They are, however, elements that we believe should be addressed in any examination about the use of force for humanitarian purposes. Many have suggested that this is a debate the Council is not yet ready to engage in. However, it is a discussion we cannot and should not avoid having - the sooner the better. The price of inaction has simply been too high - for the victims of the Rwandan genocide, for others subject to extreme abuse, for the security of people generally, and for the credibility of this Organization. Perhaps if we had grappled with this subject earlier, worked to arrive at some common agreement on it, we might have done more to avoid the Rwandan genocide or to stop it once it began.
Second chances are rare.
We have one now. To that end, the legacy of the Rwandan genocide is not just tragic but also hopeful. In his account of that time, Peter Gourevitch tells of how young, defenceless Hutu girls in a convent school refused to leave the side of their Tutsi friends, even though ordered to do so by the genocidaires. Their courage and sacrifice should now be our guide and inspiration. The development of a UN action plan to protect people from the most egregious forms of abuse and from the most serious violators would be too late for past victims - but hopefully not too late for us and for future generations.