Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda
IRMCT Principals’ Joint Message – Genocide Commemoration on 7 April 2020
On this International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) remembers the men, women and children who were massacred by Hutu extremists during the 100 bloody days of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
Twenty-six years have now passed since those darkest of times, during which over 800,000 people lost their lives. This year, in the context of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the IRMCT joins the Rwandan National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG) in its Commemoration events in Rwanda by remote means, through messages on the IRMCT website and social media channels. Read more...
Today, 7 April 2020 marks twenty-six years since the commencement of the
killings. On this day, we the Principals of the IRMCT, on behalf of all of its
Judges and staff, mourn the victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi in
Rwanda. We honour those who survived, and acknowledge their resilience and
determination. We salute the courage of those who provided refuge to the
persecuted, often at the cost of their own lives.
We recall also that, between its establishment in 1994 by the United Nations
Security Council and its closure in 2015, the International Criminal Tribunal
for Rwanda (ICTR) established - through ground-breaking jurisprudence - that
the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda is a fact beyond dispute.
The IRMCT continues the vital work of the ICTR and the fight for justice
through, amongst other functions: prioritising the tracking, arrest and
prosecution of the eight remaining fugitives indicted by the ICTR; providing
support to the victims and witnesses who courageously came forward to testify
before the ICTR; and supervising the enforcement of sentences of persons
convicted by the ICTR.
Today, the IRMCT reaffirms its commitment to justice and its solidarity with
the people of Rwanda. We remember the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and
the lives lost. We acknowledge the necessity for continued vigilance to ensure
that the atrocities of 1994 are not forgotten or repeated. We continue to seek
justice for the wrongs of the past while recognising that reconciliation and
unity can and indeed must shape the future. We press forward with a renewed
commitment to resist those who seek to promote violence and bloodshed. We
reiterate the importance of standing together as one people, one world,
dedicated to building a future in which all humankind may live freely,
together and without the burden of hatred and fear.
Please join us on this International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide
against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
Timeline
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#IRMCT_Remembers 7 April 1994:
On this Day of Reflection, we remember that over 800,000 Tutsi were massacred by Hutu extremists during 100 bloody days in 1994. We observe this Day to recommit our fight against genocide and to remember the victims and survivors.
#IRMCTRemembers #Kwibuka26 #RwandaGenocide -
#IRMCT_Remembers 8 April 1994:
The Tutsi Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) launched its first major offensive, a significant event in the Commemoration of the #RwandaGenocide
#Kwibuka26 -
#IRMCT_Remembers 9 April 1994:
An Interim government was set up during the #RwandaGenocide with the appointment of Theodore Sindikubwabo as President and Jean Kambanda as Prime Minister.
#Kwibuka26 -
#IRMCT_Remembers 11 April 1994:
On this day in 1994 the International Red Cross presented its first estimate of killings. They concluded that 10,000 people had been killed.
#IRMCTRemembers #RwandaGenocide #Kwibuka26 -
#IRMCT_Remembers 12 April 1994:
26 years ago today, the Interim government fled Kigali and moved its headquarters to Murambi in Gitarama Prefecture.
#RwandaGenocide #Kwibuka26 -
#IRMCT_Remembers 14 April 1994:
Mass killings occurred in Kibeho (Gikongoro).
Several witnesses before the ICTR testified on the burning down of the Kibeho Church between 13 and 14 April 1994.
#RwandaGenocide #Kwibuka26 -
#IRMCT_Remembers 15 April 1994:
The massacre in Nyarubuye Roman Catholic Church. The ICTR Trial Chamber III found “that attackers attacked the refugees at the parish with grenades, guns and machetes up to about 7 p.m., killing, wounding and mutilating a number of them”.
#RwandaGenocide #Kwibuka26 -
#IRMCT_Remembers 16 April 1994:
The attack at the Mugonero Hospital of 16 April 1994. In several trials, the ICTR established facts about the crimes committed in this hospital by some of the persons accused before the Tribunal.
#RwandaGenocide #Kwibuka26 -
#IRMCT_Remembers 17 April 1994:
The 17 April 1994 Kibuye Church Massacre and the victims. Medical witnesses testified having examined 122 cadavers near the Catholic Church and Home St. Jean Complex in Kibuye.
#RwandaGenocide #Kwibuka26 -
#IRMCT_Remembers 18 April 1994:
IRMCT remembers the Kibuye Stadium Massacre of 18 April 1994 as Trial Chamber II found “the evidence indicates that the attackers’ tear gas, guns and grenades were used on 18 April and that the massacre continued on 19 April”.
#RwandaGenocide #Kwibuka26 -
#IRMCT_Remembers 20 April 1994:
IRMCT remembers the Butare University Hospital massacre as the ICTR received witness testimonies about the abduction and killing of 20 to 30 Tutsi refugees in the hospital, around the 20th of April 1994.
#RwandaGenocide #Kwibuka26 -
#IRMCT_Remembers 21 April 1994:
The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 912 demanding the cessation of hostilities between the forces of the Interim government and the Rwandese Patriotic Front. http://unscr.com/en/resolutions/912
#RwandaGenocide #Kwibuka26 -
#IRMCT_Remembers 30 April 1994:
1994 UNSC President recalls “killing of members of an ethnic group with the intention of destroying such a group in whole or in part constitutes a crime punishable under international law”.
#RwandaGenocide #Kwibuka26 -
#IRMCT_Remembers 13 May 1994:
IRMCT remembers 13 May 1994 Muyira Hill massacre. The ICTR found that on this date, “a large-scale attack occurred on Muyira hill against up to 40 000 Tutsi refugees”.
#RwandaGenocide #Kwibuka26 -
#IRMCT_Remembers 27 May 1994:
IRMCT remembers 27 May 1994, the date of the first extensive evacuation of displaced persons supervised by UNAMIR to assist those caught in the middle of the conflict
#RwandaGenocide #Kwibuka26 -
#IRMCT_Remembers 8 June 1994:
The UNSC adopted Resolution 925 noting with the gravest concern reports that acts of genocide occurred in Rwanda and that genocide constitutes a crime punishable under international law.
http://unscr.com/en/resolutions/925
#RwandaGenocide #Kwibuka26 -
#IRMCT_Remembers 4 July 1994:
IRMCT remembers 4 July 1994, marking the end of the Genocide. It is on this date that Rwanda celebrates Liberation Day. The IRMCT joins the people of Rwanda in celebrating the end of the annual period of national mourning.
#RwandaGenocide #Kwibuka26