Rwanda has started a 22nd commemoration period remembering Tutsi victims killed in 1994 genocide. In a statement released on the website of United Nations, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has requested regional countries to intensify efforts in tracking and bringing to justice genocide suspects as a move towards the eradication of impunity.
Rwanda is now seeking 522 genocide suspects who are scattered across the World.
Ban Ki Moon said that the 22nd commemoration of genocide perpetrated against Tutsi must go in line with new measures preventing reoccurrence of similar tragedies that ruined the country in 1994. He said that working with justice sectors and understanding that everyone must be questioned is among ways of paying tribute to genocide victims.
He said that accepting what happened, and embracing commitment of sharing strategies of protecting affected people in genocide is among the best ways helping to avoid reoccurrence of genocide, human rights abuse and violation of international laws.
Ban Ki Moon called governments, judicial sectors and nongovernmental organizations to rise against speeches spreading hatred.
He said that Rwandan history teaches important lessons of complementarily, reconciliation and forgiveness in case the evil persists in families.
During the beginning of 20th commemoration of genocide perpetrated against Tutsi which Ban Ki Moon attended, he expressed sadness over what he witnessed at Kigali Genocide Memorial Center at Gisozi.
The United Nations consented to having observed passively as the genocide perpetrated against Tutsi in 1994 which took lives of over 1,000,000 people was taking place. At the time genocide took place UN was led by Boutros Boutros-Ghali who recently died. He accepted that UN didn’t intervene in saving lives.
Boutros Boutros-Ghali had said in an interview held with Karim el Fawal,a journalist of Capa from Egypt that he was ashamed for having not provided a helping hand to save Tutsi victims of 1994 genocide.
Leave a Reply