The Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC), Veronica Nduva, has warned that the region is currently witnessing signs reminiscent of those that preceded the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, despite efforts to prevent similar atrocities.
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She was speaking on Monday, April 7, as the EAC Secretariat in collaboration with Tanzanian local authorities in Arusha and Moshi , and the Rwandan community in Tanzania, marked the 31st commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
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According to Nduva, cases of hate speech, ethnic profiling, incitement to violence, disinformation, and dehumanization remain prevalent in parts of the region, largely attributed to governance deficits, and the proliferation of small arms.
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"The international community was widely warned about the looming danger of Genocide in Rwanda but, no action was the response. We turned our back on Rwanda,” she said.
"To prevent our region from ever experiencing such atrocities there is a need for enhanced coordination and synergies between national and regional partners in detection and response, including the pursuit of justice for the victims and the survivors.”
Nduva paid tribute to the more than a million innocent civilians killed in just 100 days.
At regional level, she said, an early warning centre had been established at the EAC headquarters, with supporting national centers already operational in four partner states and expansion efforts underway. Under Article 5 of the EAC Protocol on Peace and Security, Nduva urged partner states to establish a joint mechanism for genocide prevention and to take appropriate action against perpetrators.
"Sanctions, excessive measures, are not the solution. Let us not destroy a country that has been rebuilt with pain, blood, and tears,” Nduva added, referring to the ongoing security crisis in eastern DR Congo.
The commemoration event themed "Remember-Unite-Renew” was preceded by a walk to remember and laying of wreaths at the Commemoration monument at the EAC gardens as a tribute to the innocent lives lost in the 1994 Genocide.
30 years before and after
Speaking at the commemoration event, Alphonse Muleefu, a senior lecturer at University of Rwanda’s School of Law, maintained that the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi left Rwanda destroyed, bitterly divided, and traumatized.
He said: "There was a problem of criminal justice that was very slow, and the ideology of divisionism was rampant.
"Whereas more than 800,000 refugees that had fled into the United Republic of Tanzania were repatriated, about two million refugees in the then Zaire had been militarized. This caused the country to live under sporadic insurgencies,” he added.
Muleefu reiterated that Rwanda perseveres despite the continued existence of hate speech around the world and within the region.
This, he explained, undermines the fragile unity of Rwandans and social cohesion.
"It is important that we appreciate the fact that security is not only about the protection of territorial borders. It is also about the values of the people that make up a nation.”
Flavia Busingye, the Chairperson of the Rwandan Diaspora (Arusha and Moshi), pointed out that the Rwandan Diaspora plays an integral role in uniting Rwandans aboard with a focus on building the nation.