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Spring 2004

Comparative Human Rights
Lecture Series

he UNESCO Chair has established a regular lecture series that brings to the University a wide array of human rights scholars, educators, advocates, and policy makers, to address human rights issues from historical and global perspectives.

UNESCO CHAIR PRESIDENTIAL PUBLIC LECTURES

President John Agyekum Kufuor of the
Republic of Ghana
The Democratic Transformation of Ghana

Tuesday, September 13, 2005
12:30pm – 1:30pm
Student Union Theater, Storrs Campus

President John Agyekum Kufuor of Ghana will speak at the University of Connecticut, Student Union Theater on Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 12:30 pm on the topic of Human Rights and Democracy in Ghana.

Since coming to power in 2001, President Kufuor has pursued stringent monetary and fiscal policy that has stabilized the national economy following the difficulties of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) in the previous two decades. He has accelerated privatization programs and improvement of social services, thus unleashing domestic entrepreneurial spirit and innovation. The economic policies under President Kufuor have contributed to growth and dramatic poverty reduction in Ghana.

President Kufuor was the first African Head of State to voluntarily submit Ghana to the New Economic Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD) Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). The aim of the APRM is to evaluate how far African countries meet reasonable international standards of good governance, macro-economic management, corporate governance and socio-economic development.

The submission of Ghana by President Kufuor to the African Peer Review Panel is significant, as Ghana occupies an important place in the historical annuals of Africa. A West African nation bordered on the north by Burkina Faso, on the east by Togo and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean, Ghana was the first place in sub-Saharan Africa where Europeans arrived to trade - first in gold, later in slaves. Formerly a British colony known as the Gold Coast, Ghana was the first black nation in the region to achieve independence from colonial rule on March 6, 1957.

Some relevant facts about Ghana

• Population: 21.8 million (UN, 2005)
• Capital: Accra
• Area: 238,533 sq km (92,098 sq miles)
• Major languages: English, African languages including Akan, Ewe
• Major religions: Christianity, indigenous beliefs, Islam
• Life expectancy: 56 years (men), 57 years (women) (UN)
• Monetary unit: Cedi
• Main exports: Gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds
• GNI per capita: US $320 (World Bank, 2005)

For more information about the lecture, please contact: UNESCO Chair & Institute of Comparative Human Rights. Tel: (860) 486-0647; Fax: (860) 486-2545. E-Mail: unescochair@uconn.edu.

Directions to the University of Connecticut:

Take I-84 east/west to exit 68. At the end of the exit ramp, travel South on Route 195. You will travel straight on Route 195 South for approx. 10 –15 minutes before coming to the UConn Campus (Please note: you will pass straight through the intersections of Routes 195 and 32, and 195 and 44. After the intersection with Route 44, continue straight for an additional 1.5 miles to the Storrs Campus.).

After entering campus, at the intersection of Route 195 and North Eagleville Road (Congregational Church will be on your right), take a right onto North Eagleville Road. Travel straight to your second travel light and take a left onto North Hillside Road (North Parking Garage will be located on the corner). Take a left into the North Parking Garage. Upon exiting North Parking Garage, walk straight up Hillside Road. The Student Union Building will be located on your left

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President Paul Kagame of Rwanda
The Challenges of Human Rights in Rwanda
After the 1994 Genocide

Introduction by Lt. Gen. Roméo A. Dallaire, author of Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda

Monday, September 19, 2005
11:00am – 12:15pm
Student Union Theater, Storrs Campus

Paul Kagame, the President of the Republic of Rwanda and central figure in the civil war that ended the 1994 genocide portrayed in the film Hotel Rwanda, will give an address at the University of Connecticut on Monday, September 19 on human rights in his nation. Introducing Kagame will be retired Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire, a Canadian who served as the top U.N. commander in Rwanda in 1994 and author of a book on the subject entitled “Shaking Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda.” Dallaire was played by actor Nick Nolte in the film.

Kagame was born in central Rwanda in 1957 but fled to Uganda in 1960. He became involved in the Ugandan army and attended military training in the United States before returning to Rwanda in 1990. Rwanda was experiencing bitter division and violence orchestrated by the majority Hutu ethnic group against the minority Tutsis. After returning to his native country, Kagame led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a guerrilla army which eventually forced the Hutus from power, ending the genocide that claimed an estimated 800,000 lives in 100 days. Kagame became vice-president in July 1994 and president in 2000 following the previous president’s resignation. He was elected to a full term as Rwanda’s head of state in 2003. Kagame has been critical of the U.N. failure to stop the extreme violence in his nation. His presentation is entitled “The Challenges of Human Rights in Rwanda After the 1994 Genocide.”

The event was organized by Professor Amii Omara-Otunnu, the only Chair-holder of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Human Rights in North America. It is part of the UNESCO Chair in Comparative Human Rights Presidential Lectures series. Omara-Otunnu is also head of the UConn-African National Congress Partnership. For more on his office, visit: http://web.uconn.edu/unescochair/home.htm

“President Kagame has been the dominant figure in Rwandan politics since the genocide just over a decade ago,” said Omara-Otunnu. “In 2003, he romped home in presidential elections, which marked the end of nine years of transitional government. He won a seven year term after running on a platform of national unity, boosting economic growth, strengthening governance and delivering justice. Since coming to power, President Kagame has consistently downplayed any ethnic agenda in Rwanda, presenting himself as a Rwandan and not a Tutsi, and has taken a strong line with elements accused of spreading any form of ethnic "divisionism" and those involved in any form of corruption. Along with addressing poverty and corruption, President Paul Kagame has placed security at the top of his agenda. President Kagame is an ascetic leader, and is regarded by most observers as an incorruptible and strong disciplinarian.”

Kagame and Dallaire will speak in the student union building’s theater on the Storrs campus on Monday, September 19, 2005 from 11:00am to 12:15pm. There will be a “malt box” for any electronic media. For directions to Storrs and a campus map, visit: http://www.uconn.edu/campuses/storrs.php.

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