Rwanda’s president urges leaders to detect, dismantle extremist ideologies

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) - Rwanda’s president told world leaders Tuesday that extremist ideologies need to be identified early and dismantled.

“The extremist ideologies that drive terrorism and genocide must be named, identified early and dismantled, without ambiguity or hesitation. On that, we cannot afford to play politics,” Paul Kagame said in a pre-recorded address broadcast at the 76th UN General Assembly in New York.

Kagame said that although the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the global system like never before, there has been a spirit of global solidarity and fairness in exemplifying the best values of the United Nations.

“The COVAX mechanism, despite its limitations, is one such case. Without this system, Africa’s vaccine deficit would be even more severe,” he said.

He noted that the world can and should do more to speed up vaccine distribution in Africa.

“Doing so benefits the entire world,” he said.

Kagame also said the positive steps taken by various partners and companies towards building local vaccine manufacturing capacity is welcome.

“We must harness this positive moment to build long-term pandemic resilience where it is needed most,” he said.

He also called on leaders to commit to climate change mitigation.

“The severity of weather-related disasters is increasing year by year,” he said. “We cannot afford for the result of COP26 in November to be inconclusive or divisive,” he added, referring to the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference.

This year’s General Assembly theme is “Building resilience through hope – to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalize the United Nations.”

Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also addressed the General Assembly.

In his speech, Sisi said his country is aware of the impact that environmental degradation poses to all aspects of life. He said Egypt is sparing no effort for greater coordination on climate issues, as it is important and cannot be avoided.

He also said that terrorism remains one of the biggest challenges facing humanity today and his country has emphasized that it can only be eliminated through dealing with extremist ideologies.

In his address, Tshisekedi called on global leaders to treat Africa as an equal partner that should benefit from win-win partnerships and does not need charity but should benefit from its vast natural resources to develop and uplift its citizens.​​​​​​​

Several African leaders are expected to address the General Assembly in the course of the week, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who will deliver a pre-recorded video statement Wednesday.