United Nations Office at Geneva, Kwibuka30 commemoration.
Kwibuka 30 - On 15 April, the United Nations Office at Geneva will commemorate the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda 2024, which was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2003. The date marks the beginning of the genocide perpetrated against members of the Tutsi minority by the Hutu extremist-led government. Within just over 100 days, more than 1 million Tutsi were systematically murdered.
Kwibuka 30 - On 15 April, the United Nations Office at Geneva will commemorate the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide agai
This photo essay is based on an exhibition marking the 30th anniversary of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, which began on 7 April 1994. It explores the landscape of each of these four sites through the lens of one person’s experience at each location.
Commissioned by UNESCO, this exhibition was created in 2024 by the Aegis Trust, which runs the Kigali Genocide Memorial on behalf of Rwanda’s Ministry of National Unity and Civic Engagement.
International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda
Commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda
In 2023, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee added four genocide memorial sites in Rwanda to the list of World Heritage Sites: Nyamata, Muramb
Statement of the U.N. Secretary-General on the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda - 29th Anniversary.
On this International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda, we mourn the more than one million children, women, and men who perished in one hundred days of horror 29 years ago.
We honour the memory of the victims – the overwhelming majority Tutsi, but also Hutu and others who opposed the genocide.
We pay tribute to the resilience of the survivors.
We recognize the journey of the Rwandan people towards healing, restoration, and reconciliation.
And we remember – with shame – the failure of the international community.
A generation since the genocide, we must never forget what happened – and ensure future generations always remember.
How easily hate speech – a key indicator of the risk of genocide – turns to hate crime.
How complacency in the face of atrocity is complicity.
And how no place, and no time is immune to danger – including our own.
Preventing genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other serious violations of international law is a shared responsibility.
It is a core duty of every member of the United Nations.
Together, let us stand firm against rising intolerance.
Let us be ever vigilant – and always ready to act.
And let us truly honour the memory of all Rwandans who perished by building a future of dignity, security, justice, and human rights for all.
Ensure that such an atrocity can never happen again – in Rwanda or elsewhere.
‘Remember’ is a translation of Kwibuka in Kinyarwanda, Rwanda’s national language. It describes the annual commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Kwibuka is also a time to learn about Rwanda’s story of reconciliation and nation building. The national commemoration of the genocide begins on 7 April every year.
29th Anniversary of the Genocide against the Tsuti in Rwanda.
COMMEMORATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF REFLECTION ON THE 1994 GENOCIDE AGAINST THE TUTSI IN RWANDA.
Thursday 13 April 2023.
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.
International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda
Particularity of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
A big number of people were killed in a few days, people killed their relatives. Traditional weapons: clubs, hoes and others were used to torture the victims.
