to monitoring returnees, UNHCR is trying to organize, in cooperation with the Government of Rwanda, confidence-building visits by refugee groups from camps in Burundi to their home communes.
The Government also has to address the social impact of large numbers of people returning to their homes. In this respect, it should not be forgotten that much of the Rwandan population is still traumatized by the events of 1994. It is thus hardly surprising that serious problems have occurred between the survivors of the genocide and those who are now returning from camps for displaced persons or refugees. Disputes concern the genocide, illegal occupancy of land and property and the settling of old scores and grudges. Since February, commune committees, comprising representatives of local authorities and human rights field officers, are being formed to address issues such as security and arrest procedures.
The combination of ethnic polarization in Burundi and Rwanda, massive circulation of arms, porous borders and transborder movements of refugees threaten, at best, to keep the subregion perpetually unstable and, at worst, to ignite a large-scale regional conflict. I will therefore intensify my efforts towards a broader international initiative for a long-term solution to the problems in the Great Lakes region, especially by the early convening of a regional conference on security, stability and development.
Food shortages within the region have also occurred and WFP and UNHCR have alerted the international community to the need to cover the shortages, which threaten more than 3 million Rwandan and Burundian refugees and internally displaced persons. Rations in some refugee camps have had to be reduced by as much as half. Inside Rwanda itself, the United Nations and non-governmental organizations have contributed significantly to the present harvest by providing seeds, tools and seed protection programmes. A seed multiplication programme, financed by the World Bank, has been initiated and FAO has been instrumental in the establishment of a consortium of donors for the agricultural sector.
UNICEF has reopened a number of nutritional centres, distributed equipment to non-governmental organizations and delivered supplementary food and material to unaccompanied children centres. With the assistance of UNICEF, ICRC, UNHCR and the Save the Children Fund-UK, 41,800 separated Rwandan children have been registered in Rwanda, Goma, Bukavu and Ngara, out of an estimated total of 95,000. Thanks to these efforts, at least 3,000 children have been reunited with their families. There is evidence that up to one fifth of all unaccompanied minors can be reunited with their families.
UNICEF and the Ministry of Justice have reached an agreement to move an estimated 400 children accused of genocide from prisons to a separate location. In addition, a special division for imprisoned children and women has been created within the Ministry of Justice. Five experienced lawyers have been recruited to act as defence counsels for the children. Regarding the demobilization of child soldiers, UNICEF and the Ministry of Defence have identified a location where the education and skills training of up to 4,000 child soldiers will soon begin.
Much progress has been made in the health conditions of the Rwandan population. WHO has assisted the Ministry of Health with training programmes to enable the national programme of diarrhoeal diseases and acute respiratory infections control to be re-launched and is supporting the Ministry in the production of the national health policy document. Training programmes have also been undertaken on the national health information system, with an emphasis on epidemiological surveillance. With the help of UNICEF and others, more than 100 of the 280 pre-war vaccination centres have reopened in Rwanda; supplies and equipment have been ordered for the remainder. A vaccination campaign against measles has also been launched in Kigali. Some progress has also been made in the rehabilitation of the country's water infrastructure and electric grid line.
Joint UNESCO and UNICEF efforts have continued to improve access to education. Some 1,800 teacher emergency packages, supplying basic classroom resources and an emergency curriculum to over 140,000 primary school children, were distributed inside Rwanda in February. This brings the number of such packages distributed so far to over 7,000, servicing at least 560,000 children.
As well as continuing its project for emergency assistance to the national maternal and child health/family planning programme, UNFPA is helping the Government to elaborate an integrated maternal and child health/family planning training programme, which incorporates maternal and child health/ family planning, HIV/AIDS prevention and safe motherhood. WHO has also supported the national AIDS programme through the strengthening of managerial capabilities at central and regional levels.
In July, I visited Rwanda in order to observe at first hand the progress made and the challenges that remain. In my most recent report on UNAMIR, dated 8 August, I stressed that the achievement of genuine national reconciliation was an essential element in establishing lasting peace in Rwanda. The Government of Rwanda must take determined measures to that end and representatives of all sectors of Rwandan society should begin talks to reach an agreement on a constitutional and political structure necessary to achieve lasting stability. The international community also has an important role to play in the process of Rwanda's reconstruction and reconciliation. While the economic situation has marginally improved, the Government will not be able to cope with the mounting pressures from returning refugees, the rehabilitation of all sectors and tensions from neighbouring countries. The seriousness of the present situation and the growing probability that it will deteriorate further requires urgent and concerted action on the part of the international community. During my visit to the subregion, there was clear consensus among government leaders that instability in any State in the area could have a dramatic effect on all its neighbours. On 16 August, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1011 (1995). In that resolution, the Council, inter alia, lifted for the period of one year, until 1 September 1996, the restrictions on the sale or supply of arms and related matériel to the Government of Rwanda. Such restrictions remain in force, however, with respect to non-government forces in Rwanda and in neighbouring States. On 1 September 1996, the restrictions imposed by the Council in paragraph 13 of its resolution 918 (1994) shall terminate, unless it decides otherwise after its consideration of the report of the Secretary-General on the matter.
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