{The National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide (CNLG) has encouraged all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Rwanda to conduct a Public Lecture on the Prevention of Genocide on 9th December 2016, to coincide with the adoption of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution on the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide on 9th December 1948.}
Mahatma Gandhi University in Rwanda held its First Public Lecture on Genocide Prevention with this year’s theme “Genocide Denial and Ideology in Rwanda.” The lecture is in line with CNLG’s 4th Annual Public Lectures by HEIs across the country. The purpose of the lecture was to engage in and facilitate academic discussion of ongoing efforts to combat genocide, genocide denial and genocide ideology.
The Honorable Theonest Karenzi of Rwanda Parliament’s Chamber of Deputies gave an overview of the current status of “genocide denial and ideology” in Rwanda, and the government’s efforts to better equip Rwanda’s youth to combat it in the future. Karenzi was joined by the Honorable Devotha Uwaramariya, also a member of Rwanda Parliament’s Chamber of Deputies, who gave her views on the importance of educating our youth to understand fully the harmful effects of genocide denial and genocide ideology for the social cohesion of Rwandans.
MGU Rwanda Vice Chancellor Dr. Vince Sinining reiterated the importance of having this kind of lectures that provide a frame of reference for discussion about ongoing challenges regarding genocide ideology and denial in Rwanda and abroad. He presented videos on the various horrible genocides in history, such as the Al Anfal Genocide, the Rwandan Genocide, the Pygmy Genocide, and the Holocaust to mention a few.
Dr. Sinining concluded his lecture on the Rwanda Genocide saying that “racism and ethnic prejudice are social constructs that are mobilized by those in power to serve as political tools of control and repression.” In the context of his role as a delegate to the United Nations in the years that Rwanda Genocide was debated at the United Nations General Assembly, as well as at the Security Council, he shared his views that “the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, though an ethnically based conflict, seemed to be the result of political efforts to maintain power and control by the government at that time. Today’s youth, as future leaders of the country, must be educated on good governance and effective leadership so peace in Rwanda will continue and for a better transition of leadership without necessarily engaging in conflict and war.”
Mahatma Gandhi University is a leading online and distance learning institution in Rwanda. Although all of the students are doing their studies online and in distance learning mode, students still manage to come to MGUR campus in Kabuga to attend the public lecture. The lecture ended with the rendition of the song “Imagine” by Rwanda’s leading performing artists – Jules Sentore, Andy Buravan, and Andy Bumuntu.
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