FIRST READ:
Mysterious deaths during Kagame’s Rwanda : Theogene Turatsinze the Managing Director of the Rwanda Development Bank from 2005-2007 dies mysteriously
Creating a Tutsi Empire in the great Lakes region as a Conduit of the American New world Order system : New UN reports accuses Uganda and Rwanda of Aiding M23 rebels: Uganda angered by latest UN report on Congo
Australia and Rwanda win seat on UN Security Council
http://www.news.com.au/national/un-members-to-vote-on-un-security-council-seat/story-fncynjr2-1226498925124
AUSTRALIA has won a seat on the United Nations Security Council with 140 votes.
Australia picked up 140 votes, beating favourites Luxembourg's 128 votes and Finland's 108.
Rwanda also picked up a seat, as did Argentina.
EARLIER:
Voting has closed on Australia's bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council at UN headquarters in New York.
The secret ballot will decide Australia's fate in its five-year push for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
Rwanda eyes UN Security Council seat
Publish Date: Oct 18, 2012
Rwanda is unopposed in its bid for the African seat on the Security Council, which is currently held by South Africa, but it still needs to be approved by two-thirds of the U.N. General Assembly members present to secure a two-year term.
U.N. diplomats said it was theoretically possible that Rwanda would fail to secure the necessary votes for election, although they said that was highly unlikely.
The confidential U.N. report, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, has cast a shadow over the East African country's plan to join the 15-member U.N. powerhouse - which has the ability to impose sanctions and authorize military interventions.
There are five veto-holding permanent members of the council - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - and 10 temporary members without vetoes. Thursday's election is for the term from Jan. 1, 2013, to Dec. 31, 2014.
The Security Council's "Group of Experts" said that Rwanda and Uganda - despite their strong denials - continued to support M23 rebels in their six-month fight against Congolese government troops in the east of the country.[D:nL1E8LGF87]
Rwandan U.N. diplomat Olivier Nduhungirehe said Rwanda was not worried about the report harming its Security Council bid.
"The members of the General Assembly know exactly what our record is and they cannot be deterred or swayed by a baseless report, which has no credibility," said Nduhungirehe.
"We are the sixth (biggest) troop-contributing country for peacekeeping, we are a leading country in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, we have a record in post-conflict reconstruction and peace building," he said.
Argentina is running unopposed for the Latin American and Caribbean states' seat, but there is a three-way competition in both the Asia-Pacific group and the "Western European and Others" group.
Finland and Australia are expected by some diplomats to edge out Luxembourg for the two seats available in their group, but they said it could take several rounds of voting for those countries to reach the two-thirds' majority needed.
They said Luxembourg might still surprise people and win a seat in the secret-ballot vote in the 193-member assembly.
South Korea, Bhutan and Cambodia are all competing for one Asia-Pacific seat. Envoys said that race was too close to call.
'Positive effect'
The countries leaving the council in December are Colombia, Germany, India, South Africa and Portugal. The five current council members remaining until the end of 2013 are Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Pakistan, Togo and Morocco.
The last time Rwanda was on the council was in 1994-95. That coincided with the 1994 genocide in which 800,000 people were killed when the Hutu-led government and ethnic militias went on a 100-day killing spree, killing Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
A senior Western diplomat said on condition of anonymity that he hoped Rwanda's presence on the council would have a "positive effect" on the body's handling of Congo, although he acknowledged it was possible the opposite would be the case.
He said getting unanimity among the 15 council members on Congo's rebellion might be difficult with Rwanda in the room.
The Congolese government on Wednesday demanded targeted sanctions against Rwandan and Ugandan officials named in the U.N. experts report.
According to the U.N. experts, who monitor compliance with sanctions and an arms embargo on the Congo, Rwandan Defense Minister General James Kabarebe was ultimately commanding the rebellion and both Rwanda and Uganda were providing weapons, troops and military and political aid to the insurgency.
Source: Reuters
Ugandan to represent PWDs
to UN
Publish Date: Oct 18, 2012
By John Agaba
A Ugandan has been elected to represent persons with disabilities (PWDs) to the United Nations.
A Ugandan has been elected to represent persons with disabilities (PWDs) to the United Nations.
Martin Babu Mwesigwa beat other contenders from nine African countries. He will now represent Uganda on the committee of experts on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
Briefing journalists at the Uganda Media Centre, state minister for the elderly and disability affairs Sulaiman Madada said that Uganda will be able to sell her contribution such as affirmative action towards alleviating the rights of PWDs in the country on the international stage.
Madada said, “Out of the 20 countries that participated in elections, nine were from Africa and Uganda was the only African country that got its nominee elected.’’
Other countries elected were Jordan, Thailand, Chile, Hungary, Turk, Spain, and Guatemala.
He said that the elections which took place during the UN 5th state parties’ conference on September 12 at the UN headquarters in New York, will see Babu occupy one of the nine posts on a committee of 18 experts who sit thrice every year in Geneva to deliberate on the rights of PWDs.
The UNCRPD is the highest human rights treaty that seeks to promote and protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of PWDS.
It focuses on PWDs right to adequate standard of living and that of their families, including the basic necessities of life without discrimination against them.
Uganda is one of the 119 member states that signed the UNCRPD and its optional protocol on March 30 2007 and ratified it on September 25 2008.
Member states are obliged to submit regular reports to the committee on how the rights of PWDs are being promoted and protected in that particular country.
Madada said that the challenges of PWDs in Uganda were still vivid but, “we are engaging PWDs more in vocational training and community based rehabilitation schemes. We are also providing vulnerable family support grants and special grants for PWDs amounting to sh3b since financial year 2010.’’
Babu, who for the past 13 years has worked with the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU) promised to represent PWDs.
“I was declared a committee member with effect from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2016; I will be on the committee for four years but I will not forget PWDs.’’
