McKinney - News Briefs

MCKINNEY SAYS, "In 1994 the world community, led by the United Nations, the United States, France and Belgium, turned it's back on Rwanda and allowed an estimated 1,000,000 innocent people to be murdered in just 100 days. Surely, we cannot now turn our backs on Rwanda a second time and allow the truth about their annihilation to be erased from history."

WASHINGTON D.C. -- Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D-GA-4th), ranking Member of the House International Operations and Human Rights Subcommittee, today announced active pursuit of hearings to be conducted later this year examining the roles of the United States and the United Nations with respect to the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.

Human Rights Watch, one of the world's most respected human rights groups, has just completed an exhaustive study into the Rwandan Genocide entitled "Leave None to Tell the Story." The results of their investigations raise extremely serious questions as to the international community's response to the Rwandan tragedy. In particular, the study provides clear documentary evidence showing that the United Nations and major world powers received accurate and timely warnings of the impending genocide, and incredibly, did nothing to prevent this catastrophe from happening. Saving money and not lives would appear to have dominated U.S. foreign policy in Rwanda in 1994.

"Rwanda was abandoned by the United States. It is now clear that we could have acted differently and saved hundreds of thousands of lives. We must follow the Belgium and French precedents and publicly examine our own conduct in failing Rwanda. This is the only way we can prevent this kind of disaster from ever happening again." says McKinney.

The public hearings will permit a thorough and honest examination of the roles of the United States and the United Nations with respect to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Contributions from governments, intergovernmental organizations, Non-governmental organizations, the press and members of the public will be encouraged.