Published By Assozione Umoja
After an intense social, media and political public protest, initiated by eight Spanish civil organizations, we have dissuaded the Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, from meeting with the Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, on July 16th 2010. It was unacceptable that he would co-chair a summit sponsored by the United Nations to fight poverty with President Kagame, who is charged by the Spanish National Court with genocide and crimes against humanity. Our country could not contribute to this great charade.
On that day, those civil society organizations created an international platform to facilitate sharing and collaboration in global action against the honorary position given by the UN to Paul Kagame.
STOP IMPUNITY IN RWANDA
But this is only a first step. It is necessary to continue, and we need you to do so.
CAN YOU HELP? YOUR SIGNATURE MEANS MORE THAN YOU THINK
Our eyes are now focused on the UN. We request the immediate and precautionary revocation of Paul Kagame as co-president of the Promoter Group of the Millennium Development Goals until the criminal charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, among others, in Spain and in France, are properly judged by both courts. . This designation made by Ban ki Moon is an extreme lack of respect for the hundreds of thousands of Rwandan victims, five million Congolese dead and the Spanish killed there, the Spanish Justice and the UN itself. It is quite contradictory that Ban Ki-Moon would chose to appoint Paul Kagame to preside over a global summit on the fight against poverty given he is imputed so severely by the Courts of Spain and France. He cannot be charged due to the immunity of his Presidential role.
We believe that the Government of Spain, assisted by the social response evident at the moment, should take the leadership on this issue and ask the UN, as an institution guarantor of peace and the enforcement of human rights in the world, to withdraw Paul Kagame from this international group and pressure the Rwandan government to cease the systematic violation of human rights (killings and arbitrary arrests of political leaders and journalists) and the continuous aggression against the Democratic Republic of Congo.
That is why we ask again for your active co-operation and your personal and institutional positioning against this shameful fact.
HELP WITH YOUR SIGNATURE!
Madrid, September 1, 2010.
STOP IMPUNITY IN RWANDA
Comités de Solidaridad con África Negra (UMOYA), Red de Entidades de Desarrollo Solidario (REDES, plataforma que agrupa a 52 organizaciones civiles), Fundación SUR, AFRICA TUMAINI, Drets Humans Mallorca, Fundación S´ Olivar, INSHUTI Amics dels Poblres de Rwanda, Burundi i el Congo, Veritas RWANDA FóRUM, Red África-Europa Fe y Justicia (AEFJN) Antena de Madrid, ACSUR Redes, Justicia y Paz MC, Asociación Pro-Derechos Humanos de Andalucía (APDHA)