On 11 April 2016, the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Rwanda and the United Nations Office in Geneva jointly organized the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi at the Palais des Nations.
Two hundred fifty participants comprising Ambassadors, Heads of UN specialized Agencies, diplomats, civil societies, Members of the Rwandan community and friends of Rwanda leaving in Switzerland attended this important event.
The one-hour ceremony was made by strong speeches starting from the Director General of the UN Office at Geneva, followed by Mr. AdamaDieng, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide; a genocide survivor’s testimony by Mme Lyamukuru Félicité; the President of Ibuka in Switzerland, Dr. Gakuba Michel and the Ambassador of Rwanda in Switzerland, H.E. François Xavier Ngarambe.
Ambassador Gakuba made concluding remarks by highlighting, among others, steps leading to the genocide and its structured process, the importance of fighting genocide ideology while sowing the seeds of a peaceful society through peace education, rule of law, upholding values of rights and justice and fight against corruption as is currently the case in Rwanda.
The Director General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Mr. Michael Moller, invited participants to observe a minute of silence, and shared the message of the Secretary-General followed by his personal remarks highlighting the importance of genocide prevention, fighting the culture of impunity and the need to support genocide survivors.
This was followed by a speech by Mr. Adama Dieng, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide. Dieng recalled his personal experience 22 years back, when he personally called upon the International Community to stop massive violations of human Rights then being committed in Rwanda by a government, which had well prepared the extermination of the Tutsi.
While putting emphasis on the importance of the assistance to the survivors, Diengunder scored that the primary support should be imperatively to extend solidarity to Rwandans by “all of us” fighting against the denial of the genocide against the Tutsi.
The Survivor’s testimony, which followed, touched deeply all in the attendance the entire room. Mme Félicité Lyamukuru, a genocide survivor living in Belgium, shared her tragic story through which she lost almost her entire large family. She praised the courage of the RPF soldiers who saved lives and revealed that spreading a good education of humanity to her 4 children constitutes one of the sources of her strength and resilience.
The speech of the President of Ibuka Swiss Section put emphasis on two main salient features namely the failure of the International Community to stop the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and the importance for compensation and reparation; he called upon the AU, the UN and the entire International Community to discharge their responsibilities in this regard.
In concluding, the Ambassador Gakuba expressed his appreciations to all participants, the UN and all speakers for solemnly observing together this important International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
The Ambassador made a strong statement on the steps of the genocide and the route for reconciliation and peace building process as it occurred in Rwanda. He elaborated on how “through the deliberate choices of our leadership and people; through concerted and consultative efforts, a new Rwanda has emerged. One that looks beyond the present and creates a vision for the future; one that seeks to establish sound governance systems and systems of justice that ensure we do not become hostages of our past.”
He also reminded that the dignity and self-reliance that Rwanda is striving to achieve extends beyond Rwanda’s borders through participation in international peacekeeping efforts around the World.
Finally, the Ambassador referred to the UN resolution for action against the Rwandan genocidaires forces active in the Great Lakes, which was not implemented and called the UN to stop the lingering contraction between declared intentions and actions.
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