Video recording for the Association du Capitaine Mbaye Diagne

Statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein

25 May 2018

Captain Diagne was a man of exceptional courage.

During the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, when it seemed the world had turned away from its duty of protection for the Rwandan people, Captain Diagne, a Senegalese peacekeeper, went out -- unarmed, day after day -- to checkpoints where people were being captured and killed.

He bargained and pleaded for their freedom, and he drove them to places of safety.

Before he was killed by an explosive weapon, Captain Diagne managed to save hundreds of people – perhaps 1000 or more.
These were the actions of a great and deeply honourable person. The United Nations owes Captain Diagne gratitude and recognition for his heroism.

In those days, in the 1990s, I was working for the UN in the former Yugoslavia, where people were being killed both because of war and because of hate.

I know that in such circumstances, many heroes – many unsung heroes – will make tremendous personal sacrifices to save lives and stand up for the rights of our fellow human beings.

These men and women have the power to inspire all of us to take action on behalf of others. Not only in times of genocide and warfare.

We can stand up for justice. For human dignity, equality and freedom. We can stand up for the bullied and oppressed.

Captain Diagne and other human rights defenders have lived up to their principles even when it may be very difficult to do so.

Every human being can take heart from their example.