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 2
Tuesday, 7 April 2026, 10:00am
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Your Excellency Ambassador Ernest Rwamucyo, High Commissioner of the Republic of Rwanda to the Republic of Kenya;
Your Excellency Ambassador Beyene Russom, Ambassador of the State of Eritrea to Kenya and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Kenya;
Your Excellency Ambassador Dennis Gathogo Mburu, Deputy Director-General, African Affairs Directorate, Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Kenya;
Your Excellency Archbishop Hubertus Van Megen, Apostolic Nuncio to Kenya;
Sheikh Badru Jaffar Swaleh;
Dr. Innocent Butare, Chairman, Rwanda Community in Kenya;
Under-Secretary-General AnaClaudia Rossback, Executive Director, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat);
Mr. Serge Rwigamba, genocide survivor;
Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Colleagues, Friends of Rwanda, Students, Members of the Rwandan Community in Kenya, 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:
“Thirty-two years ago, Rwanda endured one of the darkest chapters in human history. In just 100 days, more than a million people were murdered – primarily Tutsi, but also Hutu and others who opposed the genocide. Entire families were brutally erased.
On the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda, we mourn the victims and honour their stolen dignity. We pay tribute to the survivors, whose resilience shows the strength of the human spirit. And we recall, with humility and shame, the international community’s failure to heed warnings and take immediate lifesaving action.
It’s not enough to remember the dead. We must learn from past failures and protect the living – by rejecting hatred, inflammatory rhetoric and incitement to violence; by investing in the social fabric to deepen community resilience; and by strengthening institutions that help prevent mass atrocities. I call on all countries to become parties to the Genocide Convention without delay – and to implement it fully.
The United Nations stands with the people of Rwanda. And we stand with all those, everywhere, who refuse to surrender our future to fear, division, or silence.
Let this day reaffirm our commitment to remember, to listen, and to act. With history as our guide, and the prevention of genocide as our goal.”
End of quote.
Thank you. Asanteni sana.