Amb. Gasana assumes UN Security Council chair

Rwanda’s permanent representative to the United Nations and Minister of State for Cooperation, Amb. Eugène-Richard Gasana, has formally assumed the April chair of UN Security Council (UNSC) presidency.Rwanda, on Monday, assumed the rotating presidency of the UNSC, replacing Russia, three months after joining the most powerful UN organ.Addressing a news conference early this week at the UN headquarters in New York, Gasana said the responsibility offers an opportunity to prevent future atrocities.He said Rwanda’s previous tenure at the Security Council coincided with the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi that saw more than one million people killed in cold blood.“April is a month of mourning, reflection and remembrance for Rwandans. From our seat at the Security Council, we will honour this period, by redoubling our efforts to prevent such atrocities that happened in Rwanda 19 years ago,” the UNSC president noted.The UNSC presidency rotates among the Council members in the English alphabetical order of their names. Each president holds office for a month.Gasana also briefed reporters about the Council’s April programme which was adopted on Tuesday.The programme include, among others, the main event slated for April 15, an open date dubbed “Prevention of conflicts in Africa: Addressing the root causes’, to be chaired by Foreign Affairs minister Louise Mushikiwabo.A statement from Rwanda’s Mission to the UN says Mushikiwabo is scheduled to co-chair another open-debate on Women and Peace and Security focusing on “sexual violence in conflict” on April 17.The April plan also includes consultations on Mali, Central African Republic, Western Sahara, Sudan/South-Sudan, Darfur and Somalia.Rwanda will hold 11 closed consultations, nine public meetings, one troop contributing countries’ meeting and a meeting to adopt resolutions. The country will also organise an open forum on Middle East on April 24.

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Amb. Gasana assumes UN Security Council chair