I just returned from Tanzania where I spoke at the Second Regional Forum on Genocide Prevention, sponsored by the governments of Switzerland, Argentina and Tanzania. The private conference was full of dignitaries including Dr. Francis Deng, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General on the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities, the former President of Tanzania Benjamin Mkapa, and Dr. Edward Luck, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General on the Responsibility to Protect.
It was a huge honor to be invited to speak to these policy makers about Cambodia and genocide prevention. I've never been in a room in which every time someone opens their mouth, they must begin with, "Excellencies, Ambassadors, Ladies and Gentlemen."
(from left to right: me; Eduardo Acevedo Diaz; Director General for Human Rights ad Interim, Argentina; Rodolfo Matarollo; Advisor of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, Argentina; Edward Luck , Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General on the Responsibility to Protect)
I came to respect the mature dialogue among many African countries about the need to prevent genocide in their region. It was a very encouraging symbol of progress.
Thank you so much to Prof. Andrea Bartoli and Mo Bleeker, Director of Political Affairs, Switzerland for extending the honor to me.
