The United Nations General Assembly has elected Rwanda on the Security Council for a two-year term, despite allegations linking it to the March 23 (M23) terrorist group operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Rwanda's mandate will start at the beginning of 2013 and will be joined by Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg and the Republic of Korea (South Korea). The new countries will be replacing Colombia, Germany, India, Portugal and South Africa; and they will be joining the other five non-permanent members Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco, Pakistan and Togo, whose terms will end a year later. The five remaining countries of the 15-strong Council are the permanent, veto wielding, members: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
"Under the UN Charter, the Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 Members, and each Member has one vote. Under the Charter, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions.
"In addition, the Council takes the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression. It calls upon the parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means and recommends methods of adjustment or terms of settlement. In some cases, it can resort to imposing sanctions or even authorize the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security.
"The Council also recommends to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and the admission of new Members to the United Nations. And, together with the General Assembly, it elects the judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)."
This being the case, it is remarkable that Rwanda managed to get through. All the more so because Rwanda's involvement with M23 was highlighted in a recent report by the UN itself. The report states that M23 receives direct military instructions from the the highest levels of the Rwandan administration, thus implicating President Paul Kagame himself. The evidence has been pointing in Mr Kagame's direction for a while now and has resulted in some countries withdrawing substantial financial support to his government.
M23 was only formed formed in April 2012, after some army contingents mutinied on account of the poor conditions they claimed they were having to put up with. Since then it has become a destabilising force in the DRC and has been blamed for numerous atrocities by various human rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch.
If Mr Kagame were involved with M23, as seems likely, he must stop at once, and his country's elevation to this highest honour makes it even more imperative now that he does so.
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