AU appoints first special envoy to combat genocide and mass atrocities
April 8, 2024
Adama Dieng: the first AU Special Envoy for the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide and Other Mass AtrocitiesTHE African Union has appointed its first Special Envoy for the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide and Other Mass Atrocities, as Rwanda commemorates the 30th anniversary this month of the genocide that resulted in the deaths of almost one million Tutsis.
The position goes to Adama Dieng from Senegal, who has extensive experience in the fields of international law and human rights.
In announcing the appointment, the Chairperson of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, said: “Mr Dieng will drive the AU agenda to combat the ideology of hate and genocide on the continent.”
On April 7 – the date of the start of the genocide in 1994 – the AU held a commemoration event, which has been taking place annually since 2010.
Dieng served as Secretary-General (1990-2000) of the Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists before he was appointed by then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in January 2001 as the Registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).
In July 2012, he became UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide.
After retiring from the UN a few years ago, he founded the Pan-African Alliance for Transparency and the Rule of Law (PATROL-AFRICA).
In an opinion piece for the Africa Briefing website, Dieng wrote: “PATROL is ready to support all national, regional and international entities in the sub-region in addressing numerous challenges.
“Indeed, some of the fugitives wanted for their involvement in the genocide must be apprehended and judged.”
Touching on the genocide itself, Dieng said it must “be recognised that [it] left deep wounds in the social fabric of the country…notwithstanding the remarkable efforts of the Rwandan government…”
“How could it have been otherwise? However, Rwandans have shown the world that it is possible to heal and move towards reconciliation and forgiveness,” Dieng noted.
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