The dictator Kagame at UN

The dictator Kagame at UN
Dictators like Kagame who have changed their national constitutions to remain indefinitely on power should not be involved in UN high level and global activities including chairing UN meetings

Why has the UN ignored its own report about the massacres of Hutu refugees in DRC ?

The UN has ignored its own reports, NGOs and media reports about the massacres of hundreds of thousands of Hutu in DRC Congo (estimated to be more than 400,000) by Kagame when he attacked Hutu refugee camps in Eastern DRC in 1996. This barbaric killings and human rights violations were perpetrated by Kagame’s RPF with the approval of UK and USA and with sympathetic understanding and knowledge of UNHCR and international NGOs which were operating in the refugees camps. According to the UN, NGO and media reports between 1993 and 2003 women and girls were raped. Men slaughtered. Refugees killed with machetes and sticks. The attacks of refugees also prevented humanitarian organisations to help many other refugees and were forced to die from cholera and other diseases. Other refugees who tried to return to Rwanda where killed on their way by RFI and did not reach their homes. No media, no UNHCR, no NGO were there to witness these massacres. When Kagame plans to kill, he makes sure no NGO and no media are prevent. Kagame always kills at night.

21 Apr 2014

[AfricaWatch] Soco International's oil activity in world heritage park raises tricky questions for investors

 

Soco International's oil activity in world heritage park raises tricky questions for investors
Withdraw, engage or ignore? The oil company's exploration of options in Africa's oldest national park puts its investors, including Aviva and L&G, into a difficult position
 
A war of words between WWF and UK-listed oil company Soco International about its plans to explore for oil in a world heritage site in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has come to a head after a ruling by an international tribunal.
Soco, whose preliminary results for 2013 are published tomorrow, has a permit to explore in part of the Virunga National Park, Africa's oldest national park and home to the critically endangered mountain gorillas made famous by the film Gorillas in the Mist.
Some 85% of the park has been allocated as oil concessions by the DRC but WWF says Soco is the only company moving forward with exploration plans. Other companies, such as Total, have committed not to explore within Virunga.
Soco says that the project is in the very early "pre-exploration" phase and any development remains many years away. It adds that "the mountain gorilla habitat is distinctly separate from Soco's area of interest – separated by altitude (as oil exploration does not take place in volcanic mountains, and mountain gorillas do not live in lowland savannah), by distance (approximately 40km) and by the boundary of Block V (the name of its concession) itself".
WWF contends that the company "has breached the most respected global corporate social responsibility standards in its pursuit of oil in Virunga National Park". It complained to the OECD, whose UK National Contact Point published an initial assessment on 14 February which advised further examination by the UK government.
While Soco says that the NCP rejected many of the NGO's allegations, WWF-UK chief executive David Nussbaum responds that the announcement shows "the seriousness of WWF's complaint against Soco's activities". What are investors to make of this? Mark Campanale, co-founder of Carbon Tracker says Soco's presence in the DRC illustrates the collapse of easy oil. "All the new oil is difficult to access – it's in places like the Arctic or rainforests. Companies are having to go to greater and greater extremes to find ever-smaller amounts of oil."
Cases such as this raise an interesting dilemma for the growing number of investors pledging to take environmental, social and governance issues into account and invest more sustainably. Many of the company's investors, which include local council pension funds as well as some of the biggest UK and global financial institutions, are passive investors which invest across the entire market and say they have no choice about what companies they invest in because their mandate is to invest in whatever is in the index. They own shares in Soco because it is a constituent of the FTSE 250 index.
One such investor is Aviva. "Operating in a World Heritage Site is obviously a very serious issue and we are prepared to be pretty robust about it. We have been speaking to the company about the fact that this is a big issue for us," says Stephanie Maier, head of corporate responsibility at the group. Even with its passive investments, Aviva's approach is "to use the ownership leverage we have to seek improvements in the companies we hold."
Craig McKenzie, head of sustainability at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, says there is a limit to the amount of engagement a passive investor can do. "One thing we can do as a tracker fund is to vote our shares and one of the few issues on which you can do that is remuneration and executive pay ... However, a vote on remuneration is quite a crude instrument, which means dealing with particular controversies through that vote is quite hard," he adds. In an ideal world, all investors should be willing to talk to companies about serious environmental and ethical issues, McKenzie says, but it comes down to the resources of the engagement team.
The problem for passive investors is that they are "exposed to pretty much every controversy in the listed space with limited ability to do anything about it". This leads to situations such as the controversy over Soco, which raises uncomfortable questions for investors such as Legal & General Investment Managers, which says it takes sustainability issues very seriously yet also says (without commenting specifically on Soco) it is not in a position to divest its shareholdings in problematic companies.
"Some people may see that as a sign of weakness but we see it as a sign of strength," says Steve Leach, PR manager at L&GIM. "We are invested in these companies for the long term. Improving governance and getting companies in the best shape possible is how we improve our returns."
He stresses that behind-the-scenes engagement is the best way to achieve results. "Just because you don't hear us shouting from the rooftops it doesn't mean we aren't annoyed with some companies," he adds. And while the group's weapons are limited by the inability to divest, "we own 3.5% to 4% of every company in the FTSE so we have quite a lot of influence in the UK particularly."
Publicly, Soco is taking a robust line to WWF's complaint, saying "our shareholders reported to us that they have been relentlessly lobbied by WWF using sensationalist and inaccurate statements ... Our approach has been to openly and transparently explain the scope and extent of our current and planned activities." But Aviva's Maier says "there has been a change in approach from the company. They now understand the need to engage with this issue directly."
If so, it will demonstrate that even passive investors can have an impact on how individual companies behave. But it doesn't address the larger question of how universal investors can reduce their exposure to carbon risks across the board.
• This article was amended on 5 March to include the following sentence: "Cases such as this raise an interesting dilemma for the growing number of investors pledging to take environmental, social and governance issues into account and invest more sustainably."
Join the community of sustainability professionals and experts. Become a GSB member to get more stories like this direct to your inbox
 
