World leaders cautioned against genocide as UN mourn Rwandan victims

A 14-year-old Rwandan boy from the town of Nyamata, photographed in June 1994, survived the genocidal massacre by hiding under corpses for two days.

A 14-year-old boy, Rumanzi, stands in front of rows of human skulls outside the Nitarama church near the town of Nyamata, where some 600 people were killed during the civil conflict that began in April. Rumanzi survived the massacre by hiding beneath the corpses for two days.

By the end of 1994 in Rwanda, UNICEF created the Trauma Recovery Programme (TRP) to address the psychosocial needs of a nation of traumatized children. Some 64% of children witnessed massacres during the civil conflict that began in April, including the killing of family members or other children. An estimated 95,000 unaccompanied children have lost or been separated from their parents. In addition to trauma treatment programmes initiated in schools and UNICEF-assisted centres caring for 30,000 unaccompanied children, UNICEF is working with the Government and NGOs to train social workers, teachers, health care providers and religious leaders in trauma treatment, as well as preparing radio messages on trauma identification and first aid.
Published By: Ezeibekwe Kingsley

7th April, 2018

A 14-year-old boy, Rumanzi, stands in front of rows of human skulls outside the Nitarama church near the town of Nyamata, where some 600 people were killed during the civil conflict that began in April. Rumanzi survived the massacre by hiding beneath the corpses for two days.

As the world officially remembers the genocidal murder of 800,000 Rwandans in 1994, UN has warned that ethnic cleansing and mass atrocities continued to blight humanity.

On Rwandan genocide 24th anniversary, UN challenged the world to muster the will to prevent new atrocities and called for sharper action to prevent such wholesale violations.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in his statement, said “states have a fundamental responsibility to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity”.

“It is imperative that we unite to prevent such atrocities from occurring, and that the international community sends a strong message to perpetrators that they will be held accountable.

“To save people at risk, we must go beyond words,” the Secretary-General said.

On Aril 7, 2004, ethnic Hutus in Rwanda began the frenzied slaughter of Tutsis, moderate Hutus and others in what is widely regarded as one of the darkest episodes in recent history.

In memory of the Rwandan victims – and as a sombre reminder of the international community’s failure to intervene – the UN observes April 7 every year as an “international day of reflection.”

“Today, we remember all those who were murdered and reflect on the suffering of the survivors, who have shown that reconciliation is possible, even after a tragedy of such monumental proportions.

“Rwanda has learned from its tragedy; so must the international community,” said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a message for the grim anniversary.

Guterres expressed concern about “the rise of racism, hate speech and xenophobia around the world.”

“These base manifestations of human cruelty provide the breeding ground for far more evil acts,” the Secretary-General said.

Adama Dieng, the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, said judicial punishment for such crimes is a start, but more attention must be devoted to preventing them.

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“We said at the end of the Second World War ‘Never Again,’ but we witnessed the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda,” Dieng regretted.

Genocide is defined as certain acts committed “with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”.

Genocides do not take place “all of a sudden,” Dieng said, highlighting the importance and possibility of prevention.

“Genocide is a process. The Holocaust did not start with the gas chambers. It started with hate speech.

“That is why I should say that the world failed the Rwandan people, the world failed the Bosnian people, and I hope that the world will not fail the Rohingya population,” he said.

The UN’s annual day of reflection on the Rwandan genocide is important, Dieng said, “as a way first to honour those who fell to those crimes, but also as a lesson for the future.”

“By remembering what happened in Rwanda, we are also sending a strong message to whoever around the world is inclined to commit such a crime,” he said.
Tags:   Rwandan victims
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