The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres had joined Rwanda in marking the 26th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. On Tuesday, April 7, Rwanda commenced a 100-day-long period of commemorating Genocide against the Tutsi in which over a million innocent lives were lost. The United Nations designated April 7 as an International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. “On this day, we honor those who were killed and we gain inspiration from the capacity of those who survived for reconciliation and restoration,” he noted in a televised address. More than 1 million people were systematically murdered in just 100 days during the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. We must never again let such an atrocity occur. We must say no to hate speech & xenophobia & reject the forces of polarization, nationalism & protectionism. pic.twitter.com/54LdvZTsTO — António Guterres (@antonioguterres) April 7, 2020 The UN chief added that such atrocities would never be allowed to occur again. He condemned all forms of conflicts such as hate speech, xenophobia, polarization, nationalism and protectionism. Guterres commended post-Genocide Rwanda as a demonstratable example of resilience and called for other nations to learn from it. “Rwanda has demonstrated that it is possible to rise from the ashes, to heal and to rebuild a stronger and more sustainable nation, let us take inspiration from the ongoing lesson of Rwanda,” he said. He suggested that to protect such atrocities from happening again, humanity should come first. “Only by recognizing that we are all one human family, sharing the same planet, we will be able to rise to the many global challenge that confront us, from COVID-19 to climate change,” he remarked.
