ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT SPEAKS OF 'ENORMOUS HUMAN CATASTROPHE' NOW UNFOLDING IN GREAT LAKES REGION OF AFRICA

31 October 1996

Press Release
GA/9150

ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT SPEAKS OF 'ENORMOUS HUMAN CATASTROPHE' NOW UNFOLDING IN GREAT LAKES REGION OF AFRICA

19961031 Says Lack of Effective United Nations Response 'Unconscionable', World Should Demand That Tragedy of Such Dimensions Be Prevented

This is a statement issued by the President of the General Assembly, Rizali Ismail (Malaysia), today concerning the situation in the Great Lakes region of Africa:

Today, we as individuals and collectively as Member States of the United Nations should be in mourning -- not only for the enormous human catastrophe unfolding in the Great Lakes region of Africa, but for the seeming evaporation of the international community's ability to respond effectively to such tragedies when they occur and to prevent them from happening.

The current tragedy affecting hundreds of thousands of people is not unfamiliar to us. The grotesque scale and nature of the brutality and violence against innocent people is chillingly familiar -- the bleeding wounds of ethnicide committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Rwanda are still open. And yet again we witness the impotence of governments and international institutions to act to protect the most primordial of universal values -- the right to life of all human persons.

However, as President of the General Assembly, presiding over committee work that deals with issues such as the welfare and security of people, and as a human person, I come to the horrible conclusion that we are unable collectively, or individually, to do enough to prevent the enormous human tragedies before us.

We, as office holders, and those in positions of responsibility in the United Nations, feel impotent that we are not able to prevent such huge loss of life, despite being able to craft words and resolutions in a beautiful fashion.

Human tragedies and catastrophes of this kind are of course the prerogative of the Security Council. But despite the discussions and action taken there, and by the Secretary-General, our efforts seem minuscule in being able to counter the forces of violence unleashed there. The United Nations

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should agonize about this. It is unconscionable that we are not able to respond effectively to such tragedies. The critical question we need to address is "What does the United Nations stand for?" As the embodiment of the Charter, the United Nations should be defending universal values.

As President of the General Assembly, I feel guilty myself that our response is feeble. As a human person, I have a sense of anger at myself for holding this post, but not being able to make a dent on decisions affecting life and death, as I am governed by the structures and arrangements in the United Nations.

I therefore appeal through the media, that each person on this wonderful earth should collectively complain to the United Nations, through the Security Council or the General Assembly or the Secretary-General, that another tragedy of these dimensions should not be allowed to happen.

I also appeal to all actors of the international community -- politicians, governments, regional groupings, United Nations agencies and civil society -- to provoke action to provide safe areas for the victims of this horrible brutality. We must provide emergency assistance in the form of food and medical supplies. All governments, particularly those in the area, must in clear conscience give assistance to people, irrespective of which side of the border they come from.

At the end of the day, in the face of a human catastrophe of these proportions, politics is not that important, but saving lives is.

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