Speech by Amb. Emmanuel Hategeka at Kwibuka29 in UAE

Your Excellency Dr. Fahad Al Taffaq- Director General of Africa Affairs Department at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation representing UAE Government.

Excellency Ambassadors, Consuls General, and all members of the Diplomatic Corps,

Heads and representatives of friendly organisations here present,

Esteemed Friends of Rwanda, religious leaders,

Fellow Rwandans, ladies and gentlemen, all protocol observed.

Good afternoon.

On behalf of the Government of Rwanda and on my own behalf, I would like to thank you and to appreciate everyone in attendance for your solidarity as we gather here in Dubai to honor and remember over one million people that were killed–for who they were in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda 29 years ago.

Under the theme “Remember, Unite and Renew”, we continue the one hundred days of remembrance that started on April 7. We remember our loved ones whose lives and dreams were cut short in the most gruesome ways at the hands of an extremist led Government at the time. Every year that passes, we take this moment to honor the victims and comfort the survivors. We reflect on the root causes of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and collectively try to draw lessons with a view to prevent similar occurrences anywhere in the future.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

The 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi was neither an accident nor a coincidence, but rather the culmination of a long-term extermination agenda.

For those not familiar with Rwanda’s history, the seeds of hate and divisionism in Rwanda were sowed under the infamous colonial divide-and-rule policy slowly entrenching a distorted national identity with social classes becoming ethnic groups and some calling it tribes in a once one nation where all spoke one language and shared the same culture. It was amplified by the two successive regimes post-independence in the 1960s, targeting one group-the Tutsi. Discrimination became the order of the day as leaders turned citizens against each other through systematic sensitization.

As part of testing the genocidal plan, many Tutsi families were forced to exile without the right to return. Scores were killed on many occasions from 1959 up to the climax of the 1994 Genocide. The targeted group was dehumanized as worthless, termed cockroaches and snakes, and branded national enemies to legitimize their total extermination without sparing even babies.

Thousands of militiamen – the majority of them youths - were trained and equipped to become killing machines that could wipe away thousands of Tutsis in a single day.

From April 7, 1994 until the time the genocide was stopped, days were long and nights were short for survivors. They went through an agonizing ordeal of seeing family members killed and being hunted with no place to hide.   Perpetrators looted, raped, and killed the Tutsi without sparing children and pregnant women.

The testimony we heard from Grace gives a glimpse of what survivors went through, not to mention that some families were wiped to extinction, without anyone left to tell the tale. Every day, thousands were dying across the country. Specifically on this single date of May 13th in 1994, over 30,000 Tutsi were massacred. They had tried to resist for weeks but were in the end outnumbered by killers.

Excellencies, dear compatriots,

Today, we still see some groups of deniers and revisionists, at times masquerading as experts who continue to spread false narratives with the aim to distort history.

Today, bells of hate speech continue to ring in different parts of the African continent and the world. That is the precursor to the worst humanity could face. Its time as nations, we revisit our commitment to the principle of Responsibility to Protect calling the international community to ensure that war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity are halted before escalation.  

The 29th commemoration of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi should serve as a wake-up call to counter genocide denial with unity and full resolve.

Officiating the start of the 29^th Commemoration in Rwanda, His Excellency President Paul Kagame on April 7, 2023 had this to say. I quote. “Genocide denial is a dangerous and deliberate attempt to block the truth. We must fight revisionist ideologies because they are easily passed on from generation to generation. We must fight denial because that is how history repeats itself.” End of quote.

It is imperative that the international community works together to prevent and fight these grave signals to avoid a repeat of history. Bringing to book genocide fugitives is equally unfinished work that necessitates international collaboration. Rwanda has so far issued 1148 indictments and international arrest warrants, out of which only less than 100 individuals have been tried, transferred, or deported to Rwanda for justice.

We call upon all nations to spare no efforts to apprehend all genocide suspects still at large.  We also call upon nations to put in place laws that criminalize genocide ideology and to collaborate in the fight against denial and revisionism of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

Genocide denial is traumatic to survivors and all who know what we went through as a country. Denial is the last stage of genocide preparation by those who plan and execute the human atrocities. By moving freely in foreign countries, genocide offenders continue to evade justice and spread misinformation. These fugitives must be brought to book wherever they are.

Excellencies, friends, dear compatriots,

Modern-day Rwanda came from a devastated state in 1994 - with a blighted socioeconomic and political fabric- to a united, continuously developing country with a promising future.

We had to make very difficult choices along the way. We thank the sacrifices of selfless survivors who gifted us with forgiveness and opened up to reconciliation. We pay tribute to the selfless men and women led by President Paul Kagame that fought the genocidal regime and stopped the genocide against the Tutsi.  

Treasuring and digging deep into our homegrown solutions has been essential in overcoming existential threats while strengthening Rwanda’s ability to prosper, embrace opportunities and navigate through hurdles of the changing world.

As my President, H.E Paul Kagame said during the National Commemoration event on April 7 in Kigali, I quote “So, Rwanda has transformed itself. Unity, being together, is the foundation of everything we try to do. From the beginning, we understood the need to cultivate and preserve a spirit of “oneness” to give us hope for a better future.”

To all fellow Rwandans especially the youth, the responsibility lies on all of us to preserve the memory, safeguard and accelerate the progress of our country. The youth need to immerse in Rwanda’s history and transformation philosophy to be true light-bearers as we look to a future that leaves no one behind and where never again is indeed never again.

To partners, we recognize your hand in Rwanda’s social economic transformation journey.  Rwanda is open to you and needs your continued partnership and collaboration for a shared better future.

I thank you for your kind attention.