Executive Summary of Comments

The Government of Rwanda submits the following comments regarding the Draft UN Mapping Report on the DRC. Rwanda categorically states that The Draft Mapping Report is unacceptable. Rwanda’s concerns relate to the entire report, and are not limited to narrow definitional issues or specific allegations. These serious concerns include:

1. The manipulation of UN processes by organizations and individuals�both inside and outside the UN�for purposes of rewriting history, improperly apportioning blame for the genocide that occurred in Rwanda, and reignite the conflict in Rwanda and the region.

2. The omission of the historical context, especially the immediate and serious threat posed by armed and ideologically charged refugees positioned right at the border of Rwanda and Zaire, as well as the nature of the conflict within Zaire at the time. This is despite the UNs knowledge of the situation and its blatant inaction.

3. The contradiction between the report and contemporaneous accounts of the situation from the UN Security Council, NGOs and many other eyewitnesses in the region who confirmed that genocidal forces, often posing as civilian refugees, were operating under the cover of UN refugee camps.

4. The flawed methodology and application of the lowest imaginable evidentiary standard.

5. The overreliance on the use of anonymous sources, hearsay assertions, unnamed, un-vetted and unidentified investigators and witnesses, who lack credibility; and allegation of the existence of victims with uncertain identity.

6. Failure to address the glaring inconsistency that claims of genocide are directly contradicted by Rwanda’s extensive and coordinated efforts to repatriate, resettle and reintegrate 3.2 million Hutu refugees; efforts that were supported by the UN.

7. The dangerous and irresponsible attempt by the Report to undermine the peace and stability attained in the Great Lakes region, which directly contradicts the very mission�of the United�Nations�Organization�Stabilization�Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), and the UN generally.

Done at Kigali on September 30th, 2010.

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Comments of the Government of Rwanda

Here follows another version of the “Executive Summary” as published on the Rwanda Government website on October 1st. It is not known why the Governement of Rwanda publishes two different versions of the Executive Summary.

RWANDA�S COMMENTS ON THE DRAFT UN MAPPING REPORT ON THE DRC
1 October 2010

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Government of Rwanda submits the following comments regarding the Draft UN Mapping Report on the DRC. Rwanda insists that The Draft Mapping Report is unacceptable as a United Nations (UN) document. Rwanda�s concerns relate to the entire report, and are not limited to narrow definitional issues or specific allegations. These serious concerns include, but are not limited to:

1. The Draft Mapping Report represents an effort by organizations and individuals � both inside and outside of the UN � to hijack the UN�s processes for the purposes of rewriting history, to improperly spread blame for the genocide that occurred in Rwanda, and to reignite the conflict in Rwanda and the region.

2. The report contains flawed methodology and applies the lowest imaginable evidentiary standard that barely meets journalistic requirements.

3. The Draft Mapping Report relies almost entirely on the use of anonymous sources, hearsay assertions, unnamed, un-vetted and unidentified investigators and witnesses, who lack any indicia of credibility, and alleges the existence of victims with no certainty as to their identities.

4. The historical context, especially with respect to the nature of the ongoing conflict within Zaire at the time, as well as the extensive repatriation and reintegration of over 3 million refugees to Rwanda, is totally absent from The Draft Mapping Report. This is notwithstanding the UN�s high level of knowledge regarding the repatriation process.

5. The report is inconsistent with contemporaneous accounts of the situation from the UN Security Council, NGOs and many other eyewitnesses in the region who confirmed that genocidal forces, often posing as civilian refugees, were operating under the cover of UN refugee camps.

6. Along these lines, The Draft Mapping Report fails to address the glaring inconsistency that claims of genocide are directly contradicted by Rwanda�s extensive and coordinated efforts to repatriate, resettle and reintegrate 3.2 million Hutu refugees; efforts that were supported by the UN.

7. The report is a disruptive attempt to undermine the peace and stability attained in the Great Lakes region, which is directly contradictory to the mission of the MONUSCO and the UN generally.

8. The authors were given a nearly impossible time frame, six months, to investigate a decade-long conflict in a country the size of Western Europe. The Mapping team compounded the difficult nature of the exercise by completely exceeding their mandate. Not surprising, the exercise was poorly executed and the report is deeply flawed.

Download the whole document of Rwanda Government comments.