Salutations
The organisers of this Forum must be commended for their initiative in bringing us together to exchange views on such an important issue, which borders on worldwide peace al'the survival of mankind. The theme provides a platform for discussing genocide, as well as the ways and means of improving the capacity of the global community to cope with its occurrence. I am thus particularly grateful to Prime Minister Goran Persson for inviting me to participate in the Forum, for which such excellent arrangements have been made. The President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, the current Chairman of ECQWAS, has also charged me to extend to you expression of his full solidarity with the activities of this Forum, and to wish the organisers and participants fruitful deliberations.

Genocide is nearly always a state-organised crime, as the organisation of the Jewish Holocaust in the last century by the hitlerite state of Nazi Germany vividly illustrated. The African experience is no different.

Over the last forty years, Africa has been one of the most conflict-ridden regions of the world. Of the forty-eight recorded genocides in the world, twenty have occurred in Africa. It is estimated that from 1955 to 1995, about 8 million people died as a result of violent conflicts in Africa, including about 850,000 in the Rwanda genocide alone. The African continent, therefore, has had more than its share of genocide and its attendant human destruction and suffering. We are thus, today, perforce, preoccupied with defining the measures necessary for the establishment of the foundations of lasting peace and stability for our citizens through the promotion of democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law in our respective countries, so that we can create systems and climates that make the occurrence of genocide difficult, if not impossible.

The proliferation of illicit arms which have been fuelling conflicts, signals from civil society or threats posed by the media which whip up ethnic and other related sentiments that go unheeded, the unfortunate prevalence of States that refuse to be governed on the basis of democratic legitimacy, the incidence of failed states or states with a near-breakdown of political, economic and social order, represent some of the manifestations of situations which, if not handled properly, could degenerate into chaos with genocide as a possible outcome, especially against a tragic background of pervasive, endemic poverty.

While the impact of the media in humanitarian crises may prove somewhat difficult to evaluate, there are sufficient emamples to suggest that it can make a decisive difference for good or evil. In this context, the Rwandan radio station, Mille Collines, for example, played an exceptionally nefarious role in sparking off the 1994 genocide. The local press also played a similar role in former Yugoslavia. All too often, misinformation or outright propaganda contributes to the worsening of these crises. We, in West Africa, have over the past few years redoubled our efforts and taken full responsibility for our regional security. The quest for home-grown solutions to the myriad of conflicts and other related problems that plague our region has intensified. ECOWAS has been in the forefront of this effort, and its exploits in this regard are worth illustrating.

Like many other regional organisations, ECOWAS was set up to promote the economic development and integration of West African States. However, in the early 1990s, the region was confronted with a deteriorating security environment, emanating initially from Liberia, and subsequently Sierra Leone, which detracted ECOWAS from the smooth pursuit of its economic agenda.

To adapt to the changes that had taken place within the Community since the ECOWAS Treaty was signed in 1975, the Authority of Heads of State of ECOWAS, in May 1990, requested a review of the Treaty to include security issues.

ECOWAS used the opportunity presented by the revision of the Treaty in developing its own security architecture. A milestone in this regard was the adoption of a Protocol Relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution, Peacekeeping and Security. The Protocol provided for the establishment of an early-warning system which consists of a network of Member States grouped into four zones; Banjul, Cotonou, Monrovia and Ouagadougou with an observation and monitoring centre located at the ECOWAS Secretariat. The observation system became operational in 2001.

The Protocol also provides for the nomination of eminent personalities from the region to form a Council by Elders who would use their good offices and competences on behalf of ECOWAS to play the roles of mediators, conciliators and facilitators for the resolution of conflicts. General Yakubu Gowon, the former Nigerian military ruler, who is widely credited for the successful process of national reconciliation that followed the collapse of the Biafran rebellion and the victory of the Federal cause in the Nigerian civil war, is the current Chair of the Council. The role of the Executive Secretary is also enhanced under the Protocol with powers to initiate actions for conflict prevention, including fact-finding, mediation, facilitation, negotiation and reconciliation of opposing parties.

The high level of political will demonstrated so far by ECOWAS leaders has been exemplary and has contributed in a large measure to the Organisation's efforts at keeping violence and genocide at bay. In this respect, ECOWAS is particularly grateful for the meditative role that General Abubakar Abdulsalami, another former Nigerian military ruler, played so ably in the conclusion of the Accra Peace Accord that has, hopefully, brought peace back to troubled Liberia. Peace has also by the intervention of ECOWAS returned to Sierra Leone, and is gradually returning to Guinea Bissau and Cote d' Ivoire.
Although the Genocide Convention of 1948 has been flouted time and again, it at least demonstrated the desire of the world community to outlaw genocide. Tragically, the feeling of "never again" that followed the adoption of the Convention proved, as we have seen, ephemeral.

The effort must, however, not be abandoned because of some cases of failure to prevent genocide. In fact, the effort must be intensified. The role of political will cannot be underestimated here, for it was the lack of it that permitted the Rwandan genocide to unfold, while the UN and the world at large looked on in awe and discomfort.
We have to be mindful of the need to nurture responsible news media and heed signals from civil society, however week, which point at threats to the peace. We must take the bull by the horns by outlawing and clamping down on the trade in illicit arms in our region while improving on human rights records and democratic: practices there. ECOWAS intends to engage with those countries who supply such arms in order to find an effective solution to the proliferation of small arms in the West African region.

The time has come, Mr. Chairman, for the world to reassert our common humanity, which sees all human beings as equal, regardless of colour, creed, ethnicity, gender or race. It is submitted that unless our common humanity is founded on equality and equity, harmony and understanding will continue to elude us. Let us challenge ourselves, then, to build a world in which no human community is again threatened with extinction.
We have left behind the blood-spattered twentieth century and have entered the brave new world of the twenty-first century, where the peoples of the world, including the African peoples, have manifested their desire to build a new world civilisation founded on the values of democratic accountability, respect for human rights and the rule of law. Genocide is the very antithesis of these values. Let us strive to make the twenty-first century a genocide-free century, while we work towards banishing the crime for all time.

I thank you for your attention.