Rwanda has finally won a battle aimed at extricating two investigators assigned to the United Nations Group of Experts on Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Rwanda’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Olivier Nduhungirehe earlier today posted on his Tweeter handle that Bernard Leloup and Marie Plamadiala, who controversially filed reports against Rwanda to UN Security Council, have been dropped following a request by Rwanda.
According to Nduhungirehe, Emilie Serralta, who has also been on the same panel of experts has been demoted as the Security Council appointed Daniel Fahey, as the new Coordinator of the Group of Experts on DRC.
Since 2012, Rwanda has been protesting the reappointment of Leloup and Plamadiala on accusations that they were extremely biased against the Country.
On June 10, 2003, Bernard Leloup authored an article in Uganda’s Daily Monitor News paper accusing Rwandan government of not ceasing to solidify. He said in the paper that: “Since RPF’s ascension to power in 1994, the regime has not ceased to harden, particularly during the last few years. Repression has reached great heights, as political instability has increased across the country and within the army.”
This was used as part of evidence to challenge Leloup’s neutrality. There have also been concerns about United Nations’ strictness in vetting experts. Yet, the UNSC’s investigative guidelines state that experts must be independent; have specialised expertise in the area of competence; have academic qualifications; undergo performance evaluations that are transparent; and have cultural and country-related knowledge relevant to the mandates of monitoring mechanisms.
During M23 rebellion in Eastern DRC, Leloup and his group filed a controversial report to the Security Council, alleging that Rwanda provided military and logistical support to the rebel group, a report the government of Rwanda vehemently denied.