We originally posted this article in April 2014, but we are happy to see increased attention for Capt. Mbaye Diagne 2015 INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF COURAGE Dedicated to Captain Mbaye Diagne. In the year 2014 that has just gone by, the United Nations and the whole world commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide of 1994, when over a million people were killed in the most atrocious ways, despite the presence of a UN peacekeeping force on the ground. In the middle of all that horror and violence, in sharp contrast with the passive inaction of the international community, a UN Military Observer, Captain Mbaye Diagne of Senegal, took the immediate, personal decision to go, alone and unarmed, and rescue as many people as he could from torture and death, and he kept on saving lives until he was himself killed on 31 May 1994. For twenty long years from that day, Captain Mbaye Diagne was totally forgotten by the United Nations, until in 2014 the BBC told his heroic story in the “A good man in Rwanda” documentary (bbc.co.uk/news/special/2014/newsspec_6954/index.html). After watching it, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein, then the Ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the United Nations in New York, declared before the UN Security Council that Captain Mbaye Diagne is the greatest hero of the United Nations and went on to propose to coin a medal to honor the bravest of all peacekeepers. On 8th of May 2014, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2154 (2014) which recognized the Captain’s heroism and decided to create the “Captain Mbaye Diagne Medal for Exceptional Courage”, to be awarded to those military, police and civilian United Nations or associated personnel who demonstrate exceptional courage, in the face of extreme danger, while fulfilling the mandate of their missions or their functions, in the service of humanity and the United Nations. The UN Security Council Resolution requested the Secretary-General “to establish within six months after the adoption of this resolution, the design of the medal, and to submit in due course to the Security Council the modalities for determining how the recipients of the medal shall be nominated and chosen, based on the criteria set forth in the previous paragraph”, and requested that the medal “be presented by the Secretary-General to the recipient, or next of kin, in a ceremony to which all Member States of the United Nations shall be invited”. In the same Resolution, the Security Council also expressed its “deepest regret” to the family of the Captain, which “has never received, after his death, any expressions of appreciation from the Headquarters of the United Nations for the sacrifices made by their distinguished family member”. On 16 June, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein became the new United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. In his first public address before the Human Rights Council, on 8 September 2014, Prince Zeid stated: “I would like to make a simple point: courage is the first human virtue, revered the world over, the very virtue we value the most as human beings. The courageous individual is not he or she who wields great political power or points a gun at those who do not – that is not courage. The courageous individual is he or she who has nothing to wield but common sense, reason and the law, and is prepared to forfeit future, family, friends and even life in defence of others, or to end injustice. In its most magnificent form, the courageous individual undertakes this exertion, without ever threatening or taking the life of someone else, and certainly not someone defenceless. As the Viennese thinker Stefan Zweig wrote, after having lived through one world war and fled another, Our greatest debt of gratitude is to those who in these inhuman times confirm the human in us. Human rights defenders are such courageous people, and we must do everything we can to protect them, and celebrate them. The UN is often slow to recognise this. Captain Mbaye Diagne of Senegal was probably the most courageous man who ever served with the UN, but until recently was never recognized by the UN headquarters for his sacrifice. He saved possibly a thousand people in Rwanda in the spring of 1994, and lost his life doing so, and never hurt anybody.” (ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14998&LangID=E). Recognizing the nonviolent LEGACY OF COURAGE of Captain Mbaye Diagne is essential in today’s world. But medals remain to be gained on the ground. In 2015, the time has come to take our own individual and collective responsibility and be ourselves women and men of courage, solidarity and love. While the world is shaken by conflict and insecurity, each of us can and should make the difference for peace, for our children and for our mother Earth, if we are courageous. This is why we want to join forces with all like-minded individuals and groups across the globe to proclaim, and to effectively ensure that in our home, in our neighborhood, in our country and region of the world, in this whole planet, 2015 will be the INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF COURAGE, and we all will be the humble and proud soldiers of peace following the example of Captain Mbaye Diagne and of all those great ordinary men and women who, through their indomitable courage, always gave and today still give peace a chance. Enrico Muratore Regional Good Governance Programme Coordinator for West Africa, Oxfam International
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 06:05:48 +0000
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