International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda 2023; April 7th.

FORUM: "Remembering the victims  and the survivors of the Rwanda Genocide." 2023 International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #Kwibuka29, #PreventGenocide.

 

EVENTS: 

At UNHQ in New York.

At UN Geneva, Switzerland.

COMMEMORATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF REFLECTION ON THE 1994 GENOCIDE AGAINST THE TUTSI IN RWANDA.
Thursday 13 April 2023.

This event will take place in person at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. It is open to the public and visitors are welcome. To access the Palais and attend the event, visitors must register via Indico.UN

Opens in new windowPROGRAMME

2.00-2.45 p.m. | Place des Nations. Wreath laying at the Memorial Stele by:

• Ms. Marie Chantal Rwakazina, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Rwanda to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva.
• Ms. Alessandra Vellucci, Director, United Nations Information Service in Geneva.
• Mr. César Murangira, President of Ibuka Memory and Justice (Swiss Section).
• Mr. Yves Cyaka, President of Rwandan Diaspora in Switzerland.

3.00 p.m. | Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room (Room XX), Palais des Nations

• Commemoration ceremony Introduction by the Master of Ceremonies, Ms. Alessandra Vellucci, Director, United Nations Information Service.
• Lighting of candles
• Observance of a minute of silence
• Memorial Song by Ms. Shanel Nirere and guitarist Mr. Wade Alune
• Message of Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, read by Ms. Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General, United Nations Office at Geneva, followed by the Director-General’s remarks
• Remarks by Mr. César Murangira, President of the Association of Genocide survivors IBUKA, Memory and Justice (Swiss section)
• Poetry reading by Mr. Albert Mukwiye
• Testimony by Ms. Providence Umugwaneza, Survivor of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda
• Memorial Song by Ms. Shanel Nirere and guitarist Mr. Wade Alune
• Remarks by H.E. Ms. Marie Chantal Rwakazina
• Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Rwanda to the United Nations Office and other international organizations at Geneva

5:00 p.m. - End of the ceremony.

International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda 2015, April 7th.

Journée internationale de réflexion sur le génocide au Rwanda, Avril 7.
International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda, 7 April.
Día Internacional de Reflexión sobre el Genocidio en Ruanda, 07 de abril.
 反思盧旺達大屠殺國際日, 4月7日.
Международный день памяти о геноциде в Руанде, 7 апреля.
 اليوم العالمي للتفكر في الإبادة الجماعية في رواندا، 7 أبريل

United Nations Secretary-General's Message for the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda 2015.

The International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda offers an opportunity to honour the memory of the more than 800,000 people – overwhelmingly Tutsi, and also moderate Hutu, Twa and others – who were systematically killed across Rwanda in less than three months just over two decades ago. It is also an occasion to recognize the pain and the courage of those who survived.
Our annual sombre observance is all the more meaningful this year as we mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. We must use this occasion to look back on the past – and to squarely confront the challenges of the present, renewing our collective resolve to prevent such atrocities from happening again.
Many countries now face grave security threats. People are being subjected to the brutality of violent conflicts and the indignities of poverty. Discrimination persists in societies torn apart by war, as well as in democracies that largely enjoy peace. Hatred may manifest as institutionalized racism, ethnic strife, or episodes of intolerance or exclusion. In other instances, discrimination reflects the official, national version of history that denies the identity of some segments of the population.
I deplore the conflicts and atrocity crimes in many parts of the world that continue to divide communities, killing and displacing people, undermining economies and destroying cultural heritage.
Our first duty is always to prevent these situations and to protect vulnerable human beings in distress. My Human Rights Up Front initiative seeks to prevent serious human rights violations by acting on early warning signs before they become more serious. My Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and on the Responsibility to Protect work to advance national and international efforts to protect populations from atrocity crimes. We aim to ensure swift and decisive action to save lives and stop abuses.
On this Day, I appeal to the international community to do more than just speak about atrocity crimes and then fail to take timely action to prevent them. I call on all to summon the courage to act before situations deteriorate based on our collective moral responsibility. This is critical for the maintenance of international peace and security.
As I said at last year’s commemoration in Kigali, we must exercise “Umuganda” – coming together in common purpose – to avert what can be prevented and counter the cruelty taking place before our eyes.

Ban Ki-moon

Forum : Timeline of the Genocide in Rwanda UN Outreach Programme on the Rwanda Genocide.
 

Events : Memorial Ceremony, 7 April 2015, 6:00 p.m. UN Headquarters, New York

21st Commemoration of the Rwanda Genocide
Memorial Ceremony

7 April 2015, 6:00pm – 7:00pm (United Nations Headquarters, Conference Room 4)
Organized by the UN Department of Public Information, in cooperation with the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Rwanda to the United Nations

Programme

• Candle lighting
• Minute of silence
• Remarks:
  • H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General
  • H.E. Mr. Sam Kahamba Kutesa, President of the UN General Assembly (Remarks delivered by H.E. Mr. Nicholas Emiliou, Permanent Representative of Cyprus)
  • H.E. Mr. Eugène-Richard Gasana, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Rwanda to the UN and Minister in Charge of Cooperation
  • H.E. Mr. Téte António, Permanent Observer of the African Union to the UN
  • H.E. Ms. Samantha Power, Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the UN
  • Moderator: Ms. Cristina Gallach, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, UN Department of Public Information
  For more information on the 2015 event please click here
  To download PDF of the Programme click here

Annual Commemoration of the Rwanda Genocide

7 Apr 2015 - Special event on the occasion of the twenty-first commemoration of the Rwanda genocide (7 April)
co-organized by the Permanent Mission of Rwanda and the Department of Public Information

Press Releases :

• 07 April 2015 Reflecting on Rwanda, Ban urges courage ‘to counter the cruelty taking place before our eyes’
• 19 March 2015 ISIL may have committed genocide, war crimes in Iraq, says UN human rights report