UNAMIR mandate shifts from peace-keeping to confidence building.

• Position: United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda

Voicing "great concern" over reports of military preparations and increasing incursions into the troubled Central African country of Rwanda by elements of the former regime, the Security Council on 9 June underlined the need for effective measures to ensure that "Rwandan nationals currently in neighbouring countries" did not undertake destabilizing military activities.

In light of the current situation" in the country, the Council adjusted the size and mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR).

Under resolution 997 (1995), the Mission's mandate was extended for an additional six months, until 8 December 1995. Its force level was to be reduced from a currently authorized 5,500 troops to 2,330 troops within three months and 1,800 within four months. The present level of military observers and civilian police personnel was maintained. The Council also authorized the Mission to exercise its good offices to help achieve national reconciliation within the framework of the 1993 Arusha Peace Agreement.

The force reduction had been proposed earlier by Rwanda - currently a member of the Security Council.

By undertaking monitoring tasks, UNAMIR will also support the Rwandese Government's "ongoing efforts to promote a climate of confidence and trust", the Council stated.

Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali was asked to consult with the Governments of neighbouring countries, including Zaire, on the deployment of UN military observers on their territories.

UNAMIR also was to help the Government in facilitating the voluntary and safe return of refugees and their reintegration" into their home communities, the Council stipulated. States and donor agencies were called on to give assistance for Rwanda's rehabilitation efforts.

In addition, UNAMIR would: support humanitarian deliveries and provide assistance in engineering, logistics, medical care and demining; help train a national police force until the Government enters into bilateral arrangements for other training programmes; and contribute to the security of UN agencies and the international Tribunal for Rwanda, as well as of humanitarian agencies in case of need.

The Council also welcomed the Secretary-General's intention to appoint a Special Envoy to carry out consultations regarding the holding of the regional Conference on Security, Stability and Development.

Shaharyar M. Khan, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Rwanda, told correspondents at Headquarters on 9 June that the new mandate reflected the fact that, although there had been two parties contending for power when UNAMIR was established in July 1994, now the UN was dealing with a single Government "which had stated its responsibility for the protection of its people".

He stressed: "Any effort at reconciliation in Rwanda must be based on the return of the nearly 2 million refugees" from Zaire, the United Republic of Tanzania and Burundi. "If we are to see lasting harmony and stability, these refugees have to be persuaded to voluntarily come back in dignity and in safety", he said.

Referring to cross-border military infiltration into Rwanda as a major source of tension and destabilization, Mr. Khan underscored that it was very important to control or discipline military activity in refugee camps in neighbouring countries. Their Governments wanted international support in dealing with that problem, he added.

'Radical changes'

Citing the end to the genocide, as well as positive steps recently taken by the Government, Mr. Boutros-Ghali on 4 June reported (S/1995/457) that the situation in Rwanda had "changed radically" since the civil war.

While the country was "now largely at peace" and a long and arduous process of recovery" had begun, he cautioned nevertheless that the situation remained tense, with a lack of significant advances in national reconciliation.

Changes to the UNAMIR mandate, he said, should include "shifting the focus" from a peace-keeping to a confidence-building role and reducing troop strength. The Government, he added, had proposed a "different and more limited role" for UNAMIR, a final six-month extension, and a "drastic reduction" in strength, to 1,800 troops.

However, such a reduction, he said, would leave UNAMIR without the strength to perform its tasks adequately. It "must have the capability to discharge its functions effectively", he concluded. He recommended that the force level be reduced to 2,330, subject to further consultations with the Government.

Crisis at Kibeho

In the same report, while describing the 22 April events in Kibeho, in the south-western region of Gikongoro, the Secretary-General said the deaths had resulted from "firing by government...