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António Guterres joined a gathering of survivors, diplomats, and representatives from civil society in the UN General Assembly Hall for the annual memorial event, reflecting on the profound loss incurred during what many describe as a “chilling chapter in human history.” This occasion also serves as a commitment to ensuring that such atrocities are never repeated.
Guterres emphasized the rapid and terrifying progression of the genocide, which unfolded over a mere 100 days starting from April 7, 1994. Throughout this period, approximately one million individuals, including children, women, and men, were brutally murdered. Although the majority of the victims were Tutsi, many Hutu and others who opposed the genocide also faced execution.
Collective Failure to Act
“This was not a spontaneous frenzy of horrendous violence,” Guterres remarked in his address. “It was intentional. It was premeditated. It was planned, driven by hate speech that incited division and dehumanized countless individuals. It stemmed from a collective failure to act.”
Philémon Yang, the President of the UN General Assembly, echoed these sentiments by lamenting the global inaction leading up to and during the genocide. “Despite early warnings and evident signs of an impending calamity, the world remained passive as the killing rampaged on,” he stated. “Governments engaged in debates while urgent pleas for assistance went unanswered, ultimately resulting in lost lives.”
Yang urged the global community to reflect on whether sufficient lessons have been learned from the past. “Have we truly understood the lessons from this tragedy? Are we doing enough to prevent the recurrence of such atrocities, or are they occurring even as we speak?”
Testimony of Survival
Global health researcher and author Germaine Tuyisenge Müller shared her poignant story of survival during the genocide. At just nine years old, she experienced the horrors that engulfed her country while living in the capital, Kigali, with her mother, aunt, and two young cousins. Her three siblings were visiting relatives at the time.
“Our country was plunged into unimaginable horror,” Tuyisenge Müller recounted. “Families were ripped apart; children were murdered, including the unborn; women were raped before the eyes of their loved ones; entire communities were annihilated simply for being Tutsi.”
In her quest for safety, she suffered the agony of separation from her family and was often inundated with news of deaths. For two months, she took refuge alone in an abandoned house, surviving on a meager diet of powdered milk and rainwater. It would be seven long months before she reunited with her mother, who had sustained gunshot wounds during the early days of the genocide.
By then, her mother and aunt were sheltering with thirteen extended family members, including her grandmother, who had fled after losing her husband.
Remembrance and Resilience
“Today, I share this testimony in memory of the more than one million lives lost during the genocide,” stated Tuyisenge Müller. “I also speak for the survivors: for our resilience, our strength, and our unwavering commitment to remembrance. Thirty-one years later, we continue to uphold this truth despite the rising tides of genocide denial and historical revisionism.”
In his remarks, Guterres acknowledged Rwanda’s remarkable progress toward reconciliation, healing, and justice since the genocide. However, he reinforced the idea that no society is entirely immune to hatred and violence.
Lessons for Today
Guterres pushed for reflection on the warning signs that foreshadowed these crimes and urged consideration of how they relate to contemporary society. “We see a growing narrative of ‘them’ versus ‘us’ that is dividing communities both in the Great Lakes region and globally,” he cautioned. He remarked on the increasing misuse of digital technologies to propagate hate and misinformation.
He identified a disturbing proliferation of racism, misogyny, and genocide denial within online spaces, stating, “We see conspiratorial narratives, falsehoods, and deep fakes spreading with alarming speed.” Guterres stressed the imperative to combat hate speech and prevent societal divisions from evolving into violence.
The UN Secretary-General called for the international community to unite in efforts to counteract hatred and injustice, urging nations to fully implement the Global Digital Compact, which establishes commitments to address the spread of misinformation and hate.
“Above all, we must all take action to prevent human rights violations and hold those responsible accountable,” he declared. He also appealed to countries to sign the Genocide Convention and to uphold their responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity.
Source
news.un.org