REMARKS BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF UNOG AT OBSERVANCE OF INTERNATIONAL DAY OF REFLECTION ON THE 1994 GENOCIDE IN RWANDA

Following are the remarks by Sergei A. Ordzhonikidze, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, which he delivered at a ceremony today at the Palais des Nations marking the annual observance of the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda:


“Let me welcome you to the Palais des Nations for the annual observance of the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda.

Please stand with me as we observe a minute of silence to pay our respects to the 800,000 fellow human beings who lost their lives in this tragedy.

It is now my pleasure to read to you the Secretary-General’s message for this International Day:

“On this year’s observance of the anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, let us reflect on the genocide as seen through the eyes of Rwandans themselves.

A man who hid hundreds of people from their would-be assassins. A killer still haunted by his crime. A woman who tried to take her own life after her husband and three sons were murdered. Where are these people now?

The United Nations has documented their stories through a project organized by the Department of Public Information called “Visions of Rwanda: Images of Survival, Reconciliation, Forgiveness and Hope”.

The hero who saved so many lives received an award for his courage. The killer haunted by his crime begged the surviving victim for forgiveness. That victim -- the woman who tried to take her own life -- accepted his plea, finding healing in the process.

These poignant accounts and many others like them depict a country on a path towards reconciliation. The resounding voices of survivors touch us in ways that no other words could. Yet the silence of the more than 800,000 innocent victims still haunts our collective conscience.

The United Nations continues its vital work to avert future tragedies. We have intensified our focus on conflict prevention and built up our mediation capacity. We are doing more to protect civilians caught in conflict. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and other international courts are sending a strong signal that the world will not tolerate impunity for gross violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. My Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide monitors the world for signs of potential problems. And the “responsibility to protect” doctrine is bolstering United Nations prevention, protection, response and rebuilding mechanisms.

Preventing genocide is a collective responsibility. Only by meeting this challenge can we match the resolve of the survivors and truly honour the memory of those who died in Rwanda 15 years ago.”

That was the end of the Secretary-General’s message.

Allow me now to add a few remarks: Today, we come together to remember and to reflect. We recall the horrors of the genocide to pay homage to the memory of the victims. And we reflect on how we can strengthen our efforts to ensure that it does not happen again.

We cannot – and must not – diminish, or in any way distort, the scale or significance of what happened, regardless of how painful it may be to face the truth. The genocide was a negation of our very humanity. If we now negate it as a historical reality, we perpetuate the very forces that enabled it to take place – and we allow the inhumanity to continue. Denial is the first step towards another descent into the abyss. We must not let that happen.

This solemn commemoration is also our opportunity to highlight the resilience of the Rwandan people. Today, we salute their resolve to come to terms with the past as a way to rebuild their country and re-establish their communities through reconciliation. We pledge to bring justice to all those affected by the brutality of the genocide because putting an end to impunity is indispensable for prevention.

We pay tribute to the survivors who continue to live with the deep physical and emotional scars of the calamity. They continue to need our unwavering support. The “One Dollar Campaign” illustrates the commitment of the people of Rwanda to the survivors, and their common determination not to forget, but to face the legacy of the genocide. The campaign shows the role that each individual can play in this process.

The prevention of genocide is both a collective and individual responsibility. We must all speak up and act in the face of intolerance and bigotry that may lay the foundation for genocidal crimes. As the international community, we must reinforce our efforts in detecting and evaluating warnings of imminent genocide, in peacemaking – not least in conflicts with a racial, ethnic or religious dimension – and in the promotion and protection of human rights to shoulder our shared responsibility. We cannot afford complacency; the risk of future genocides persists.

The lessons of the Rwandan genocide are universal, unequivocal and undeniable. Speaking out and educating about the genocide compels all nations and people to recommit to preventing similar atrocities. It is the highest and most appropriate tribute that we could pay to the victims. Today, we light a candle in their honour. Let us pledge – together – to always shine a light on acts of genocide and never hide in the shadow when called upon to act. We owe it to each and every one of them to translate our rhetoric into reality.”


For use of information media; not an official record

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