NEW YORK, 13th April, 2024 (WAM) -- The UN renewed its commitment to never forget the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda during a candle lighting ceremony on Friday to mark 30 years since the horrific events there unfolded.
The commemoration in the General Assembly Hall was held to remember the victims and honour the survivors and those who tried to stop the genocide.
Focus was also on young people who have grown up in its shadow, and on countering hate speech which fuelled the killing and has become a growing global concern today.
“The genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda 30 years ago is a stain on our collective consciousness and a brutal reminder of the legacy of colonialism, and the consequences of hate speech,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in his opening remarks.
More than a million people - overwhelmingly Tutsi, but also Hutu and others who opposed the genocide - were slaughtered over 100 days, starting on 7th April 1994.