Nduhungirehe urges UN action against hate speech, atrocities in Great Lakes

Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Olivier Nduhungirehe, has urged the United Nations to act more decisively against hate speech and warning signs of atrocities in the Great Lakes Region, stressing that the credibility of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) framework depends on timely and consistent action. The Minister made the appeal on Tuesday, September 23, during a ministerial meeting on R2P, convened on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly in New York. ALSO READ: UN 'is falling into trap of ethnicising DR Congo situation' - Amb. Ngoga Nduhungirehe's appeal comes as communities in eastern DR Congo, especially the Tutsi, have been targeted by ethnic violence and extermination threats, with experts and politicians warning that the situation mirrors the lead up to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. The ethnic violence in eastern DR Congo is driven in part by the presence of the Kinshasa-backed FDLR, a group founded by remnants of the perpetrators of the Genocide against the Tutsi. ALSO READ: Former Congolese minister condemns genocidal threats against Banyamulenge in South Kivu The Rwandan minister noted the importance of the R2P doctrine, which is a global political commitment adopted by the UN to shield populations from mass atrocity crimes, including genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing. It places the primary responsibility on states to protect their own populations, but also mandates collective international action when necessary, through the UN Security Council if a state fails to uphold that duty. Although R2P was unanimously endorsed at the 2005 World Summit, Nduhungirehe observed that two decades later, its three pillars namely the responsibility of states, the role of international assistance and capacity building, and the imperative of timely and decisive responses, are faltering in practice. “These exchanges are not merely academic, they are part of our collective responsibility to prevent genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity,” Nduhungirehe said. “Rwanda knows more than most the cost of inaction. We have long argued that good governance, inclusive politics and the fight against discrimination are the bedrock of prevention. Yet in the Great Lakes region today, we see once again the rise of hate speech, identity-based violence and a fast-spreading genocide ideology warning signs we cannot afford to ignore.” ALSO READ: ‘Witnessing Genocide was no privilege,’ say former UN peacekeepers in Rwanda He noted that such warning signs are rarely abrupt, but grow out of “structural injustices, deliberate manipulation of identity and political expediency,” adding that it is unacceptable for the international community to remain paralyzed, “issuing statements while buying into fabricated narratives that invert the roles of victims and perpetrators.” ALSO READ: Rwanda slams UN report for misrepresenting FDLR security threat Nduhungirehe warned that if R2P is to retain credibility, it must not be applied selectively or undermined by misinformation. “The Great Lakes region demonstrates the urgent need to situate R2P within historical realities and cultural contexts. Addressing root causes, land disputes, exclusion, statelessness and historical injustice must be a political priority or else warning signs will once again be ignored until it is too late.” ALSO READ: DR Congo crosses 'red line' by accusing Rwanda of genocide, says envoy to UN Rwanda, which hosts some 100, 000 Congolese refugees, has on multiple occasions highlighted the need to address the root causes of the three-decade conflict in eastern DR Congo. Nduhungirehe argued that the world should not sit and watch when countries have failed in their responsibility to protect their citizens. “Sovereignty must be understood as a responsibility, not a shield for inaction. When states fail to protect their own populations, the legitimacy of international action should not be in question. Lives lost because of our hesitation in the name of sovereignty are lives betrayed by the very UN Charter we swore to uphold,” he said. While acknowledging progress, including the establishment of the Office on Genocide Prevention and R2P, the adoption of hate speech counter-frameworks, and the creation of early warning tools, Nduhungirehe said glaring gaps remain. “R2P will be judged not by the eloquence of our debate, but by whether it prevents the next mass atrocity. Rwanda therefore proposes concrete actions,” he stated. 'Hate speech is not free speech' He called for the strengthening of early warning into early action, stressing that the UN must act upon credible reports of mass atrocities with preventive diplomacy instead of waiting for mass graves. He urged institutionalized accountability for hate speech, noting that media and other actors who incite violence should be condemned and denied support, because “hate speech is not free speech when it lays the foundation for genocide.” The Minister reaffirmed Rwanda’s commitment to upholding R2P. “R2P is not an abstract principle, it is a solemn promise,” he said, underscoring Rwanda’s call for a renewed global compact to foster a culture of prevention, counter dangerous narratives, and act early before lives are lost.

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Nduhungirehe urges UN action against hate speech, atrocities in Great Lakes