Secretary-General Welcomes Arrest of Alleged Participant in Rwanda Genocide

This is the text of a statement issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The Secretary-General welcomes the arrest, in Kampala, Uganda, of Idelphonse Nizeyimana.  Mr. Nizeyimana allegedly participated in the killing of Tutsis and moderate Hutus during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.  He was indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in November 2000 for “genocide”, “rape as a crime against humanity” and “other inhumane acts as a crime against humanity”.

The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) reports that Idelphonse Nizeyimana is a key leader of the Forces Démocratiques de Liberation du Rwanda (FDLR), which has been operating in North Kivu.  In this context, his arrest is an important step forward in the fight against impunity and strongly signals the Great Lakes region’s commitment to peace and security.

The Secretary-General welcomes this positive development and calls on all Member States to continue to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

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For information media • not an official record