International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda

Ambassador Ngarambe
Mrs. Muhongerwa
Dr. Gakuba
Mr. Kompass
Excellencies
Dear Colleagues and Friends:

Thank you for joining us today for this solemn commemoration of the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda.

Please join me in a minute of silence in honour of the victims.

Thank you.

It is my privilege to share with you the message of the Secretary-General on this important occasion:

“The International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda offers an opportunity to honour the memory of the more than 800,000 people – overwhelmingly Tutsi, and also moderate Hutu, Twa and others – who were systematically killed across Rwanda in less than three months just over two decades ago. It is also an occasion to recognize the pain and the courage of those who survived.

Our annual sombre observance is all the more meaningful this year as we mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. We must use this occasion to look back on the past – and to squarely confront the challenges of the present, renewing our collective resolve to prevent such atrocities from happening again.

Many countries now face grave security threats. People are being subjected to the brutality of violent conflicts and the indignities of poverty. Discrimination persists in societies torn apart by war, as well as in democracies that largely enjoy peace. Hatred may manifest as institutionalized racism, ethnic strife, or episodes of intolerance or exclusion. In other instances, discrimination reflects the official, national version of history that denies the identity of some segments of the population.

I deplore the conflicts and atrocity crimes in many parts of the world that continue to divide communities, killing and displacing people, undermining economies and destroying cultural heritage.

Our first duty is always to prevent these situations and to protect vulnerable human beings in distress. My Human Rights Up Front initiative seeks to prevent serious human rights violations by acting on early warning signs before they become more serious. My Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and on the Responsibility to Protect work to advance national and international efforts to protect populations from atrocity crimes. We aim to ensure swift and decisive action to save lives and stop abuses.

On this Day, I appeal to the international community to do more than just speak about atrocity crimes and then fail to take timely action to prevent them. I call on all to summon the courage to act before situations deteriorate based on our collective moral responsibility. This is critical for the maintenance of international peace and security.

As I said at last year’s commemoration in Kigali, we must exercise “Umuganda” – coming together in common purpose – to avert what can be prevented and counter the cruelty taking place before our eyes.”

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

Here in Geneva, we come together every year to pay tribute to the victims, to pledge our support to the survivors and to recognize the remarkable determination of the people of Rwanda in rebuilding their lives and their country.

The 100 days of horror in Rwanda is a stain on our collective conscience. We saw how the seeds of hatred for those who were viewed as different was nurtured through discrimination and stereotyping to culminate in the barbaric killing of thousands of fellow human beings.

As the Secretary-General stressed in his message, the Rwanda genocide and other mass atrocities only highlight the need for us to strengthen prevention. This goes beyond legislative frameworks, early warning mechanisms and building the capacity of authorities and officials. It must include better efforts to promote human rights and tolerance, also through an active and engaged civil society base. It must include a stronger focus on teaching empathy, respect and understanding in our schools, in addition to technical skills. And it must include emphasis on addressing underlying inequalities and imbalances that can intensify divisions among groups and undermine the social fabric of a community.

The most powerful and poignant voices for better prevention are the survivors. The children, men and women who lived through the most horrific trauma, who carry on despite deep scars on bodies and souls, and whose resilience shows us the strength of the human spirit. We are privileged to have with us today Ms. Mathilde Muhongerwa to share her testimony.

We need to ensure that the individual stories of the survivors become our shared memory and serve as the basis for action. As the human family, we need to draw inspiration from the survivors to have the courage to take early and decisive action in the face of human rights violations and incitement that far too easily can escalate into atrocity crimes. And as individuals, we must draw inspiration from their humanity to ensure that we are guided by our own moral compass to react in the face of injustice, intolerance and inhumanity – wherever and whenever we may encounter it.

Collective resolve can only be built on combined resolution of individuals to reject evil and choose the path of compassion.

Thank you very much.