Uganda lauded for averting potential genocide

PIC: (Left-right) Chairperson Swiss Special Envoy for dealing with Past and Prevention of Atrocities Mo Bleeker and State Attorney Samantha Mwesigye look on as Dismas Nkunda addresses journalists during a press conference on March 15, 2018 at Hotel Africana. (Credit: Nancy Nanyonga)

RECOGNITION

KAMPALA - Uganda has been commended for its role in averting violence that could have culminated into genocide in the region.

In recognition of this, Uganda will host the third Global Action Against Mass Atrocity Crimes (GAAMAC) summit in May.

The summit to be hosted on May 23-25 will be hosted at the Speak Resort Munyonyo in Kampala.

GAAMAC is a global state-led initiative of civil society organisations, which jointly engage in the development of national domestic efforts, policies and architectures for the prevention of genocide atrocities.

The chairperson of GAAMAC, Mo Bleeker, however, said Uganda should continue playing the central role in the regard since it lies in the region proved culpable of witnessing genocide atrocities.

Bleeker, who is also the special envoy for dealing with the past and prevention of atrocity, Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, told journalists at Hotel Africana in Kampala that Uganda would be the first African country and the third globally to host the summit.

The summit was first held in San Jose, Costa Rica in March 2014 and this followed the collaborative efforts by six countries on the prevention of mass atrocity crimes.

They included Denmark, Australia, Costa Rica, Switzerland, Agentina and Tanzania. While Philippines hosted it in 2016
Bleeker said the summit would attract over 200 dignitaries, who would among others, include UN and embassy diplomats, MPs and representatives of civil society.

Uganda's interventions in South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia, for peace and stabilisation efforts earned Uganda scores to host the summit.

The 1994 genocide in Rwanda reportedly left over 800,000 people, mainly the Tutsis and moderate Hutus killed.

The recent political and ethnic-driven violence in South Sudan and Burundi threatened scenarios of genocide with the figures purporting the number of people who have so far died since President Pierre Nkuruziza's pushed for a third-term.

As a result of Uganda's intervention, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni won the 2017 Africa Liberation Prize conferred by the African Liberation Award Committee that met in October 2017 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Among the other grounds why president Museveni was a warded were his and Uganda's stability efforts in South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia and Eastern DR Congo, among others.

Bleeker maintained that countries should come up with policies and pool resources towards efforts aimed at ensuring that there is no genocide.

"Every country is vulnerable to eruption of genocide regardless whatever stage of development and, therefore, this calls for institutionalisation of preventive measures to guard against the crime," she said.

Samantha Mwesigye, from the directorate of legal advisory services in the justice ministry, disclosed that Uganda is committed to its central role in ensuring that there are no more incidents of genocide in the region.

Lise Sorensen, the consul political and governance affairs at the Danish Embassy-Kampala, pledged that Denmark would continue supporting Uganda and other countries in preventing mass atrocity crimes in the region.