TORONTO

The UN on Thursday welcomed the arrest of Fulgence Kayishema in South Africa, who has been sought since 2001 for allegedly committing genocide and crimes against humanity in Rwanda in 1994.

Kayishema was arrested Wednesday following a warrant for his arrest by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

"Mr. Kayishema’s apprehension sends a powerful message that those who are alleged to have committed such crimes cannot evade justice and will eventually be held accountable, even more than a quarter of a century later," Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for the Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said in a statement.

"The Secretary-General commends the cooperation between the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals and the South African authorities for the arrest of Mr. Kayishema. He further recalls that all States have an obligation to cooperate with the Mechanism in the location, arrest, detention, surrender and transfer of the accused persons still at large," it said.

Guterres' thoughts are with the victims of Kayishema's alleged crimes, and with all victims of other international crimes and their families, it said.

Ending impunity is essential for peace, security and justice, UN added.

Kayishema was arrested in a joint operation by South African authorities and fugitive tracking team of the court, according to the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT).

He was accused of orchestrating the killing of approximately 2,000 Tutsi refugees at the Nyange Catholic Church during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.