RWANDA: TRIAL AGAINST MILITARY OFFICERS WRAPS UP AT UN-BACKED TRIBUNAL

Both the prosecution and defense have wrapped up their cases against four former military officers charged with genocide and other war crimes by the United Nations tribunal set up to deal with the mass killings that engulfed Rwanda in 1994.

April of that year saw the beginning of a slaughter in the tiny East African country in which more than 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and Hutu moderates died, mostly by machete, during a period of less than 100 days.

The four men – General Augustin Bizimungu, former Rwandan Army Chief of Staff; General Augustine Ndindiliyimana, former Chief of Staff of the military police; Francois-Xavier Nzuwonemeye, former Commander in the army; and Innocent Sagahutu, former second-in-command of the Reconnaissance Battalion – are jointly accused of conspiracy to commit genocide, genocide or complicity in genocide; crimes against humanity; and other war crimes.

At the end of the trial last week in Arusha, Tanzania, where the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) is based, the prosecution called for the conviction of the accused and sentences of life imprisonment.

The evidence they have presented, they said, prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the four men ordered, encouraged and supported the massacres of Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

No date has been set yet for the verdict in the trial, which began in September 2004 and heard the testimonies of over 200 witnesses.

Last week, the ICTR found a former Government minister guilty of genocide, sentencing him to 30 years in prison. On 23 April 2004, Callixte Kalimanzira, former Acting Minister of Interior, lured thousands of Tutsi refugees to Kabuye hill in Butare prefecture, where they were attacked and killed, according to the Tribunal.
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BAN PAYS TRIBUTE TO LATE RIGHTS ACTIVIST WHO SPOTLIGHTED HORRORS OF RWANDAN GENOCIDE

BAN PAYS TRIBUTE TO LATE RIGHTS ACTIVIST WHO SPOTLIGHTED HORRORS OF RWANDAN GENOCIDE
New York, May 21 2009 1:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today paid tribute to the late Alison des Forges, a human rights campaigner who worked unrelentlessly to document the horrors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide and bring those behind the slaughter to justice.

April 1994 saw the beginning of a slaughter in the tiny East African country in which more than 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and Hutu moderates died, mostly by machete, during a period of less than 100 days.

"The repercussions of the slaughter that traumatized Rwanda travelled far beyond its borders and reverberate to this day," Mr. Ban said in a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=3871">message to a memorial service for Ms. des Forges, one of the world's foremost experts on the genocide, who died in a plane crash in New York in February.

He said he draws his strength to ensure that victims' rights are respected from the late expert, who was the senior advisor for the Africa division of the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch at the time of her death.

"She worked tirelessly to document the atrocities and bring the perpetrators to justice, and made a significant contribution to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda [<"http://69.94.11.53/default.htm">ICTR] and related judicial proceedings," the Secretary-General said. "That she campaigned for justice impartially, without fear or favour, earned her some enemies, but many more allies."

Ms. des Forges, who began her work on Rwanda as a student, spent four years interviewing both organizers of the genocide and those targeted for extermination. She appeared as an expert witness in 11 trials for genocide at the ICTR, as well as for trials in Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Canada, as well as giving evidence to expert panels of the UN, the United States Congress and the French National Assembly, among others.

"Thanks in large part to the commitment of people like Alison des Forges, the world is better equipped to hold despots and war criminals to account," Mr. Ban said.

"She was a resolute advocate for the fundamental principle that everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person," he added. "The world will miss her insight, courage and dedication."
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UN LEGAL CHIEF URGES STATES TO ARREST FUGITIVES WANTED BY RWANDA TRIBUNAL

The United Nations Legal Counsel has called for the arrest and surrender of the 13 remaining fugitives indicted by the tribunal set up to deal with the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Patricia O'Brien, who is also Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, underscored the importance of Member States' cooperation in relocating witnesses and enforcing sentences, as well as capturing and delivering those with arrest warrants against their names to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

In a press briefing yesterday at the end of her visit to ICTR headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, Ms. O'Brien added that the remaining 13 fugitives will not escape justice if they are not caught by the end of the tribunal's mandate, but will be prosecuted by a residual mechanism.