 

Belgian Emmanuel de Merode shot in DR Congo ambush

The Belgian director of Africa's oldest national park - Virunga in the Democratic Republic of Congo - has been shot and wounded in an ambush.
Emmanuel de Merode's vehicle came under fire as he was travelling from the eastern city of Goma to the town of Rumangabo, according to a statement issued by the park.
Some of eastern DR Congo's numerous armed groups are based in the park.
More than 130 park rangers have been killed in Virunga since 1996.
Lawless region
Mr De Merode was shot in the stomach and legs with four bullets, Cosma Wilungula, the secretary-general of the Congolese Institute for Conservation and Nature, told the BBC.
The park said on its Twitter account that Mr De Merode was "in a stable but critical condition".
Mr De Merode's work attracted him a lot of enemies, Mr Wilungula said.
"He was protecting the resources of the park and preventing people from accessing those resources," Mr Wilungula said.
Mr De Merode was driving unescorted from Goma to Rumangabo when gunmen ambushed his vehicle on Tuesday, he added.
Goma is about 50km (30 miles) from Rumangabo, the headquarters of Virunga National Park.
Several diplomatic sources said Mr De Merode had attended a meeting with a state prosecutor in Goma before he was shot, reports the BBC's Maud Jullien from the capital Kinshasa.
He had apparently handed the prosecutor sensitive information about oil exploration at Virunga, she says.
UK-based oil firm Soco International is exploring for oil at Virunga, despite strong criticism from environmental organisations, our correspondent adds.
The firm condemned the attack on Mr De Merode.
"Soco does not condone violence of any kind and makes it clear that any suggestion linking Soco to this crime is completely unfounded, defamatory and highly inappropriate," it said in a statement.
Last August, Soco denied that its activities threatened the environment of the park.
The company said it was currently only evaluating the resources there.
The park is home to about 200 of the world's 790 remaining mountain gorillas.
It is one of the most ecologically diverse places on Earth and is on the UN list of World Heritage sites in danger.
The east of the Democratic Republic of Congo is a mostly lawless region, hit by conflict between the government and various armed groups.
 
 

Congolese protesters demand cancelation of Soco oil permits

Goma, DRC – Over 50 protestors assembled peacefully in the street Monday holding banners proclaiming "no to oil" in Virunga National Park. UK company Soco International PLC says it will begin seismic testing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) World Heritage Site next month. 

Activists argue that oil exploitation could pose a threat to essential fishing and agricultural jobs, and could enflame conflicts in eastern DRC where peace has been achieved only recently.

Community groups appealed for greater investment to unlock the tourism potential of Africa's most biodiverse protected area, home to critically endangered mountain gorillas, as well as for assistance to bolster the fishery and agricultural industries. 

"Virunga National Park could be an engine for sustainable economic development for the country and future generations," civil society groups said in a written statement. 

One woman who sells fish caught in Virunga's Lake Edward says her business has enabled her to afford an education she otherwise could not.

"We can't tolerate seeing oil activities destroying our source of income," she said. "What will we become without Lake Edward?"

"I've joined the protest because I want to add my voice to those of many of my brothers who live in fear regarding their future because of the oil project in Virunga National Park," the fish-seller said. 

Asked if she was concerned about speaking out publically in protest she said, "I'm not afraid, because I defend my right- the right to a healthy environment." 

Police on the scene of Monday's protest ensured participants were able to express safely their opposition to oil exploration in Virunga. The event's organizers noted that threats against some anti-oil activists have been recorded over the previous years.

A declaration issued at the protest complained that Soco did not provide communities with a sufficient amount of information about the risks of its operations, and that civil society views were not taken into account. 

