Remembering genocide: The Rwanda story
On April 7, Rwanda marked the 30th commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi. Picture: Village Urugwiro
THE Rwandan High Commission in South Africa is gearing up for a profound moment of reflection as it prepares to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi people, an event known as Kwibuka31.
This poignant ceremony will take place on Monday at the Sheraton Hotel in Pretoria, signaling the beginning of a 100-day period of remembrance.
As articulated by the High Commission, this year's commemoration will centre around the unifying theme of 'Remember Unite Renew.'
It serves not only as a remembrance of the atrocities but as a call to action for all people of conscience to honour the memories of the victims, stand in solidarity with survivors, and recommit to ensuring that genocide finds no place in the world.
'Kwibuka31 is a moment of remembrance and reaffirmation,' the Commission said, emphasising the importance of the collective obligation to remember and act against such crimes.
A critical element of the commemorative event will include testimonies shared by genocide survivors, who will recount their stories of resilience and healing, providing a personal touch to the historical narrative.
Among the dignitaries expected at the event are the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in South Africa and a representative from the United Nations, both of whom are poised to address the gathered audience, adding gravitas to an already significant occasion.
Emmanuel Hategeka, the Rwandan High Commissioner to South Africa, shared critical insights about the ongoing relevance of Kwibuka31 amidst rising global concerns regarding the recognition of historical genocides.
'Genocide denial, hate speech, and disturbing signs of genocide continue to rise across Africa and beyond, casting a troubling shadow over humanity's progress," he expressed.
"We remember not to dwell in our past but to reflect and actively, collectively recommit to the fight against genocide in all its manifestations.'
The significance of Kwibuka31 transcends mere commemoration; it presents an urgent call to action in addressing the underlying issues that foster such humanitarian crises.
In line with this, Hategeka urged participants to reflect on the root causes of genocide, delineating stages that lead to violence: classification, symbolisation, discrimination, dehumanisation, organisation, polarisation, preparation, persecution, extermination, and ultimately, denial.
As globally minded citizens are called to action, it is worth noting that the United Nations has officially recognised 7 April as the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
This recognition, which first appeared in 2003 and was reaffirmed in 2018, underlines the international community's commitment to addressing and preventing such atrocities.
"Kwibuka31 challenges all of us to reaffirm our responsibility to protect innocent citizens, promote human dignity, fight impunity and genocide denial, and uphold justice,' Hategeka concluded, echoing the sentiments that these commemorative events should ignite a universal commitment to act decisively against future atrocities.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
3 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Wars has now displaced over 122 million people as aid funding falls, UN says
The number of people displaced by war and persecution around the world climbed above 122 million this year due to a failure to resolve multi-year conflicts such as those in Sudan and Ukraine, the U.N. refugee agency said on Thursday. However, it said that funding to help the refugees has fallen to 2015 levels. There were over 2 million more people displaced globally by the end of April 2025 than there were the previous year despite the return of nearly the same number of Syrians after the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's rule, according to the report by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. It attributed the rise to major conflicts in Sudan, Myanmar and Ukraine, and a continued failure to stop the fighting. 'We are living in a time of intense volatility in international relations, with modern warfare creating a fragile, harrowing landscape marked by acute human suffering,' Grandi said in a statement alongside the report. Humanitarians complain that a lack of political leadership in brokering peace deals is prolonging conflicts and stretching aid groups seeking to address their impact. The surge in displacement numbers comes as funding to help them has fallen to 2015 levels when the total number of refugees around the world stood at about half current levels, UNHCR said. U.S. President Donald Trump has cut most foreign aid, while Britain and other European countries are also spending less on aid and more on defence. UNHCR, without naming donors, described the cuts as 'brutal and ongoing' and said the situation was untenable, leaving refugees and others vulnerable. David Miliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee aid group, said the cuts to support for poorer countries would drive further displacement. The U.N. refugee agency, whose largest donor has historically been the U.S., has previously said the cuts put millions of lives at risk and left women refugees at a greater risk of rape and children at risk of trafficking. 'We are already doing more with less – but we cannot do this indefinitely,' said Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Daily Maverick
18 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Loaded for Bear: African Parks has disgracefully sent more SA rhinos to repressive Rwanda
