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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 27 Jun 1995

Vol. 455 No. 1

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Rwandan Conflict.

Ray Burke

Question:

4 Mr. R. Burke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on warnings, particularly by Trócaire, that Governments and the United Nations must act quickly to stabilise a deteriorating situation in Rwanda and neighbouring countries or risk escalating violence across the entire region. [11713/95]

Eric J. Byrne

Question:

20 Mr. E. Byrne asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs whether he will be pressing at UN and at EU level for an independent inquiry into the killing of over 300 people at Kibeho camp for the internally displaced in Rwanda; if his attention has been drawn to calls by organisations such as Amnesty International for such an inquiry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11756/95]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 and 20 together.

I am aware of the warnings of Trócaire and very conscious of the explosive potential of the problems in the Great Lakes region, particularly in Rwanda and Burundi. It is now over a year since Rwanda was engulfed in genocide and a civil war which left up to one million dead. Not surprisingly, the recovery has been slow, fragile and uneven. While the situation in the country has shown some improvement, notably in the revival of the private sector and the reopening of schools, overall conditions remain fragile and tense.

Ireland has repeatedly advocated concerted international assistance for Rwanda and the region as a whole. Repatriation of refugees, national reconciliation and the rebuilding of administrative structures are urgent priorities. We regard the return of refugees and internally displaced persons as an essential element in this recovery.

The closing of the camps within Rwanda was taking place in a comparatively peaceful manner until the massacres at Kibeho on 22 April. The Irish Government strongly condemned the killings at the camp and, with our partners in the European Union, called on the Rwandan authorities to set up an independent investigation into the incident.

An independent international commission of inquiry was subsequently established and it presented its findings on 18 May 1995. The commission concluded that the tragedy did not result from a planned action by Rwandan authorities to kill a certain group of people, nor was it an accident that could not have been prevented. The Government of Rwanda accepted the results of the inquiry and committed itself to continuing with its own inquiry into the conduct of the people involved to ensure that such acts are not repeated and that those responsible are brought to justice. I welcome the report of the commission of inquiry and the subsequent commitment by the Rwandan authorities to implement its conclusions and recommendations.

The commission of inquiry strongly recommended that the international community continues to encourage and assist Rwanda in its efforts to achieve justice, national reconciliation and reconstruction. I am firmly convinced that this is the only way in which a permanent resolution will be found for the Rwandan crisis.

We have raised the need for control on the supply of arms with our EU partners and will continue to do so. The UN Security Council, in Resolution 997 of 9 June, extended the arms embargo on Rwanda imposed last year to "persons in the State neighbouring Rwanda" if such arms are for use within Rwanda. The resolution also refers to the possibility of deploying UN military observers in eastern Zaire and elsewhere to monitor this embargo. I welcome this strengthening of the arms embargo regime.

The Government has always supported a UN presence in Rwanda and I am glad that the UN Security Council has extended the UNAMIR mandate for a further six months. The force is to be reduced to 1,800 troops after four months. Adjustments in the mandate mean that UNAMIR will use its good offices to help achieve national reconciliation, assist the Government in the return of refugees, assist in the training of a national police force and contribute to the security of UN personnel and aid workers in case of need.

On the humanitarian front, as the House will be aware, Ireland has donated more than £4 million in emergency assistance. The Government is also providing rehabilitation assistance in sectors such as health, education and agriculture. To date, the Government has spent £350,000 on rehabilitation projects and is committed to contributing substantial further rehabilitation assistance. An officer of my Department recently visited Rwanda and I am currently considering recommendations for future assistance, including the rehabilitation of the justice system and the prisons.

The European Union, which had temporarily suspended assistance to the Government of Rwanda following the events at Kibeho, decided on 1 June to engage in a political and technical dialogue with the Rwandan Government which will enable the resumption of full assistance from the European Union. This was in accordance with the views of a number of member states, including Ireland, and resulted from a discussion in the Development Council.

I am glad to inform the House that the first plenary session of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda took place yesterday in The Hague. I hope that the tribunal will pursue its work with all possible speed and that those responsible for the genocide will be brought to justice. The United Nations and European Union team of human rights monitors continue to do very good work. I had discussions recently with the co-ordinator of the EU contingent, who is Irish.

It is not possible to look at the problems of Rwanda in isolation from the problems of the region as a whole. The situation in Burundi is very tense and the spillover of refugees into neighbouring countries is adding to the difficulties of their hard pressed economies. This underlines the need for the holding of an international conference on security, stability and peace in the Great Lakes region, as called for by the UN Security Council. The Government firmly supports the convening of this conference and I note that Trócaire has strongly advocated that such a conference take place. We will continue to pursue this proposal with our EU partners and the states of the region.

The perpetrators of the genocide in Rwanda are rearming themselves in preparation for a violent return to their homeland after one year in exile. May I ask the Minister of State the specific action being taken to ensure that the EU, the UN and other world bodies will not sit back and allow another one million people to be wiped out in this region?