"The free, prior and informed consent of communities affected by oil activities in Virunga National Park has not been respected," according to the written statement, which goes on to request the cancelation of Soco's exploration permits.



 

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-“The enemies of Freedom do not argue ; they shout and they shoot.”

The principal key root causes that lead to the Rwandan genocide of 1994 that affected all Rwandan ethnic groups were:

1)The majority Hutu community’s fear of the return of the discriminatory monarchy system that was practiced by the minority Tutsi community against the enslaved majority Hutu community for about 500 years

2)The Hutu community’s fear of Kagame’s guerrilla that committed massacres in the North of the country and other parts of the countries including assassinations of Rwandan politicians.

3) The Rwandan people felt abandoned by the international community ( who was believed to support Kagame’s guerrilla) and then decided to defend themselves with whatever means they had against the advance of Kagame’ guerrilla supported by Ugandan, Tanzanian and Ethiopian armies and other Western powers.

-“The enemies of Freedom do not argue ; they shout and they shoot.”

-“The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.”

-“The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”

-“I have loved justice and hated iniquity: therefore I die in exile.”

The Rwanda war of 1990-1994 had multiple dimensions.

The Rwanda war of 1990-1994 had multiple dimensions. Among Kagame’s rebels who were fighting against the Rwandan government, there were foreigners, mainly Ugandan fighters who were hired to kill and rape innocent Rwandan people in Rwanda and refugees in DRC.

READ MORE RECENT NEWS AND OPINIONS

SUMMARY : THE TRAGIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE BRITISH BUDGET SUPPORT AND GEO-STRATEGIC AMBITIONS

United Kingdom's Proxy Wars in Africa: The Case of Rwanda and DR Congo:

The Rwandan genocide and 6,000,000 Congolese and Hutu refugees killed are the culminating point of a long UK’s battle to expand their influence to the African Great Lakes Region. UK supported Kagame’s guerrilla war by providing military support and money. The UK refused to intervene in Rwanda during the genocide to allow Kagame to take power by military means that triggered the genocide. Kagame’s fighters and their families were on the Ugandan payroll paid by UK budget support.


· 4 Heads of State assassinated in the francophone African Great Lakes Region.
· 2,000,000 people died in Hutu and Tutsi genocides in Rwanda, Burundi and RD.Congo.
· 600,000 Hutu refugees killed in R.D.Congo, Uganda, Central African Republic and Rep of Congo.
· 6,000,000 Congolese dead.
· 8,000,000 internal displaced people in Rwanda, Burundi and DR. Congo.
· 500,000 permanent Rwandan and Burundian Hutu refugees, and Congolese refugees around the world.
· English language expansion to Rwanda to replace the French language.
· 20,000 Kagame’s fighters paid salaries from the British Budget Support from 1986 to present.
· £500,000 of British taxpayer’s money paid, so far, to Kagame and his cronies through the budget support, SWAPs, Tutsi-dominated parliament, consultancy, British and Tutsi-owned NGOs.
· Kagame has paid back the British aid received to invade Rwanda and to strengthen his political power by joining the East African Community together with Burundi, joining the Commonwealth, imposing the English Language to Rwandans to replace the French language; helping the British to establish businesses and to access to jobs in Rwanda, and to exploit minerals in D.R.Congo.


Thousands of Hutu murdered by Kagame inside Rwanda, e.g. Kibeho massacres

Thousands of Hutu murdered by Kagame inside Rwanda, e.g. Kibeho massacres
Kagame killed 200,000 Hutus from all regions of the country, the elderly and children who were left by their relatives, the disabled were burned alive. Other thousands of people were killed in several camps of displaced persons including Kibeho camp. All these war crimes remain unpunished.The British news reporters were accompanying Kagame’s fighters on day-by-day basis and witnessed these massacres, but they never reported on this.

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25,000 Hutu bodies floated down River Akagera into Lake Victoria in Uganda.

25,000 Hutu bodies floated down River Akagera into Lake Victoria in Uganda.
The British irrational, extremist, partisan,biased, one-sided media and politicians have disregarded Kagame war crimes e.g. the Kibeho camp massacres, massacres of innocents Hutu refugees in DR. Congo. The British media have been supporting Kagame since he invaded Rwanda by organising the propaganda against the French over the Rwandan genocide, suppressing the truth about the genocide and promoting the impunity of Kagame and his cronies in the African Great Lakes Region. For the British, Rwanda does not need democracy, Rwanda is the African Israel; and Kagame and his guerilla fighters are heroes.The extremist British news reporters including Fergal Keane, Chris Simpson, Chris McGreal, Mark Doyle, etc. continue to hate the Hutus communities and to polarise the Rwandan society.

Kagame political ambitions triggered the genocide.

