S/PV.3402 Security Council

I request the Chief of Protocol to escort the distinguished Prime Minister of the French Republic to his place at the Council table.

On behalf of the Council, I extend a warm welcome to His Excellency Mr. Edouard Balladur, the distinguished Prime Minister of the French Republic, and to the distinguished Minister for Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Mr. Alain Juppé. On behalf of the Council, I also extend a warm welcome to the distinguished Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of the Republic of Argentina, His Excellency Mr. Guido Di Tella. Tribute to the memory of His Excellency Mr. Kim Il Sung, President of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

The members of the Security Council have learnt with sadness of the passing of His Excellency Mr. Kim Il Sung, President of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. I wish to express, on behalf of the Council, profound condolences to the Government and the people of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and to the bereaved family. I now invite the members of the Council to stand and observe a minute of silence.

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Security Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. The first speaker is the distinguished Prime Minister of the French Republic, His Excellency Mr. Edouard Balladur. I invite His Excellency to make his statement. France has always wanted the international community to be better organized and to possess the necessary resources to command respect for the principles from which the community takes its inspiration: equality of rights and obligations of States, respect for their sovereignty, respect for human rights and the peaceful settlement of disputes. France’s leading jurists made a fundamental contribution to the founding of the League of Nations and the United Nations. My country has always wanted these international organizations to possess the necessary means, including military means, to enable the rule of law to prevail. To organize international life around a few principles and seek to introduce a state of law into an international community which, despite appearances, still remains so diverse and unequal requires that firm political resolve be demonstrated by the States comprising that community, particularly those to which the Charter has entrusted special responsibilities. I should like to say here today that as a permanent member of the Security Council France intends to abide, in its words and its actions, by its unfailing commitment to a more orderly and more interdependent global community. Our concerted efforts were long limited by the uncompromising ambition of some countries and by the division of the world into two blocs. For the past four years, the international community has been at a turning- point in its history. For the first time, the United Nations is in a position to act when world peace and stability are threatened or when civilian populations are affected by No one could fail to recognize the progress our Organization has made in helping to resolve humanitarian crises in which a restrictive interpretation of the principles of the Charter and, above all, political obstacles did not permit it to intervene. Here again, France made a major contribution to a change that now makes it possible - with due respect for the essential principle of the sovereignty of States - to respond to humanitarian crises that represent a clear threat to peace. France believes in the United Nations and in its mission. It has demonstrated that belief here in the Security Council by taking many initiatives - I am thinking particularly of the situations in Bosnia and Cambodia. It has also demonstrated that belief in the various theatres of intervention where 7,000 French soldiers are serving under the United Nations flag, and where French forces are the largest or second-largest contingent, depending on the year. The devotion and courage of those French troops attest to my country’s commitment, along with the United Nations, to seeing the principles of the San Francisco Charter increasingly affirmed in international life. It is in this spirit - which I wished to recall here today - that the French Government decided to react to the tragedy in Rwanda and appealed to the Security Council to authorize an emergency humanitarian intervention in that country, an intervention which was the only way of ending the massacres and the exodus of people on a scale never before seen on the continent of Africa. Is it necessary to recall the circumstances that led to this decision? Hundreds of thousands of people dead, more than two million displaced and terrorized - an unprecedented humanitarian disaster that could destabilize the entire Great Lakes region. Was the entire international community to watch helplessly as such a tragedy unfolded? France did not think so and believed it had a moral duty to act without delay to stop the genocide and provide immediate assistance to the threatened populations. It resolved to intervene before it was too late for reinforcements of the United Nations Assistance Mission Should we have refrained from taking action, since no economic or strategic interest appeared to warrant such intervention, thereby justifying those who criticize the international community for acting only when powerful interests are at issue? France and the Security Council, which supported its initiative, rejected the path of resignation. The same was true for our partners in the Western European Union and for the very many African countries which expressed support for the French Government’s action. My Government set out very clear principles for its action. I specified what they were in the French National Assembly on 22 June 1994. The operation had to be placed under the mandate of the Security Council and to have a strictly humanitarian purpose. It had to be undertaken together with other partners and, lastly, its duration had to be limited to the end of July. What progress can be reported on France’s operation in the three weeks since the adoption of resolution 929 (1994)? Its humanitarian goal has been largely attained. Almost a million refugees are now gathered under the protection of French and Senegalese forces in an area where, for the most part, the massacres have been stopped and refugees are safe. That, at least, is the situation as it stands. Since the start of the operation, almost 1,300 people whose lives were directly threatened have been evacuated to safe areas, either by helicopter or by road in protected convoys. By the middle of this week, more than 400 tons of humanitarian aid will have been delivered. With regard to medical assistance, an emergency hospital is operating at Cyangugu in the south- west of the country. These initial results in the strictly humanitarian domain assigned to the operation show that one key result has been achieved: the massacres have almost completely stopped in places where France is present, and a large volume of humanitarian aid has been delivered. However, one can immediately see the vast extent of the At this point, the action of the entire international community should be pursued in three directions. That is what I am here to tell the Council. First, at the humanitarian level, in view of the flow of refugees into the humanitarian safe area set up in south-west Rwanda and the desperate situation of the country as a whole, only firm action by States, United Nations humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organizations can prevent hunger and sickness from following upon the massacres. Everyone also knows the needs of the large numbers of people that have taken refuge in the countries bordering on Rwanda. It is essential to move swiftly to respond to immediate needs. But we would be running the risk of allowing a serious zone of tension to persist in this region if the international community does not concern itself now with the return of hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced persons. Parallel with the humanitarian aid effort that France is fervently seeking, reinforcements for UNAMIR should be deployed as soon as possible. The French and Senegalese forces in Rwanda cannot of themselves take the place of an operation established by the Security Council. That is not their mission, nor is it the intention of the French Government, which indicated at the very start of Operation Turquoise that it intended to withdraw its troops at the end of July. Only the presence of a sizeable United Nations force on Rwandan territory will make it possible to begin the country’s recovery by promoting a return to stability and the expansion of humanitarian action. For this reason, my country is making an urgent appeal to the international community to do everything possible to enable the strengthened UNAMIR to be deployed quickly. Many countries have stated their willingness to make sizeable numbers of personnel available to UNAMIR. These would be sufficient for the task that has been assigned the force if they possess the requisite equipment and logistical support. It is urgent that the international community mobilize to provide this. The Secretary-General, whose support France has been able to count on, can rest assured that my Government will endorse his efforts to this end. The fate of a people and a country depends on our ability to act to ensure that the peace-keeping mission of the United Nations is successfully carried out. That is the reason for my presence here today. France, which is linked to Africa by longstanding ties of friendship and solidarity, had to act to help a martyred people. It is imperative now that its effort should be assumed by the international community as a whole. A few years ago, President Senghor spoke out in favour of a universal civilization. It is that civilization that must inspire our Organization and lead us to act to help a given country not on the basis of its size, its wealth or its culture, but quite simply because it is equal in law to all others and because it is in need. This is the case of Rwanda today - who could deny it? - a devastated country with a riven and uprooted population. If we can respond to its appeal to us for justice and solidarity, our international community will have taken a further step towards an international society in which the rule of law is respected - towards a more just society.

