UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS HOLDS EMERGENCY MEETING ON FINANCING HUMAN RIGHTS FIELD OPERATION IN RWANDA

10 January 1996

Press Release
HR/4266

UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS HOLDS EMERGENCY MEETING ON FINANCING HUMAN RIGHTS FIELD OPERATION IN RWANDA

19960110 Says Operation is "Seriously Threatened" Unless Additional Financial Resources Can Be Secured

GENEVA, 10 January -- The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Jose Ayala Lasso, held an emergency meeting today to discuss with Member States the financial difficulties facing the human rights field operation in Rwanda.

The field operation has been financed, since its inception, from voluntary contributions. In order to permit its establishment, an advance in the amount of $3 million was provided by the Central Emergency Revolving Fund in October 1994. The Department of Humanitarian Affairs has now informed the Office of the High Commissioner that, in view of the rules governing the operation of the Fund, the repayment of this advance cannot be postponed further and that $1.5 million must be repaid at this time, with the remaining $1.5 million to be reimbursed by the end of March 1996. This creates a situation which could lead to the abrupt termination of the mission by the end of January, unless additional funds can be generated.

The operation was established as the principle response of the High Commissioner to the crisis in Rwanda. It serves Rwanda by charting with its Government the long and difficult path to national reconciliation and to ensure that human rights are fully respected at all stages of this process. The elements of the mandate -- investigating the genocide, monitoring the ongoing human rights situation and providing technical assistance in the area of the administration of justice and human rights education -- are mutually reinforcing. Justice and national accounting for the genocide are essential to reconciliation. Preventing or addressing current human rights violations is essential to refugee return and confidence-building in local communities, and to ending the impunity which has prevailed in Rwanda under previous governments and which paved the way for the genocide massive human rights violations of 1994. Effective assistance to building the administration of justice and other institutions, and human rights training and awareness, are essential if human rights violations are to be prevented or addressed.

The Rwanda field operation has made a significant contribution to human rights protection and promotion in Rwanda through its investigation of the 1994

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genocide; monitoring of the human rights situation, including the process of repatriation, resettlement and reintegration of refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes; and its efforts to rehabilitate the Rwandan justice system.

For 1996, the basic focus remains the same. Nevertheless, the operation's objectives and strategies are being given further definition in order to apply its limited resources effectively and to set clear priorities for the work of staff, both in the prefectures and at headquarters. In determining priorities in a context of limited resources, due regard will be paid to the roles and capacities of other organizations.

With the withdrawal of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) and the expected accelerated return of refugees, the need for the continuing presence of the operation is evident and has been clearly expressed by many interested governments and agencies. The return of refugees from Zaire makes it indeed necessary that the operation remains fully effective throughout the country in supporting a smooth return and reintegration process through its monitoring and confidence-building activities. Confidence-building in particular requires steady cooperation with the Government of Rwanda and the maintenance of ongoing relationships between human rights field officers and local authorities and government officials, and coordination with other international agencies. A closure of the operation now would interrupt the ongoing cooperation established, and seriously undermine the capability of the United Nations to achieve the objectives of refugee return and national reconciliation.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights emphasizes that a human rights field operations of this size and complexity cannot be conducted in the long-run without a secure financial base. It should be recalled that all other United Nations human rights field operations comparable in scale to the Rwanda operation in El Salvador, Cambodia, Haiti and Guatemala could rely on funding from the regular or peace-keeping budget.

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