International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda

Remarks of Mrs. Zainab Hawa Bangura, Under-Secretary-General and Director-General of United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) on the  

International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against 

the Tutsi in Rwanda 
 

UNON Conference Room 1 
Monday, 7 April 2025, 10:30am 

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Your Excellency Ambassador Dennis Mburu, Deputy Director-General, Africa Affairs Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs and Representative of the Government of Kenya;  

Your Excellency Ambassador Martin Ngoga, High Commissioner of the Republic of Rwanda;  
 

Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Colleagues, Friends of Rwanda, Members of the Rwandan Community in Kenya, Students, 

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

Good morning. 

I would like to warmly welcome you to the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) for another commemoration ceremony of the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda. 

 
It is now my honour, as is customary, to read the message of the UN Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres, which is dedicated to this day. I quote: 

“Today we mourn the one million children, women and men slaughtered in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.  

This appalling chapter in human history was not a spontaneous frenzy of horrendous violence. It was intentional, premeditated and planned -- including through hate speech that inflamed division, and spread lies and dehumanization. The overwhelming majority of victims were Tutsi, but also Hutu and others who opposed the genocide. 

As we recall how these crimes came about, we must also reflect on resonance with our own times.   

These are days of division. The narrative of “us” versus “them” is ascendant, polarizing societies. Digital technologies are being weaponized to further inflame hate, stoke division, and spread lies.  

We must learn from the terrible history of the genocide in Rwanda, and act to stem the tide of hate speech, stop disunity and discontent mutating into violence, uphold human rights, and ensure accountability. 

I urge all States to deliver on commitments made in the Global Digital Compact to tackle online falsehoods and hate, to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law, and to become parties to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide without delay. 

On this day of remembrance, let’s commit to be vigilant and to work together to build a world of justice and dignity for all – in honour of all the victims, and survivors of the genocide in Rwanda.”   

End of quote. Thank you. Asanteni sana.