{{Rwanda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Eugene-Richard Gasana (pictured above) presented to the UN Security Council during a briefing on Peacekeeping operations.}}
{Below is a complete presentation as at June 26, 2013.}
Thank you, Mr. President. I especially want to thank Under-Secretary-General Hervé Ladsous, Lieutenant General Dos Santos Cruz of MONUSCO, Major General Leonard Ngond of UNMIL and Major General Muhammad Asi of UNOCI for their very informative briefings and for their critical leadership at Headquarters and in the field.
I think it is very helpful to continue to have interactive discussions like these on a regular basis and to share lessons learned in order to better prepare for the challenges ahead.
I just have a few questions and comments and will keep it brief as requested.
On UNMIL, we support the need for in-mission assessments of pre-deployment training, as being critical to efficiency. Since its decision to join UN peacekeeping efforts, the Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF) have heavily invested in different training opportunities, especially pre-deployment and post-deployment training.
The RDF holds training courses for contingent personnel prior to their deployment, which focus on enhancing their mastery of force and civilian protection, peacekeeping policies, crosscutting negotiation and communication skills, among others.
Apart from generic mission training, pre-deployment training needs to encompass mission-specific scenarios while also taking into account and respecting specific national military doctrine.
This being said, I would appreciate hearing from General Ngond on details on criteria to be considered or used when assessing the deployment of troops.
On the point of inter-mission cooperation, presented by UNOCI Force Commander, there is no doubt that this kind of cooperation plays a critical role in mitigating and preventing the escalation of conflicts, by a timely intervention and the use of available resources in neighboring missions.
However, we must bear in mind that inter-mission cooperation is a temporary, short-term solution, which should not replace permanent solutions.
Turning to MONUSCO, the Council authorized the deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), which were supposed to be operational in July this year, to be used on a trial basis.
As this will be the first use of this technology in peacekeeping operations, the lessons learnt from UAVs’ efficiency in the implementation of the Mission’s mandate should inform future decisions on the use of drones in UN-mandated missions.
Bearing that in mind, Lt General Dos Santos Cruz, from your experience as MONUSCO Force Commander thus far, how optimistic are you with regards to the intended usefulness of the drones, given the dense jungle topography in the DRC?
Additionally, what arrangement have you put in place to ensure the information provided by the UAVs is properly handled for UN use, particularly when the operators are non-UN personnel?
And finally, there are various credible reports confirming the collaboration of the DRC army (the FARDC) with theForces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR), a movement that committed genocide in Rwanda and that was sanctioned by the UN.
How do you see this situation impacting your mission, especially when the national army you are supporting is closely working with a negative group which you are mandated to neutralize and disarm?
I will end with a question for the panel as a whole: given that you are commanding UN troops deployed in African countries, from your perspective, what do you think the Security Council has not done or is not doing enough to end the cycle of conflicts and violence in Africa?
Any particular advice to the African members of the Council would help.
I thank you.
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