"In their greatest hour of need, the world failed the people of Rwanda.".

• Position: UN Sec.-General Kofi Annan's reference to the genocide

During an eight-nation tour of east and central Africa-Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, the United Republic of Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Eritrea - the Secretary-General in May frontally addressed the United Nations role during the 1994 Rwanda genocide and the crisis in Burundi.

In his address to the Rwandan Parliament on 7 May, Secretary-General Kofi Annan, referring to the 1994 genocide, said, "we will not deny that, in their greatest hour of need, the world failed the people of Rwanda. The international community and the United Nations could not muster the political will to confront it. The world must deeply repent this failure." He described the genocide as "a paroxysm of horror from which there is only the longest and most difficult of escapes. It was a horror that came from within, that consumed and devastated entire communities and families".

While pledging United Nations support for Rwanda in its search for peace and progress, he acknowledged that only the Rwandese people could put an end to the violence. The rerum to peace, coexistence and reconciliation in Rwanda must begin with justice after the genocide. Justice, however, must also serve a larger purpose - the purpose of closing wounds, of coexistence and of trust between the Hutu and Tutsi communities of Rwanda. Restoring that mast was perhaps the greatest challenge facing the Rwandan nation today. No one imagines that it could be restored easily or quickly.

In an address to the Burundian Parliament, the Secretary-General commended the two main initiatives that have been taken to resolve the crisis in that country: the regional initiative, undertaken within the framework of the Arusha process with the mediation of His Excellency Julius Nyerere, and the internal initiative developed by Burundi's main political parties. At the same time, however, he noted that the crisis "is first and foremost a Burundian crisis. It is therefore up to Burundians to get along with each other and lay the groundwork for a lasting solution that affords recognition to all ... in terms of democratic legitimacy and respect for human rights", Mr. Annan said.

Following the appointment of a new Head of State in Nigeria after the sudden death of President Sani Abacha, Secretary-General Kofi Annan made an unscheduled three-day visit to the country as part of his continued efforts to facilitate the process of Nigeria's return to civilian rule. In talks with General Abdulsalam Abubakar, Mr. Annan...