GUWAHATI, Nov 8 � The United Nations is soon going to open a UN Resource Centre in Guwahati that would enable the students, scholars, teachers, legislators and media persons, among others, to have access to the latest information related to the UN. The centre would also facilitate interactions on international issues having regional significance.
Rajiv Chandran, Officer-in-charge, UN Information for India and Bhutan, New Delhi, announced this at the inaugural function of �UN Exhibition on Lessons from Rwanda� at the Sudmersen Hall of Cotton College. It is the third such exhibition by UN in the country after New Delhi and Mumbai, on the gruesome Rwanda genocide in 1994, killing an estimated 8,00,000 people in the ethnic strife.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, Chandran said that the United Nations Association, Assam had been working in close collaboration with Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi for establishing a UN resource centre in Guwahati that would work as a gateway to UN- related information. �The Chief Minister has already sanctioned the project and we are in the process of finalizing the land for the centre,� Chandran said.
Addressing the gathering, he said that the exhibition focuses on learning the lessons of the Rwanda genocide in order to help prevent similar happenings in the future, as well as raising awareness of the lasting impact of genocide on the survivors and the challenges that they still face today.
�The trend of intolerance has gripped the world today. In a world where the culture of hate is being propagated through the Internet and other electronic media, we need to promote values of equality and fraternity. For a better future, we need to promote a healthy and balanced society that operates on the principals of tolerance,� he mentioned.
�More and more people should see this exhibition because the issues it addresses are still present in our societies, in every country and every region,� Chandran added. The exhibition would be open till the first half of tomorrow.
Highlighting the role of the UN in promoting peace in the world, CK Das, Advisor to the Chief Minister of Assam, said that the international body had been working relentlessly to promote harmony and improve the living conditions of the people, particularly those of poor and backward countries of the world.
Earlier, Dr Aswini Sarma, secretary general, United Nations Association (UNA), Assam, gave the introductory speech. DN Saikia, Member of Assam Police Accountability Commission and Dr Sudarshan Barua, Vice Principal of Cotton College also spoke on the occasion.