The next speaker is the Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of Argentina, His Excellency Mr. Guido Di Tella.

I should like to congratulate you, Sir - and, through you, Pakistan - on your exercise of the presidency of the Security Council this month. My country is united to yours by fruitful links of long standing. My delegation is grateful to Prime Minister Edouard Balladur for his presentation on the situation in Rwanda and in particular on the irreproachable humanitarian operation led by France in that country. The operation is being carried out in accordance with the norms of neutrality and impartiality earlier established by the Security Council in resolution 929 (1994) for a strictly humanitarian operation. The Argentine Republic well understands France’s motivations for making a determined attempt to ease the sufferings of the people of Rwanda. The humanitarian crisis that Rwanda has been undergoing for months now constitutes a truly unique situation that we have no hesitation in describing as one of the gravest situations this Council has had to deal with since the end of the cold war. This is a unique and extremely grave situation which requires that urgent and exceptional measures be taken, given the extent of the atrocities that have taken place. The tragic situation in Rwanda demands that we strive to deploy the expanded United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) with the utmost speed and without further delay. This should be done in order to allow UNAMIR to carry out fully the mandate properly conferred upon it, with the consent of both the international community and the parties to the conflict. My delegation takes this opportunity to express its appreciation to the States - both of the region and from outside the region - that are participating or have committed themselves to participating in that Mission. In my delegation’s opinion, there is an evident need to strengthen the mechanisms of the United Nations system of collective security so that in the future we can avoid the considerable operational difficulties that have thus far delayed the deployment of UNAMIR. The Argentine Republic, for its part, is totally committed to that system of collective security. In accordance with the resources at its disposal, it contributes approximately 2,000 men to eight peace-keeping operations and a vessel to the sanctions-monitoring machinery imposed My delegation takes this opportunity once again to support unequivocally the decision taken by the Security Council in resolution 935 (1994), which provides for the establishment of a Commission of Experts to investigate the atrocities committed in Rwanda, which constitute grave violations of international humanitarian law and perhaps even genocide. This, however, is but a first a step along the road leading to the final determination of responsibilities. The Argentine Republic will continue to advocate that the process under way be promptly carried to completion. That is a commitment. The international community cannot fail to respond to the atrocities suffered by the people of Rwanda or allow those acts to go unpunished. At this difficult time for Rwanda, my delegation recalls that the road to pacification and reconstruction in that country should be bounded by the guidelines and principles earlier included in the Arusha Peace Agreement. Finally, I should like to reiterate my gratitude to the Prime Minister of France for the information he has provided and for the much-appreciated efforts of his country, which, because they bring us closer to the restoration of peace in Rwanda, we particularly value. Our two peoples in different parts of the world, joined by strong ties of friendship, together seek a common, lofty goal: the consolidation of peace in our world.

I thank the Foreign Minister of Argentina for his kind words addressed to my country and to me.

There are no further speakers. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on the agenda.