Much of Africa's wildlife lies within the borders of states with questionable governance or human rights records. But some lines can be drawn in the sand. The Kigali regime stands out for the sheer scale of its repression and the regional instability it has unleashed. Many conservation groups in Africa have a human rights problem. Pointedly, they often stand accused of being more concerned about the plight of Africa's animals than that of its people. This perception has been further entrenched by African Parks' announcement this week that it has just translocated another 70 white rhinos from South Africa to Rwanda – a sinister state that has been credibly linked to the killing of dissidents on South African soil. When African Parks, a Johannesburg-based NGO, announced in 2021 that it had relocated 30 white rhinos to Rwanda's Akagera National Park, I criticised it at the time in this publication, noting that those rhinos would be safer than the country's dissidents. That observation still holds and, if anything, Rwanda under the autocratic rule of Paul Kagame has become even more of a pariah state with its documented support for the M23 rebels in neighbouring DRC. The diabolical nature of the Rwandan regime under Kagame has been clinically dissected in veteran journalist Michela Wrong's troubling 2021 book, Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad. 'Do Not Disturb' was the sign placed on the room door at the posh Sandton Hotel where Patrick Karegeya, once Rwanda's head of external intelligence, was found murdered more than a decade ago. But what's the murder of a dissident or two or three – or a dozen for that matter – between friends? African Parks sees no issue with shaking hands with the devil if it advances its conservation agenda – which is disturbing. 'In 2021, African Parks moved 30 southern white rhinos to Akagera National Park. This initial population has increased to 41 animals today. Building on this success, the additional 70 animals will now play a crucial role in ensuring the presence of meta-populations across the continent, presenting opportunities for future range expansion,' African Parks said. It's all about the animals! It's like African Parks is living in a bubble, completely disconnected from the odious nature of the state it has chosen as a conservation partner. But that's perhaps not surprising, given the NGO's track record elsewhere in Africa. Last month it acknowledged that some of its eco-rangers had committed human rights abuses against the Baka community in Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Republic of Congo, based on the findings of an independent investigation it had commissioned to probe the allegations. 'African Parks acknowledges that, in some incidents, human rights abuses have occurred, and we deeply regret the pain and suffering caused to the victims. There is no place for any form of abuse in the name of conservation,' it said. There may be 'no place' for this kind of abuse 'in the name of conservation'. But if the state you have chosen to host a rhino conservation project is a serial human rights abuser, there is nothing to see here, folks. The rhinos will be fine! What will grab the headlines is that this is the largest translocation of its kind. African Parks has also been involved in a previous megafauna translocation which was billed as the 'largest of its kind'. In July 2022, 263 elephants were moved from Liwonde National Park in southern Malawi to Kasungu National Park, which borders Zambia along a frontier which has no fence. African Parks has since distanced itself from this project, but it certainly claimed some of the credit at the time. As I reported from the Zambian side of the park in 2024, this misconceived translocation has transformed the landscape into one of fear and loathing for the poor rural people who live there. Human-wildlife conflict is raging there, with a mounting death toll among both people and elephants. The big critters that have just been moved to Rwanda come from the 2,000-strong herd that African Parks bought in 2023 from rhino tycoon John Hume. Largely because of the efforts of the private sector, South Africa has enough rhinos for 'rewilding' efforts elsewhere, which broadly aim to restore wildlife populations to former ranges. Rwanda, by the way, is not a former white rhino range state. It is indeed the case that much of Africa's wildlife lies within the borders of states with questionable governance or human rights records. I recently covered first-hand the translocation of South African cheetahs to Mozambique, where last year's elections were hotly disputed, sparking nationwide protests. And let's face it, the ruling Frelimo party has followed other African liberation movements down the well-trodden path of corruption and misrule. But some lines can be drawn in the sand. Mountain gorillas, for example, are only found in Rwanda and neighbouring Uganda and the DRC, and so conservation efforts for this species need to be focused in those countries, regardless of the governments in power. That is not the case with white rhinos. There are plenty of other African countries where they can be translocated to and protected. The Kigali government stands out for the sheer scale of its repression and the regional instability it has unleashed. And Kagame has an instinctive understanding of what is important to the West. The rhino project comes with the prestige he craves, adding another layer of legitimacy to his regime – which does keep the streets of Kigali clean. Kagame got 99% of the vote in Rwanda's 2024 elections and unlike in Mozambique, no one was going to raise an eyebrow about that result, let alone lead a protest in the streets.
