The Minister of Justice Emmanuel Ugirashebuja, has warned that rising violence and hate speech targeting Tutsi communities in DR Congo echo the patterns that preceded the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. He said this on February 23 during the Durban 25 session in Geneva, held under the theme “How impunity for hate speech fuels cycles of violence and regional instability.” ALSO READ: Rwanda proposes regional front against hate speech, impunity “Rwanda has a very strong stance against hate speech and genocide-related rhetoric because of our history,” he said. Ugirashebuja said the Genocide against the Tuts was largely driven by media-fueled propaganda and hate speech. That tragic experience shaped Rwanda’s legal and social framework today, he added. He stressed that hate speech is not just offensive words. “It is a precursor to violence when it dehumanizes or targets groups.” “Genocide, including the Genocide against the Tutsi, is never a spontaneous event. It is meticulously planned and unfolds over years, preceded by conditioning factors such as hate speech and genocide ideology.” Ugirashebuja said Rwanda’s tragic history began long before 1994, with the Hutu Manifesto in 1957 and the Hutu Ten Commandments in 1959 paving the way for genocide. Today, similar patterns are emerging in our region. The failure of the international community to heed early warnings continues to fuel these tragedies, he said. ALSO READ: How international community abetted Genocide Against Tutsi He also noted that warnings before the 1994 genocide, including those from UN Special Rapporteur René Degni-Ségui and UNAMIR Force Commander Gen Roméo Dallaire, were ignored despite alerts that the Tutsi were at risk of extermination. “These failures underscore the tragic consequences of inaction.” The Minister noted that Rwanda has enacted laws criminalizing genocide ideology, denial, and hate speech, and that the goal is to prevent genocide ideology before it escalates into violence. The former UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, said the Genocide against the Tutsi did not begin with physical weapons but with words through radio broadcasts, newspapers and organised propaganda that dehumanised Tutsi for decades. She said many people accused of genocide remain free in DR Congo and elsewhere, continuing to spread anti-Tutsi ideologies and dehumanizing narratives. “Genocide denial is not an abstract intellectual exercise. It undermines accountability, re-traumatizes survivors, and weakens the normative barriers that protect vulnerable communities.” “When we examine the rhetoric that preceded the genocide against the Tutsi in 1994 and compare it to rhetoric targeting Congolese Tutsi today, the similarities are deeply concerning,” she added. ALSO READ: South Kivu: AFC/M23 warns of “imminent genocide” against Banyamulenge civilians Belgian lawyer Bernard Maingain, who has worked extensively on genocide ideology in eastern DR Congo, warned that ongoing hate speech and violence in the region reflect a deep and persistent problem. Maingain explained that a group of lawyers, including himself, launched a campaign to the General Prosecutor and the International Tribunal regarding the hate speech Congolese army spokesperson Maj Gen Sylvain Ekenge made on national television (RTNC) on December 27, targeting Tutsi women and families, placing it in its historical context. “All these cases have been presented before courts without any consequence or effect. We are seeing propagators of hate speech receiving positive echoes from authorities,” Maingain said. “While these speeches of hatred are not being combated, there will be consequences,” he warned.
