{{27 January 2014

Your Excellency John Ashe, President of the General Assembly of the United Nations;

Your Excellency Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations;
Excellencies Permanent Representatives to the United Nations;
Dr. Gerald Caplan;
Ms. Immaculée Ilibagiza;
Dear compatriots and friends of Rwanda;
Ladies and Gentlemen;}}

Let me, at the outset; express my gratitude to all of you for being here with us today, to officially launch, at the UN, the 20th Commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

I also take this opportunity to thank the UN Department of Public Information for its invaluable partnership with the Mission of Rwanda in the organization of this event.

This year, the commemorative period is longer than usual. “Kwibuka20”, which means “20th Commemoration” in our national language, was officially launched in Kigali on 7th January this year.

It is a three-month series of events, organized in Rwanda and in different capitals around the world, which will lead to the 100-day mourning period, starting on 7th April 2014 and ending on 4th July 2014.

The launch of Kwibuka20 was marked by the lighting of Urumuri Rutazima; the Flame of Remembrance, which symbolizes the inextinguishable spirit, resilience and courage of Rwandans over the past twenty years and beyond.

This flame is now travelling through the thirty (30) Districts of Rwanda, during ninety (90) days, and will return to Kigali for the official start of the commemoration, on 7th April.

{Ladies and Gentlemen,}

The theme for this twentieth commemoration is a threefold motto: Remember – Unite – Renew. And we would wish to share this reflection not only with our fellow Rwandans, but also with friends of Rwanda and the larger international community.

We remember.

We remember a million souls, slain during hundred days of horror, for the only crime of being born Tutsi.

We remember brave women and men, who were massacred for upholding the dignity of mankind, by protecting the oppressed and opposing the evil.

We remember and honour women and girls, sexually abused, deformed and most of them infected with incurable diseases.

And we remember and support the orphans, deprived of happiness, childhood and education, and prematurely thrown in the adult life.

We unite.

We unite as Rwandans, a people that share a single culture, a single language and a single history, to defy the artificial divide caused by colonialists and by bad governance,

We unite because we proclaimed “Never Again” and “Not In My Name”, we unite to turn a dark page of our history and to shape a bright future for next generations.

We unite to restore our dignity and to build, altogether, a country free of genocide, mass atrocities, discrimination and hate,

And we unite because we want to show the world that reconciliation and brotherhood are the only viable path to stability and prosperity.

We renew.

We renew as an ancient nation, created by Gihanga – fore founder of Rwanda – a millennium ago, destroyed two decades ago and reborn from ashes.

We renew, as a country that chose not only to recover and rebuild, but also to be self-reliable, striving to be a model of excellence in socio-economic development, uplifting citizens and protecting our planet.

And we renew because we want to share our experience and learn from others’, with a view to building a better world.

{Ladies and Gentlemen,}

Dr Gregory Stanton, a renowned Research Professor in Genocide Studies and Prevention, who wrote a book on the eight (8) stages of genocide, listed genocide denial as the eighth stage of a genocide, which comes after extermination.

Rwanda is experiencing this stage, where genocide perpetrators and their henchmen continue, through speeches and acts, to deny the occurrence of the 1994 genocide committed against the Tutsi. They refer to the name that the UN usually uses for this genocide – “Rwandan genocide” – has become the basis of their argument.

According to them, the fact that the UN calls it such, is enough evidence that this body does not recognize that a genocide was committed against the Tutsi. Indeed, deniers of all kinds, from the grassroots’ genocidaires to some scholars, continue to refer to “Rwandan genocide” as the basis for their denial.

As we move on in rebuilding the chattered lives of survivors and in implementation of our unity and reconciliation programs, we endeavour to protect survivors from unnecessary hurt. We therefore call on all member states – all of you – to support in the fight against this stage of genocide against the Tutsi – genocide denial – by denying these merciless criminals any chance to hurt their victims.

And for this twentieth commemoration, we will introduce, in both the General Assembly and the Security Council, draft resolutions to honour the memory of the victims and stress on the need to prevent genocide and other crimes against humanity.

{Ladies and gentlemen,}

The irony of our history is that during the genocide in 1994, Rwanda was sitting in the Security Council. Twenty years later, Rwanda is back in the same seat. While the Transitional Government of April-July 1994 was misguiding the Security Council in New York and committing genocide back home, the current Government of National Unity, backed by painful lessons learned from the past, is committed to fight against genocide ideology, to fight against impunity and has embraced the responsibility to prevent and protect.

Indeed, Rwanda, as member of the Security Council, is more than ever resolved to prevent the world from conflicts, genocide and mass atrocities, and is committed to protect civilians under the threat of extermination.

As a result of the experience of Rwanda, we feel a moral obligation to participate as vigorously as possible in activities, such as UN peacekeeping operations that increase protections for civilians in armed conflict.

Today, twenty years after the Genocide, Rwanda is the sixth major troops and police contributing country to the UN Missions around the globe.

The Rwanda Defense Forces, which stopped the genocide in Rwanda, are now committed to protect civilians in Darfur, South Sudan and in other conflict theatres in the world, the most recent being the Central African Republic where our troops in MISCA are working tirelessly in opening the humanitarian corridors and robustly intervening to save human lives.

{Ladies and gentlemen,}

I could not end my statement without paying tribute to Mr Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General, for his tireless efforts in the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities.

Beyond his daily action on all fronts, from the Central African Republic to Syria, through Somalia and South Sudan, the Secretary General has also appointed a Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide and a Special Adviser for the Responsibility to Protect, in a long-term effort to assisting the community of nations in putting in place effective early warning mechanisms.

I also express my gratitude to Mr. John Ashe, President of the General Assembly, for bringing all member States together under the Post-2015 Development Agenda, as well as on thematic debates such as “Ensuring peaceful and stable societies” and “Contributions of Human Rights and the Rule of Law in the post-2015 Development Agenda”, scheduled in April and June, respectively. Rwanda will continue to stand firm with the PGA and forge a bright future for generations to come; a future without war and genocide, a future with hope, wealth and prosperity.

In closing, it is imperative to remember to honour the lives of our loved ones. We need to look back to realize how far we have come to be able to draw lessons from the past while standing together to chart a new narrative.

The experience acquired over time should be championed to meet the challenges of our current situation. There is no way we can erase the past, but we have the power to prepare a decent future for our people.

That is what lies at the root of our enlightened leader’s inspiration and motto: H.E Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda in his wise words, I quote, “we cannot turn the clock back nor can we undo the harm caused, but we have the power to determine the future and to ensure that what happened never happens again.”

I once again invite all of you to remember, unite and renew, by speaking and acting against hate, against racism, against anti-Semitism, against discrimination, against mass atrocities, and against the crime of crimes – genocide.

I thank you for your kind attention.

Author is :{Minister of State in charge of Cooperation and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Rwanda to the United Nations}