TimesLIVE
a day ago
- TimesLIVE
US wants Rwandan troops out of DRC before peace deal signed, sources say
The US is promoting a deal that would require Rwanda to pull troops from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) before the two sides sign a peace agreement, sources say, a condition sure to rankle Kigali, which has described DRC-based armed groups as an existential threat. US President Donald Trump's administration is holding talks to end fighting in eastern DRC and bring billions in Western investment to the region, which is rich in minerals including tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper and lithium. Massad Boulos, Trump's senior adviser for Africa, told Reuters in May Washington wanted a peace agreement finalised 'within about two months', an ambitious timeline for resolving a conflict with roots in the Rwandan genocide more than three decades ago. A draft peace agreement seen by Reuters said a condition for signature is that Rwanda withdraws troops, weapons and equipment from the DRC. The authenticity of the document, which is undated, was confirmed by four diplomatic sources, who said it was written by US officials. The draft goes beyond a declaration of principles that the two countries' foreign ministers signed at a ceremony in Washington in April with US secretary of state Marco Rubio. The document said the two sides would address any security concerns in a manner that respected each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty. Rwanda has sent between 7,000 and 12,000 soldiers to eastern DRC to support M23 rebels, analysts and diplomats told Reuters earlier this year, after the rebel group seized the region's two largest cities in a lightning advance. Rwanda has long denied providing arms and troops to M23, saying its forces are acting in self-defence against the DRC's army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 genocide that killed about 1-million people, mostly ethnic Tutsis. Rwanda had not responded to the US-produced draft agreement as of last week, two sources told Reuters. Rwandan foreign minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said experts from the DRC and Rwanda would meet this week in Washington to discuss the agreement. The US state department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A senior official in the office of DRC President Felix Tshisekedi accused Rwanda of 'dragging their feet' on the draft and said Rwanda's withdrawal was necessary for the peace process to move forward. 'We demand the total withdrawal of Rwandan troops as a precondition for signing the agreement, and we will not compromise,' the source said. The US-produced draft agreement also calls for a 'joint security co-ordination mechanism' that could include Rwandan and 'foreign military observer personnel' to deal with security issues, including the continued presence in the DRC of Rwandan Hutu militias. Analysts said the most commonly cited group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, no longer poses much of a threat to Rwanda, though President Paul Kagame's government continues to describe it as a serious threat. The draft agreement also said the DRC would commit to allowing M23 to participate in a national dialogue 'on equal footing with other DRC non-state armed groups', a major concession for Kinshasa, which sees M23 as a terrorist group and Rwandan proxy. The DRC is engaged in separate direct talks with M23 over a possible deal to end the latest cycle of fighting. The draft agreement said Rwanda 'shall take all possible measures to ensure' M23 withdraws from territory it controls, in line with terms agreed in Doha. A source briefed on the process told Reuters last week Qatar had presented a draft proposal to the two delegations which would consult their leaders before resuming talks. However, a rebel official said there had been little progress towards a final deal that would see M23 cede territory.
