President Kagame made the appreciation as he attended the ceremony for the 25th Commemoration of the Genocide Against the Tutsi held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York where the ceremony is held for the 15th time.
He commended UN General Secretary, António Guterres and the President of UN General Assembly María Fernanda Espinosa for co-organising the event with Rwandans.
President Kagame explained that “A remembrance is an act of honor. More than a million lives were lost. We honor the victims. We honor the courage of the survivors. And we honor the manner in which Rwandans have come together to rebuild our nation.”
He said that a Remembrance is also an act of prevention.
“Denial is an ideological foundation of genocide. Countering denial is essential for breaking the cycle and preventing any recurrence,” reiterated Kagame.
The General Assembly voted overwhelmingly last year to adopt the proper terminology: Genocide against the Tutsi. President Kagame thanked member states with most sincere appreciation for this measure highlighting that there is evidence showing that foreign countries draw a lesson from the 1994 Genocide Against Tutsi pushing them to prevent re-occurrence.
President Kagame reflected how in 1994, three representatives on the United Nations Security Council consistently called for action, despite the resistance of more powerful states. They were Ibrahim Gambari of Nigeria, Colin Keating of New Zealand, and Karel Kovanda of the Czech Republic.
President Kagame said there is a milestone in the prevention of genocide with apparent evidence.
“France, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, and Switzerland have criminalized denial of the Genocide against the Tutsi, and Belgium has announced its intention to do so. Canada and France have designated April 7th as a day of commemoration. We applaud these steps, and encourage others to follow suit,” he noted.
Civilian protection doctrine
President Kagame emphasized that there is a significant advance related to peacekeeping where civilian protection has moved to the heart of peacekeeping doctrines with the strong support of the Secretary-General and the Member States.
“In 1994, the warnings of the United Nations Force Commander, General Roméo Dallaire of Canada, fell on deaf ears. In the absence of a protection-of-civilians mandate, there are limits to what good commanders can achieve. Nevertheless, he stayed and his forces did what they could. Captain Mbaye Diagne of Senegal saved countless lives, before giving his own,” he said.
For several years, Rwanda has been among the top five troop contributors to United Nations peacekeeping operations. President Kagame said that Rwanda intends to maintain this commitment saying: “Rwanda does not only contribute soldiers and police. We come to the task with the values instilled by our tragic history. As a nation once betrayed by the international community, we are determined to do our part to make things better, going forward.”
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