AU to Commemorate 1994 Rwandan Genocide at AU Headquarters

Addis Ababa , April 7/2022/ENA/ The African Union and the Permanent Mission of Rwanda to the African Union have jointly organized a commemoration of the 1994 genocide.

The commemoration planned to run over one hundred days starting from today to 3rd July 2022 under the theme: "Remember-Unite-Renew" will take place at the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa, according to a press release of the African Union.

The whole period up until end of June will be punctuated by a series of jointly organized activities, the release said.

A Peace and Security Council Session on “Prevention of the Ideology of hate, genocide and hate crimes in Africa’’ is also scheduled for May 2022.

Some other activities include an engagement with the African youth and women through the AU Youth for Peace Africa Programme and the AU Femwise-Africa network of women mediators and peacebuilders, to build on the "No Room for Hate Speech" campaign launched by the African Union on the 21st of September 2021 as part of the efforts to address growing threats to continental peace and security.

The occasion aimed to look at the past as well as the future, remember the lives lost, show solidarity with survivors and unite to ensure it never happens again in Rwanda or elsewhere in Africa and beyond, the release stressed.

It also aims to raise awareness on the dangers and consequences of hate speech, genocide and genocide denial. It is a call to action to prevent genocide ideology and hate speech in our communities and globally.

The commemoration provides a platform to learn about the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, its impact, and the country’s reconciliation and nation-building trajectory.

Expected participants in the main commemorative event are representatives of AU Member States, the Commission, the UN system, international partners, CSOs including think-tanks, religious institutions, the media and the public.

It is to be recalled that on the 29th of May 2000, a report of the Organization of African Unity  recognized the genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi in which more than one million Tutsi were massacred over just one hundred days.