S/PV.3414 Security Council

As this is the first meeting of the Security Council for the month of August, I should like to take this opportunity to pay tribute, on behalf of the Council, to His Excellency the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, Mr. Jamsheed Marker, for his service as President of the Security Council for the month of July 1994. I am sure I speak for all members of the Security Council in expressing deep appreciation to Ambassador Marker for the great diplomatic skill and unfailing courtesy with which he conducted the Council’s business last month. Adoption of the agenda

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on the agenda. The Security Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. Members of the Council have before them the report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Rwanda, document S/1994/924. I should like to draw the attention of the members of the Council to the following other documents: S/1994/861, letter dated 19 July 1994 from the Chargé d’affaires ad interim of the Permanent Mission of Zaire to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council; S/1994/922, letter dated 2 August 1994 from the Chargé d’affaires ad interim of the Permanent Mission of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council; S/1994/923, letter dated 1 August 1994 from the Secretary- General addressed to the President of the Security Council; S/1994/933 and S/1994/944, letters dated 4 and 8 August 1994, respectively, from the Chargé d’affaires ad interim of the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations addressed, respectively, to the Secretary- General and to the President of the Security Council; Following consultations among members of the Security Council, I have been authorized to make the following statement on behalf of the Council: "The Security Council remains extremely concerned at the situation, as described in the report of the Secretary-General on Rwanda (S/1994/924) and oral briefings by the Secretariat, in Rwanda and in the countries of the region where millions of displaced persons and refugees are concentrated in extremely precarious conditions from the standpoint of both food and sanitation. "Bearing in mind the extreme seriousness of this situation, the Security Council considers that at present the most immediate task is to respond to the massive humanitarian crisis created by the population movements. To this end, the Council expresses its appreciation to all Member States, United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations and individuals who responded to this humanitarian challenge and encourages them to continue and intensify their efforts in particular on Rwandan territory with a view to alleviating to the best of their ability the situation of all those who have fled their homes and villages. "The Security Council believes, furthermore, that the rapid return of the refugees and displaced persons to their homes is essential for the normalization of the situation in Rwanda. In this regard, the Council strongly condemns attempts to intimidate refugees carried out by those who are seeking to prevent them from returning to Rwanda. It urges the former leadership of Rwanda and those who have assumed political responsibility in the refugee camps to cooperate with representatives of the current Government in reconciliation and repatriation efforts and cease forthwith attempts and propaganda campaigns directed at destabilizing the situation in Rwanda and inducing refugees to stay in exile. "The Security Council also calls upon the Government of Rwanda to ensure that there are no reprisals against those who wish to return to their homes and resume their occupations. To this end, the Council encourages the Government of Rwanda to cooperate with the United Nations, in particular with the Commission of Experts established by the Council in its resolution 935 (1994), in ensuring that those guilty of the atrocities committed in Rwanda, in particular the crime of genocide, are brought to justice through an appropriate mechanism or mechanisms which will ensure fair and impartial trials in accordance with international standards of justice. In this connection, the Council welcomes the recent statement by the new Government of Rwanda supporting the establishment of an international tribunal and welcomes the report of the Secretary- General of 26 July 1994 (S/1994/879) on the establishment of the Commission of Experts and the appointment of its members (S/1994/906), and urges the Commission to submit as soon as possible its conclusions. "The Security Council welcomes the Secretary- General’s intention to adapt UNAMIR’s practical tasks to the evolving situation within the framework of Security Council resolution 925 (1994). The Security Council underlines that the full deployment of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) will be important to establish a more secure environment in order to accelerate the process of return of refugees and displaced persons and to prevent further population movements, in particular "The Council also notes the importance of the deployment in Rwandan territory of civilian observers responsible for monitoring the establishment of a more secure environment, and in this regard welcomes the measures envisaged by the High Commissioner for Human Rights within his mandate with the assistance of certain Member States. "The Security Council reaffirms, as the Secretary-General emphasizes in his report of 3 August 1994 (S/1994/924), that the Arusha Peace Agreement constitutes an appropriate frame of reference for promoting national reconciliation in Rwanda. The Council reminds the Government of Rwanda of its reponsibility for bringing its people together again in national reconciliation. In this context, the Council commends the countries neighbouring Rwanda and the Organization of African Unity for their commitment and assistance towards the solution of the conflict in Rwanda, and encourages them to continue to promote stability in the country and the entire region. The Security Council believes that for their part the neighbouring countries are also responsible for ensuring that their territories are not used for further destabilization of the situation." This statement will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/PRST/1994/42. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Security Council will remain seized of the matter.