Security Council lifts arms embargo on Rwanda

The United Nations Security Council today lifted an arms embargo originally imposed after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and dissolved the committee tasked with monitoring compliance with the sanctions.

Welcoming the entry into force of the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in Africa’s Great Lakes Region, the Council voted unanimously to end the prohibition on the supply of arms and weapons for use in Rwanda, contained in resolution 1011 (1995).

In the resolution adopted today, the Council stressed the need for States in the region to ensure that arms and related materiel delivered to them were not diverted to or used by illegal armed groups.

The 15-member body also recalled a 2007 communiqué between the Governments of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as well as the outcome of a conference on peace and security in North and South Kivu in DRC, which it said “together represent a major step towards the restoration of lasting peace and stability in the Great Lakes region.”