Kagame political ambitions triggered the genocide.
Kagame’s guerrilla war was aimed at accessing to power at any cost. He rejected all attempts and advice that could stop his military adventures including the cease-fire, political negotiations and cohabitation, and UN peacekeeping interventions. He ignored all warnings that could have helped him to manage the war without tragic consequences. Either you supported Kagame’ s wars and you are now his friend, or you were against his wars and you are his enemy. Therefore, Kagame as the Rwandan strong man now, you have to apologise to him for having been against his war and condemned his war crimes, or accept to be labelled as having been involved in the genocide. All key Kagame’s fighters who committed war crimes and crimes against humanity are the ones who hold key positions in Rwandan army and government for the last 15 years. They continue to be supported and advised by the British including Tony Blair, Andrew Mitchell MP, and the British army senior officials.

Aid that kills: The British Budget Support financed Museveni and Kagame’s wars in Rwanda and DRC.

Aid that kills: The British Budget Support financed Museveni and Kagame’s wars in Rwanda and DRC.
Genocide propaganda and fabrications are used by the so-called British scholars, news reporters and investigative journalists to promote their CVs and to get income out of the genocide through the selling of their books, providing testimonies against the French, access to consultancy contracts from the UN and Kagame, and participation in conferences and lectures in Rwanda, UK and internationally about genocide. Genocide propaganda has become a lucrative business for Kagame and the British. Anyone who condemned or did not support Kagame’s war is now in jail in Rwanda under the gacaca courts system suuported by British tax payer's money, or his/she is on arrest warrant if he/she managed to flee the Kagame’s regime. Others have fled the country and are still fleeing now. Many others Rwandans are being persecuted in their own country. Kagame is waiting indefinitely for the apologies from other players who warn him or who wanted to help to ensure that political negotiations take place between Kagame and the former government he was fighting against. Britain continues to supply foreign aid to Kagame and his cronies with media reports highlighting economic successes of Rwanda. Such reports are flawed and are aimed at misleading the British public to justify the use of British taxpayers’ money. Kagame and his cronies continue to milk British taxpayers’ money under the British budget support. This started from 1986 through the British budget support to Uganda until now.

Dictator Kagame: No remorse for his unwise actions and ambitions that led to the Rwandan genocide.

Dictator Kagame: No remorse for his unwise actions and ambitions that led to the Rwandan genocide.
No apologies yet to the Rwandan people. The assassination of President Juvenal Habyarimana by Kagame was the only gateway for Kagame to access power in Rwanda. The British media, politicians, and the so-called British scholars took the role of obstructing the search for the truth and justice; and of denying this assassination on behalf of General Kagame. General Paul Kagame has been obliging the whole world to apologise for his mistakes and war crimes. The UK’s way to apologise has been pumping massive aid into Rwanda's crony government and parliement; and supporting Kagame though media campaigns.

Fanatical, partisan, suspicious, childish and fawning relations between UK and Kagame

Fanatical, partisan, suspicious, childish and fawning relations between UK and Kagame
Kagame receives the British massive aid through the budget support, British excessive consultancy, sector wide programmes, the Tutsi-dominated parliament, British and Tutsi-owned NGOs; for political, economic and English language expansion to Rwanda. The British aid to Rwanda is not for all Rwandans. It is for Kagame himself and his Tutsi cronies.

Paul Kagame' actvities as former rebel

Africa

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UN News Centre - Africa

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The Africa Report - Latest

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IRIN - Great Lakes

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This blog reports the crimes that remain unpunished and the impunity that has generated a continuous cycle of massacres in many parts of Africa. In many cases, the perpetrators of the crimes seem to have acted in the knowledge that they would not be held to account for their actions.

The need to fight this impunity has become even clearer with the massacres and genocide in many parts of Africa and beyond.

The blog also addresses issues such as Rwanda War Crimes, Rwandan Refugee massacres in Dr Congo, genocide, African leaders’ war crimes and crimes against humanity, Africa war criminals, Africa crimes against humanity, Africa Justice.

-The British relentless and long running battle to become the sole player and gain new grounds of influence in the francophone African Great Lakes Region has led to the expulsion of other traditional players from the region, or strained diplomatic relations between the countries of the region and their traditional friends. These new tensions are even encouraged by the British using a variety of political and economic manoeuvres.

-General Kagame has been echoing the British advice that Rwanda does not need any loan or aid from Rwandan traditional development partners, meaning that British aid is enough to solve all Rwandan problems.

-The British obsession for the English Language expansion has become a tyranny that has led to genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, dictatorial regimes, human rights violations, mass killings, destruction of families, communities and cultures, permanent refugees and displaced persons in the African Great Lakes region.

- Rwanda, a country that is run by a corrupt clique of minority-tutsi is governed with institutional discrmination, human rights violations, dictatorship, authoritarianism and autocracy, as everybody would expect.