In the news
On 7 April, Rwanda commemorated 31 years of the 1994 genocide. Rwandan President Paul Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame laid a wreath and lit the Flame of Remembrance, a symbolic fire that will burn for the next 100 days to remember the 100 days of slaughter. Kagame stated during the ceremony: “What didn’t kill us and finish us 31 years ago has hardened us, prepared us for the bad things that will always come. We will not die without a fight like last time.”
On the same day, UN Secretary General Antonio-Guterres, during the annual ceremony mourning the Rwandan genocide, commented: “It was intentional. It was premeditated. It was planned, including through the hate speech that inflamed division, and spread lies and dehumanization. And it was the product of a collective failure to act.”
The President of the UN General Assembly, Philémon Yang, added: “Despite early warnings, despite clear signs of impending catastrophe, the world stood by as the killing unfolded. Governments debated while cries for help went unanswered, while lives were lost. Today, as we reflect on our failure, we must ask: Have we truly learned from the past? Have we done enough to ensure that such atrocities never happen again? Or is it happening somewhere as we speak?”
Issues at large
First, a brief note on the genocide. On 7 April 1994, extremist Hutus started slaughtering moderate Hutus and ethnic Tutsis. The genocide began against the alleged involvement of the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) in the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana. The slaughter lasted for 100 days, killing more than 800,000 people. Through radios and newspapers, the Hutus spread the genocide propaganda under the phrase "weed out the cockroaches." Neighbours and families killed each other using machetes and small arms. Husbands killed their Tutsi wives out of fear. More than 15,000 women and girls were raped and kept as sex slaves. The genocide ended on 4 July 1994 when the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), backed by Uganda, captured territories and marched into the capital, Kigali.
Second, the truth and reconciliation process in Rwanda. The Gacaca (a community-based) courts played a major role in Rwanda’s truth and reconciliation process. They dealt with the crimes committed during the genocide and processed 1.9 million cases before concluding in 2012. The Gacaca Courts involved a decentralised approach encouraging the perpetrators to take accountability, confess their crimes, ask for forgiveness and make reparations. The second initiative was the Reconciliation Villages. In the Reconciliation Villages, the survivors and perpetrators live together to promote peaceful coexistence. Third, the genocide convicts (around 60,000) were reintegrated into society through the Itorero programme. Fourth, the idea of ‘Ndi Umunyarwanda,’ meaning ‘I am Rwandan’ spread the spirit of the national identity over the Hutu, Twa, and Tutsi ethnic identities.
Third, the regional ramifications. The post-genocide developments disrupted the fragile social systems in eastern DR Congo, triggering two Congo wars and continuing violent rebellions. The extremist Hutus who carried out the genocide and fled to eastern Congo formed an armed organization, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation Rwanda (FDLR). When the FDLR began receiving support from the Congolese government, hundreds of minority ethnic groups in eastern Congo began forming armed groups in defence against FDLR and each other. M23 is a Congolese Tutsi-led rebel group which, in January, took absolute control of North and South Kivu in eastern Congo. M23 is allegedly being supported by the Rwandan government to keep FDLR out of the country.
Fourth, international inaction and late acknowledgement. The UN and the Belgian forces were present in Rwanda during the genocide. The UN Mission to Rwanda (UNAMIR) was deployed in October 1993 to implement the Arusha Agreement to end the conflict between the RPF and the Rwandan government. The mission did not stop the killing as it did not have the mandate. The Belgian forces withdrew after ten soldiers were killed. The US, after its troops were killed in Somalia in 1993, was not interested in getting involved in another African conflict. France, an ally of the Hutu government (France had supported the Hutu-led government’s fight against the Tutsi-led RPF militia since 1990), evacuated its citizens and was accused of not doing enough to stop the violence. It was only in 2021, after 27 years, that French President Emmanuel Macron, for the first time, acknowledged its "overwhelming responsibility" for the genocide. In 1999, the UN acknowledged its failure to stop the genocide. Worse is the international reluctance to acknowledge the "G-word." It was the avoidance of a genocide determination that led to the international community's inaction in Rwanda.
In perspective
First, lessons learnt. 31 years into truth, justice and reconciliation, Rwanda took a right path and a great model of social reconstruction. The reconstructed society, enriched by economic stability and better lives, has encouraged Rwandan society to be less likely to hold onto past grievances. Besides, Rwandan society’s willingness to forgive and reconcile is a story of great lenience. While Ethiopia, Sudan, DRC and several other African countries drown into violent conflicts driven by decades of ethnic and communal animosities, domination and subordination, the Rwandan model is an inspiration of co-existence.
Second, lessons never learnt. Although the international community collectively agreed that early action could have prevented the Rwandan genocide, little has been done to achieve the "never again" promises and not to repeat the same mistakes. And the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) remain aspirational. While the international actors avoid using the 'g-word,' anyone with a conscience should feel that genocide and ethnic cleansing are synonyms. And genocides disguised in many other forms and terms are being repeated in Sudan, Gaza, and Ethiopia.