During her two-day visit, Ms. O'Brien discussed with ICTR officials the institution's mandate and completion strategy and held a town hall meeting with the staff. Under its completion strategy, the tribunal is aiming to finish first-instance trials by the end of this year.

The Rwandan genocide saw more than 800,000 people massacred, mostly by machete, for being ethnic Tutsis or Hutu moderates during a period of less than 100 days starting in April 1994.
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SWEDEN TOPS UN’S INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT INDEX

SWEDEN TOPS UN'S INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT INDEX
New York, Mar 2 2009 10:00AM

The most advanced nations when it comes to information and communication technology (ICT) are found in northern Europe, with Sweden topping the list, according to a new ranking released today by the United Nations of 154 countries worldwide.

The ICT Development Index (IDI), produced by the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU), compared developments in these countries over a five-year period from 2002 to 2007 using indicators such as households with a computer, the number of Internet users and computer literacy levels.

"The report shows that overall the magnitude of the global digital divide remains unchanged between 2002 and 2007. Despite significant improvements in the developing world, the gap between the ICT haves and have-nots remains," the agency said in a news release.

The research found that the most advanced countries in ICT are from northern Europe, with the exception of the Republic of Korea, which ranks second, followed by Denmark, the Netherlands, Iceland and Norway.

These countries are followed by other, mainly high-income countries from Europe, Asia and North America. Western and northern Europe and North America are the regions with the highest IDI scores, and most countries from these regions are among the top 20 ICT economies, according to the ITU.

The agency added that poor countries, in particular the least developed countries (LDCs), remain at the lower end of the index with limited access to ICT infrastructure, including fixed and mobile telephony, Internet and broadband.

Given the close relationship between ICT level and gross domestic product (GDP), many of the poorer countries, especially in Africa, rank further down in the IDI, with little change in ranking since 2002, ITU reported.

Some developing countries, though, have moved up considerably in the Index over the five-year period, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, China and Viet Nam, partly due to high mobile cellular growth, coupled with an increase in Internet users.

ITU added that both developed and developing countries have increased their ICT levels by more than 30 per cent over the five-year period, but developing countries are still lagging behind on ICT access and usage.

The data also showed that there has been a clear shift away from fixed to mobile cellular telephone use, and that by the end of 2008, there were over three times more mobile cellular subscriptions than fixed telephone lines globally. Two thirds of those are now in the developing world compared with less than half in 2002.

Also, based on ITU estimates, 23 out of 100 inhabitants globally used the Internet at the end of 2008. But penetration levels in the developing countries remain low, and Africa with 5 per cent penetration is lagging behind. When it comes to broadband penetration, figures are even lower, noted the ITU, the lead UN agency for ICT issues, and the global focal point for governments and the private sector in developing networks and services.
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CONTINUING AFRICA TOUR, BAN HOLDS TALKS WITH TANZANIAN PRESIDENT

CONTINUING AFRICA TOUR, BAN HOLDS TALKS WITH TANZANIAN PRESIDENT
New York, Feb 26 2009 4:00PM

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon began an official visit to Tanzania today, meeting with President Jakaya Kikwete with whom he discussed a range of issues, from the country's upcoming elections and regional crises to the global economic meltdown.

The two also talked about the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which is based in the Tanzanian city of Arusha and is expected to complete its work next year, as well as the situations in Burundi, Zimbabwe, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Mr. Ban and President Kikwete also spoke about climate change and its impact on food security in Tanzania, as well as the public health situation in the country and the Government's efforts to stamp out HIV/AIDS.

In a separate meeting chaired by President Kikwete, the Secretary-General met with former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, who briefed him on the Nairobi talks aimed at bringing peace to war-torn DRC, which Mr. Mkapa co-chairs with former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.

They discussed the reintegration of fighters from the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) into the Congolese armed forces, the prospects for UN assistance in supporting military integration, and the question of temporary amnesty.

Also today, Mr. Ban delivered a lecture to the local diplomatic corps, the academic community and representatives of the media, in which he called on African leaders to move forward on education, efforts to battle climate change and the fight against HIV/AIDS.

He also emphasized the need to put an end to violence throughout the continent – including in Darfur, DRC and Somalia.

Mr. Ban arrived in Tanzania from South Africa, the first stop on his current tour which will also take him to DRC, Rwanda and Egypt.
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