http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200704170363.html UN Lifts Arms Embargo The East African (Nairobi) NEWS April 17, 2007 Posted to the web April 17, 2007 Nairobi The United Nations Security Council has lifted its arms embargo against Rwanda. This paves the way for the modernisation of the country's armed forces and their greater participation in peacekeeping missions around the continent. The embargo was slapped on the country 12 years ago in the wake of the Rwandan genocide through Section 11 of resolution 1011 of 1995. It required all countries to notify a UN-appointed committee of all exports from their territories of arms or related material to Rwanda. The resolution also required that the government of Rwanda mark, register and notify the Committee of all imports made by it of arms and related materials. Two weeks ago, the Security Council through resolution 1749 rescinded both requirements, saying that it was doing so to support positive developments in Rwanda and the Great Lakes region. Four years ago, Rwanda was one of the key protagonists in the Congo civil war, which sucked in half a dozen Central African countries and led to the deaths of more than one million people. In lifting the arms embargo, the Security Council said that it was particularly encouraged by the signing last December in Nairobi, Kenya, of a region-wide pact on security, stability and development during the Second Summit of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. The Security Council said that it had also taken into consideration representations made by Rwanda through its ambassador, Joseph Nsengimana, through a letter dated March 2 to the Council president in which he had pointed out that the arms embargo imposed in resolution 918 had been directed at the government that had committed the genocide, which was deposed in July 1994. Since then, Mr Nsengimana argued, Rwanda had successfully emerged from conflict and was on its way to economic and social development. Rwanda is also playing a key role in several peace-keeping missions by the African Union, including the AU mission in Darfur, Sudan. "I would encourage the Security Council to acknowledge this progress and not to maintain the notification requirement, which now seems extraneous," Mr Nsengimana said in the letter. He added that his government saw no continuing justification for this provision that, among other things, impeded Rwanda's ability to equip peacekeepers. He said that the government also believed there were politically motivated attempts to revive the arms-export notification requirement. During the meeting convened to review the Rwanda embargo, the Security Council resolved that it would continue to encourage the signatories to the Nairobi pact to ratify it as soon as possible, and stressed the need for signatory states to ensure that arms and related material delivered to them were not diverted to or used by illegal armed groups. The latter probably referred to rebel groups in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where some belligerents have defied recent peace agreements meant to establish the authorities of the central governments in the two countries. The arms embargo on Rwanda was being overseen by a special Security Council panel informally known as the 918 Committee, which is currently chaired by Indonesia. As far back as 1996, the panel had said it no longer needed to be notified of arms exports following the establishment of the government of President Paul Kagame. However, last year, the panel acknowledged it had not been able to reach agreement on the future status of the notification requirement, due to differing views among its members. Since the Rwandan genocide, in which an estimated one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed, Rwanda has sought to project itself as a pillar of stability in the tumultuous Great Lakes region, where inter-ethnic conflict has caused several decade-long humanitarian crises. That image, however, was jolted when Rwanda joined Uganda to invade the DRC, which both countries claimed was harbouring rebel elements against their two governments. In an ironic twist, Rwanda and Uganda subsequently briefly fell out, resulting in skirmishes at their common border. Last year, Rwanda was admitted into the East African Community cementing its rehabilitation and acceptance in the region. Entry into the EAC was also seen to be a geostrategic move to underline the country's shift from the orbit of francophone Africa to the Commonwealth following a break in diplomatic ties with France, which Rwanda says was implicated in the 1994 genocide.