We are taking a series of measures which will allow for a degree of reconstruction, peace building and peace making in Rwanda. In this context, the report of the independent inquiry into the massacre in Kibeho recommended that the international community should assist in and contribute to the rehabilitation of Rwanda. The single most important action the international community can take is to encourage and enable displaced persons and refugees to return to their homes in safety and make them feel confident about resuming their lives in Rwanda. However, this will be a long process.

There have been reports on arms shipments and movements in the camps in the countries surrounding Rwanda while international press reports have referred specifically to the camps in Zaire. The UN embargo on the sale of arms to Rwanda has been extended to include persons in neighbouring countries who may be using those arms in Rwanda. International embargoes on arms can be extremely difficult to police and we are talking about generating a momentum which will bring about peace in Rwanda and restrain continuing outbreaks of violence in Burundi. We address the issue of international arms movements by using all of the resources at our disposal in the United Nations and the regional bodies within Africa which have a significant role to play in the resolution of the Rwandan conflict.

The taking of concerted action by African countries, as happened last year in the case of the extremely dangerous situation in Lesotho where three neighbouring presidents, including President Mandela, used their authority to broker an agreement, could form the basis for the peaceful reconstruction of Rwanda. The international conference would offer further guarantees and enhancements to displaced persons to return home and may offer the opportunity for a settlement to be brokered at a regional level.

The problem can only be solved by a series of measures, and the Government has been actively involved in assisting in the rehabilitation process. Recently an official visited Rwanda and we are considering, together with the Red Cross and local authorities, the provision of assistance to the prisons and the judicial system. It is essential for refugees and displaced persons to have confidence in this system if they are to return to their homes.

I welcome the work being undertaken in the area by the Government representatives and the non-governmental organisations such as Trócaire, Concern, GOAL, the Red Cross, Human Rights Watch etc. The availability of arms is a contributory factor to the increasing tension not just in Rwanda but also in Zaire and the region generally. The Minister of State referred to the pressure being applied at the UN and in Africa and the region. However, it is well known and widely accepted that the arms are coming from EU member states. As a member of the European Union we should exert pressure through the Foreign Affairs Council to ensure that proper consideration is given to the supply of arms. Will the Minister of State agree that it is hypocritical for member states of the EU to vehemently protest about human rights abuses and genocide in this area while at the same time they are supplying weapons, directly or indirectly, to the participants in the conflict? Will she assure the House, and the public, that the Government will highlight this issue at the EU?

The Government is extremely concerned about the arms trade in Rwanda, Burundi and throughout Africa where excessive transfers of conventional weapons have had destablising consequences often at the expense of economic and social development. In addition to supporting specific arms embargoes where necessary, the Government is committed to working for restraint in the manufacture, possession, transfer and sale of all conventional weapons. Ireland, together with its European Union partners, sponsored the introduction of a United Nations register of armaments to include information on international transfers of certain categories of conventional weapons.

Furthermore, Ireland has proposed at the United Nations the elaboration of a code of conduct on conventional arms transfers which would encourage states to voluntarily exercise responsibility and restraint in their exports and imports of conventional arms and set out common principles to be observed in this area. Our European partners have broadly endorsed the proposal and Ireland is continuing to work to promote acceptance of the need for responsibility in conventional arms transfers. Ireland recently ratified the United Nations Inhumane Weapons Convention which prohibits the indiscriminate use of certain conventional weapons, notably landmines. We will be pressing for a strengthening of its provisions at the conference which will review this convention in the autumn.

At European level.

I congratulate the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Spring, and his Minister of State on to their concern in relation to the troubled areas, particularly in the African Continent. Will the Minister of State agree that there is concern in relation to spending substantial amounts of taxpayers' money, such as the £4 million referred to in her reply, to ensure that it finds its way to the people for whom it was allocated? Will she indicate if, within her Department, there are plans to review the method of allocation and the policing of these moneys to ensure it reaches the people who require assistance and that it is not lost through the conflict in the areas to which she has referred?

Much of the £4 million Irish assistance to the Rwandan crisis was directed through the Irish relief agencies: GOAL, Trócaire, Concern and Refugee Trust and some £350,000 has been directed through the Rwandan Government since December. There are intense negotiations on spending any moneys on development or emergency relief. Any money spent on relief generally is through the mechanism of NGOs. The Irish NGOs have a truly outstanding record and we receive reports from them in relation to spending moneys allocated. There is a proposal this year to spend money on rehabilitation in Rwanda. We are being advised in this respect by the Irish agencies working in Rwanda, in particular, by Trócaire which has worked there for a number of years on peace building and on the civil reconstruction of that country. In relation to proposals to spend money we send senior officials — as we did in the case of Rwanda recently — to discuss in detail how those moneys might be spent. A number of Irish people work in senior appointments in Rwanda, not least the head of the European Union monitors.

I am happy that we are able to avail of the advice of people who are extremely experienced in the field as to where the money might best be spent. Recently the OECD's development aid committee produced a report on Irish aid in which it examined all the expenditures which Irish aid has made during the past number of years. That report was extremely complimentary and emphasised that Irish aid, unlike the aid programmes of a number of other countries, is largely directed at the alleviation of poverty in primary areas such as health, education, water and sanitation and building capacity in those countries with which we have a relationship.

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