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| Africa: Subsaharan |
| U.N. to Press Rwandan Genocide Case |
| 2005-06-25 |
| The United Nations will ask France to take legal action against a former U.N. employee accused in the killings of 33 Rwandans in the 1994 genocide, after an internal review found the world body bungled his case and failed to protect its Rwandan staff. Callixte Mbarushimana, who has lived under refugee protection in Paris since 2003, vehemently denies the charges and says he would welcome his day in court. Rwanda has a warrant for his arrest on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. For the last year, U.N. officials have quietly pressed Rwandan authorities and the U.N. war crimes tribunal for Rwanda to seek his extradition, without success, and are turning to France. "We've exhausted the possibilities," Mark Malloch Brown, chief of staff to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, told The Associated Press. "We are going to ask the French authorities where he's resident to pursue a case against him." French justice officials refused to comment until they get the request from the U.N. Development Program. U.N. officials, who agreed to discuss the request only on condition of anonymity because the note had not yet been delivered, said the note would not specify whether France should prosecute Mbarushimana or extradite him to Rwanda. While denying it's the main reason for pursuing the case, U.N. officials say French action could help them avoid paying 13 months' pay that Mbarushimana won in an administrative ruling last September. The three judges found his rights were violated when the United Nations decided not to renew his contract after the genocide claims gained attention in 2001. Mbarushimana's case has been a stain on the United Nations and emblematic of some of its most serious failures during Rwanda's genocide, which saw more than 500,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus massacred over three months in 1994. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 I infer from this that the UN's timetable for Darfur is about 2014. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2005-06-25 21:09 |
| #1 So genocide is not sufficient justification to get you fired from the UN. I'm sure the MSM will be all over this. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-06-25 15:55 |