Situation of Human Rights in Rwanda

A/RES/49/206No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, published in 1995.

What other versions does this mandate have?

6 versions · 1995–2000

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/54/188

2000A/RES/54/188Situation of human rights in RwandaLatestCompare with previous version
1999A/RES/53/156Situation of human rights in RwandaCompare with previous version
1998A/RES/52/146Situation of human rights in RwandaCompare with previous version
1997A/RES/51/114Situation of human rights in RwandaCompare with previous version
1996A/RES/50/200Situation of human rights in RwandaCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What does this mandate say?

23 operative paragraphs

Welcomes the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Rwanda;

Condemns in the strongest terms all acts of genocide and violations of international humanitarian law and all violations and abuses of human rights that occurred during the conflict in Rwanda, especially following the tragic events of 6 April 1994;

Also condemns in the strongest terms the kidnapping and killing of military peace-keeping personnel attached to the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda, the killing of personnel attached to humanitarian organizations operating in the country, the wanton killing of innocent civilians and the destruction of property during the conflict, which constitute a blatant violation of international humanitarian law;

Reaffirms that all persons who commit or authorize genocide or other grave violations of international humanitarian law or those who are responsible for grave violations of human rights are individually responsible and accountable for those violations and that the international community will exert every effort to bring those responsible to justice in accordance with international principles of due process;

Welcomes the establishment, pursuant to Security Council resolution 955 (1994) of 8 November 1994, of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of Rwanda and Rwandese Citizens Responsible for Genocide and Other Such Violations Committed in the Territory of Neighbouring States between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 1994, and urges States to cooperate fully with the International Tribunal;

Requests States that have given refuge to persons involved in serious breaches of international humanitarian law, crimes against humanity or acts of genocide to take the necessary steps, in cooperation with the International Tribunal for Rwanda, to ensure that they do not escape justice;

Notes with deep concern the findings of the Special Rapporteur that disappearances, arbitrary arrest and detention, summary executions and destruction of property are still taking place in Rwanda, encourages the Government of Rwanda to ensure investigation and prosecution of those responsible for such acts in accordance with international principles of due process, and welcomes the commitments of the Government of Rwanda in this regard;

Encourages the Government of Rwanda to protect and promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, stresses the need to create an environment conducive to the realization of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, and to the return by refugees and displaced persons to their homes, and welcomes in this regard the commitments made by the Government of Rwanda;

Encourages the efforts of the Government of Rwanda to involve, regardless of ethnicity, all citizens not responsible for acts of genocide or other grave violations of international humanitarian law, within its administrative, judicial, political and security structures;

Invites Member States, the organizations and agencies of the United Nations system and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to intensify their efforts to contribute financial and technical support to the efforts of the Government of Rwanda to reconstruct the civil administration and the social, legal, physical, economic and human rights infrastructure of Rwanda;

Welcomes the efforts of the Government of Rwanda to restore the rule of law and to reconstruct the Rwandese justice system, and invites Member States, the organizations and agencies of the United Nations system and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to intensify their efforts to provide technical and financial assistance for the administration of justice, particularly to ensure the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, and welcomes in this regard the efforts of the Centre for Human Rights of the Secretariat to assist the Ministry of Justice of Rwanda;

Also invites Member States, the organizations and agencies of the United Nations system and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to intensify their efforts to provide technical and financial assistance to the system of law enforcement in Rwanda, including police training, and welcomes in this regard the assistance being provided by the Assistance Mission to the Government of Rwanda in its efforts to establish a new integrated police force;

Condemns those preventing, in some instances by force, the voluntary repatriation of refugees, and those obstructing the access of humanitarian relief to all in need, including those in the camps for refugees, and calls on the appropriate authorities to ensure security in such camps;

Urges the responsible authorities in Rwanda and in the region to ensure full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in the camps for refugees and displaced persons;

Welcomes the commitment of the Governments of Zaire, the United Republic of Tanzania and Burundi to help resolve the problems facing the refugees, and calls upon them to do all in their power to ensure the safety both of the refugees and of the personnel providing humanitarian assistance to the refugees;

Urges Governments of the region to take measures to prevent their territory from being used to pursue a strategy of destabilization within Rwanda;

Urges the Rwandese authorities and the Rwandese people to work for national reconciliation and unity in Rwanda, for peace in the country and the whole region, and to work together to implement the principles contained in the Peace Agreement between the Government of the Rwandese Republic and the Rwandese Patriotic Front, signed at Arusha, 6/ which constitutes the framework for peace, national reconciliation and unity in Rwanda;

Welcomes the efforts of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure that efforts of the United Nations aimed at conflict-resolution and peace-building in Rwanda are accompanied by a strong human rights component and effectively supported by a comprehensive programme of human rights assistance, drawing as appropriate on the expertise and capacities of all parts of the United Nations system able to contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights in Rwanda;

Also welcomes the cooperation the Government of Rwanda has extended to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and to the Special Rapporteur, and the acceptance by the Government of Rwanda of the deployment of human rights field officers, bearing in mind the important role of those officers, acting in close cooperation with the Assistance Mission and other United Nations agencies and programmes operating in Rwanda, in establishing a climate of confidence and a secure environment conducive to full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and in preventing further violations;

Invites Member States to intensify further their efforts to support human rights activities in the field in Rwanda;

Requests the Secretary-General to take appropriate steps to ensure adequate financial and human resources and logistical support for the speedy deployment of a sufficient number of human rights field officers and for the delivery of programmes of technical assistance and advisory services;

Also requests the Secretary-General to provide all resources necessary to enable the Special Rapporteur to fulfil his mandate;

Decides to continue its consideration of this question at its fiftieth session.

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Situation of Human Rights in Rwanda

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