Human Rights observers killed in Rwanda.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 4 February expressed shock at the killing of five human rights observers in an ambush in Rwanda while driving in two clearly marked United Nations vehicles. The attack took place in Karengera Sector of Cyangugu prefecture in the south west of Rwanda.

The Human Rights Field Operation in Rwanda has over 100 human rights officers working throughout the country. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said it had immediately ordered officers in Cyangugu, Gisenyi, and Kibuye to evacuate to Kigali. Staff in Gitarama, Gikongoro and Butare had been instructed to remain at their base stations.

On 5 February, the Spokesman for the Secretary-General said the United Nations had decided to continue its relief operations in Rwanda, but had asked the Government to provide military escort for its personnel travelling outside of Kigali.

On 20 January, the Secretary-General had condemned the killing of three Spanish aid workers and the wounding of an American aid worker employed by Medecins du Monde, in Ruhengeri, Rwanda. He offered his deepest condolences to Medecins du Monde and to the families and Governments of the victims of the attack, perpetrated against "people whose efforts were to alleviate suffering and protect the vulnerable".

Criminal Tribunal Reorganized

Secretary-General Kofi Annan accepted the resignations of the Deputy Prosecutor and the Registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda after a United Nations investigation found serious management and operational deficiencies there, it was announced on 26 February.

The Deputy Prosecutor, Honore Rakotomanana of Madagascar, and the Registrar, Andronico Adede of Kenya, submitted their resignations after meeting with Mr. Annan in New York. Mr. Adede also resigned from the Organization.

The Secretary-General noted that the work of the Tribunal involved "human tragedy of incalculable proportion".

It is mandated to prosecute persons responsible for genocide and other serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of Rwanda, as well as Rwandan citizens responsible for genocide and other such violations committed in the territory of neighbouring States between 1 January and 31 December 1994. It was set up in late 1994 by the Security Council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, following the massacres that claimed the lives of more than half a million people - mainly Rwandan Tutsis, but also moderates among Hutus.

In a report released on 6 February, the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) said that the evidence adduced from its investigation "did not confirm allegations of corrupt practices or misuse of funds. The review has, however, disclosed mismanagement in almost all areas of the Tribunal".

Although many of the specific complaints made to OIOS and others "were not substantiated by the available evidence, the charges of mismanagement were not only supported by the evidence, but the team of investigators and auditors found additional evidence that the administrative support functions did not operate either efficiently or effectively", it said.

Evidence also suggested that, once a few key administrators had been selected, the United Nations Secretariat had "failed to take responsibility for providing essential support for the Tribunal until it could become functional".

On 9 January, the Tribunal took up the case of Jean-Paul Akayesu, hearing testimony from witnesses for the first time. Mr. Akayesu pleaded not guilty on 30 May 1996 to crimes against humanity and genocide, which took place in Rwanda between April and June 1994.

The Government of Rwanda had already held trials of two individuals in connection with the 1994 genocide. While the Tribunal's statute accords primacy of jurisdiction to the Tribunal over national courts, it recognizes at the same time the concurrent jurisdiction of the national courts.

Food desperately needed

A report released in January by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that, following the influx of over 1 million refugees, Rwanda will need substantial food assistance in 1997. The United Nations agencies warn that, despite an overall improvement, food production in the country remains below the 1994 pre-civil strife average, and that the additional upsurge in food needs will strain the already fragile food supply situation.

FAO and WFP reported that the country would face a food deficit for the first half of 1997 of 30,000 tons of cereals, 45,000 tons of pulses, 124,000 tons of roots and tubers, and 522,000 tons of bananas and plantains, only a part of which can be met through commercial imports. It also estimated food aid requirements for the first half of the year at 81,000 tons of cereals and 33,000 tons of pulses, to cover the requirements of more than 2.5 million people, or one third of the projected population.

RELATED ARTICLE: A Massacre in Burundi

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a statement released on 13 January, said he was shocked at learning of another massacre by the Burundi Army, this time of 122 Burundi refugees returning from the United Republic of Tanzania. The incident took place on 10 January in the province of Muyinga.

While the Secretary-General welcomed the fact that the authorities in Bujumbura seemed to have taken action against some of the perpetrators, he called on the authorities "to ensure that the rule of law is scrupulously followed and to prevent further massacres by the Army".

"This latest tragedy underscores the pressing need for an immediate ceasefire followed by negotiations among all the interested parties to restore peace in Burundi", he stressed. He strongly urged the parties to negotiate in order to put an end "to this abhorrent cycle of violence whose first victims are the innocent civilian population".