VATICAN CITY, JAN 28, 2004 (VIS) - Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations, spoke yesterday in Stockholm, Sweden as head of the Holy See delegation to the Fourth Stockholm International Forum, "Preventing Genocide: Threats and Responsibilities." The conference began January 26 and ends today. The previous meetings were on the Holocaust, on Combating Intolerance, and on Truth, Justice and Reconciliation.
He began by noting that "humanity has seen world wars, genocides, mass murders, and ethnic cleansings. However, among all forms of large-scale violence, genocide sets itself apart by the evil motivation behind it, namely, its specific intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a nation, a race, an ethnic or religious group, a defenseless or vulnerable group of human beings, simply for being such. Indeed, genocide literally means to kill a race or a tribe. "
"My delegation," he stated, "wishes to highlight three specific points: first, the need to implement existing legal instruments against genocide; second, the central role of the international, regional and sub-regional Organizations; third, the commitment to education and vigilance against genocide."
The nuncio emphasized that the instruments and structures against genocide "have not prevented new genocides from happening. ... The international community is duty-bound to examine why they failed; have (they) become wanting in the face of evolving criminal strategies, or due to a lack of political will to implement them or due to interests overriding the survival of a nation or a group, or due to all these factors combined."
International organizations, he underscored, "have the task to muster international resolve to implement ... the juridical instruments and structures" for "they are the privileged fora . ... In this regard, the United Nations remains the central forum for global international rule making. ... However, not all member States, in particular developing countries, have the technical capacity to cope with all the international obligations."
Archbishop Migliore closed by stating that "educating individuals and communities ... on the horrors of genocide ... is a perennial and ever-timely duty incumbent upon us all. Genocide remains, unfortunately, a constant menace in some regions of the world" and "is latent in places where eliminating the other is considered a 'fast solution' to drawn-out rivalries and unresolved conflicts."
DELSS/GENOCIDE/SWEDEN:MIGLIORE VIS 20040128 (380)
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