The Minister of National Unity and Civic Engagement, Jean-Damascène Bizimana, has poked holes in the selection and work of UN Group of Experts on DR Congo, citing partiality in their reports and bias against Rwanda. Bizimana made the remarks on Wednesday, March 5, while speaking at a session in which MPs, government officials, political party representatives, and civil society members gathered to reflect on the status of the genocidal ideology in the region and measures to fight it. ALSO READ: What’s happening in DR Congo is an ethnic war – Kagame tells regional leaders Bizimana said that since 2008, the UN Security Council, the African Union, and European Union, took many decisions condemning FDLR genocidal militia over its human rights violations, and demanded it be disarmed. However, he noted that such decisions have not yielded anything and the genocidal group has continued to thrive in DR Congo. While it is the UN experts are selected based on their expertise on DR Congo, Bizimana questioned the credibility of such a claim. ALSO READ: UN Group of Experts obscure realities of eastern DR Congo conflict – Rwanda govt He gave an example of three experts whom he said were one-sided. One of them is Roberto Garreton originating from Chile, who led the UN experts from 1994 to 2001. Bizimana pointed out that Garreton showed partiality, which reflected in the reports he produced. He added that the Chilean had a theory that Tutsi people made a coalition to take over the Great Lakes Region, and rule all the existing races existing there. “He wrote this in his various publications such that when Kofi Annan was still the UN Secretary-General, requested that the reports of Roberto Garreton first be handed to Rwanda for it to give its views on them before they are considered by the UN Security Council,” he said. “That procedure by Kofi Annan was good, but it is not applied currently by the UN Security Council. They write what they want and base on that to take decisions,” he said. ALSO READ: Kabarebe: Western sanctions on Rwanda driven by vested interests in DR Congo The minister indicated that some of the experts have vested interests in DR Congo’s mineral-rich provinces. Another expert, Bizimana said, is Steve Hege, an American, who led the UN Group of Experts from 2010 to 2013. Hege partnered with another American Jason Stearns to create a company for mineral extraction and trade inspection in DR Congo, Bizimana told parliamentarians. “They established that company when they were still UN experts, and they argued that they would make it operational after completing their expert job,” he said. He wondered how they could be impartial in issues in which Rwanda is implicated, yet they are seeking business in DR Congo. Bizimana also talked about Bernard Leloup, another UN expert, who studied at Universite d’Anvers in Belgium and served as a lecturer at the same higher learning institution. “The university has many people who are much against us. It has a department led by Filip Reyntjens who used to be advisor to former President Habyarimana,” he said, adding that he contributed to the drafting of the constitution of Rwanda of 1978. “He is the person who hates Rwanda,” Bizimana said of Reyntjens, adding that Bernard Leloup was Reyntjens’ student, and he helped him to join the experts. “Bernard Leloup publicly hates President Kagame,” Bizimana said, indicating that he shows that in his publications. Leloup, he said, was made a UN expert on DR Congo in 2012. “How will that person not be partial when he even produces writings saying I hate the President of Rwanda,” he wondered, questioning the due diligence of the UN that selects such an expert. ALSO READ: Sanctions against Rwanda will undermine peace efforts in DR Congo – Kabarebe Bizimana’s comments come as some Western countries are imposing sanctions on Rwanda over its alleged support to M23, a rebel group at war against DR Congo government. Rwanda denies the allegations, pointing to its security concerns about the Congolese government’s collaboration with the FDLR, a UN-sanctioned militia linked to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The M23 asserts that it fights for the rights of Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese, including Tutsi who have been persecuted against for decades. Despite speeches from Congolese political leaders publicly inciting killings against Congolese Tutsi, and attacks against Rwanda, Bizimana said that the international community does not do anything about it.
