Senate leaders meet AU Special Envoy on Genocide Prevention

Senate President Kalinda Francois Xavier with Adama Dieng(left).

Today, Senate President Kalinda Francois Xavier and Senate Vice Presidents Nyirahabimana Soline and Dr Mukabaramba Alvera received Adama Dieng, AU Special Envoy on Genocide Prevention and Mass Atrocities. 

The meeting took place at the Rwandan Senate. “They commended the AU’s concern over conflicts and its commitment to peace and security”, according to the Rwandan Senate. 

Kalinda Francois Xavier called for stronger regional collaboration to address the persistent threat posed by the FDLR, a Rwandan armed rebel group active in the eastern DRC linked to the 1994 genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda.    

Since 1994, the FDLR continues to compromise peace, stability and security by spreading genocide ideology against Tutsi in the region and beyond.  

“The FDLR’s resilience in the face of disarmament efforts makes it a continued threat to both Rwanda and regional security. Addressing these issues requires coordinated regional cooperation,” Kalinda Francois Xavier stated.

He said that Dieng’s role is essential in ensuring that the African continent remains vigilant and proactive in preventing the horrors of genocide and mass atrocities, particularly in conflict like the eastern DRC where nothing has been done to stop the current ethnic cleansing against Tutsi, Banyamulenge and Hema.

Adama Dieng who is on a tour of Eastern and Central Africa reaffirmed her commitment to using her position to enhance preventive measures against genocide and mass atrocities, particularly in the eastern DRC.   

The Senegalese jurist is a former UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and a former registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. (End)