By the time of the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994, media in the West often portrayed Rwanda as consisting of warring tribes. But this was not so. Hutu and Tutsi and the smaller Twa minority have lived in Rwanda for many centuries. Hutu were largely agricultural people, Tutsi were mainly cattle herders and the Twa, hunter-gatherers.
As with all genocides, including the Holocaust, some people have attempted to deny the history of the genocide for their own ideological reasons. Such revisionist ideas reveal a hatred of the new unified Rwanda and seek to perpetuate ethnic stereotypes. Revisionists have used the media and academic institutions to promote views that have no basis in historical truth, and cause much hurt and anxiety to survivors of the killing.
In 2018, Rwanda enacted a law criminalizing the negationism (denial) and revisionism of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. This is similar to laws in six European countries against Holocaust denial. Some places where the genocide took place, like Nyamata Church, have signs outside them declaring that those who cannot accept the truth of the genocide should stay away.
Many of the leading planners, organisers, perpetrators and financiers are still living openly in Europe, North America and Africa. Some have used their freedom to set up organisations and websites that continue to spread genocidal views. It is important that the world continues to bring such people to account for their crimes in courts of law, however long this process may take.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) was established in Arusha, Tanzania following the United Nations Security Council resolution N° 955 of 8 November 1994 to try suspects for the crime of genocide against the Tutsi. From its opening in 1995 until December 2015 (20 years), the Court indicted 93 people. It sentenced 62 of the accused and acquitted 14, referring ten to national jurisdictions (including Rwanda) for trial. Two indictees died before judgement, two indictments were withdrawn before trial, and three fugitives were referred to the UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT).
The Mechanism was established by the UN Security Council on 22 December 2010 and carries out a number of functions of the former Tribunal.
The ICTR made important judgements in establishing rape as a crime of genocide, and sentencing those responsible for the ‘hate radio’ RTLM also for the crime of genocide and incitement to genocide.
A visitor to the Kigali Genocide Memorial views the permanent exhibition on the Genocide against the Tutsi. Situated beside mass graves in which 250,000 victims of the genocide are buried, the Memorial helps to counter denial and revisionism through education.
Opened in 2004, it was established by the Aegis Trust in conjunction with Kigali City Council. Aegis continues to run the Memorial on behalf of Rwanda’s Ministry of National Unity and Civic Engagement (MINUBUMWE).
Tens of thousands of people visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial each year, including government leaders from around the world.
uring and after the genocide, millions of Rwandans fled with the genocidal regime to neighbouring countries, such as Burundi, Tanzania and the DRC, where hundreds of thousands of refugees who fled the so-called 1959 revolution and subsequent targeted massacres went into exile. Now most of them have returned to their homeland, actively building the new Rwanda.
The Rwanda Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission (RDRC) was created by cabinet decision in 1997. It aims to ensure that all the ex- combatants are demobilized, and socially and economically reintegrated into their communities. Since then, over 25,000 ex-combatants and ex-FAR have repatriated. The programme contributes to fostering unity and reconciliation within Rwanda, and to poverty reduction in the country.
In the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, over 120,000 genocide suspects were imprisoned. By 1998, only 1,500 people had been tried for genocide-related crimes. It would have taken a classical justice system over 100 years to try all genocide-related cases.
With Gacaca Courts, which were officially closed in 2012, more than 1.9 million cases were completed, and a special centre in Kigali was subsequently established to house all the documentation and archives from the courts for researchers and those interested in the Gacaca process.
Gacaca Courts were a home-grown initiative derived from traditional practices whereby community courts emphasize restorative justice over purely retributive justice.
The suspects were encouraged to confess their crimes in exchange for reduced sentences or acquittal. Most offenders also had their prison sentences commuted to public works of general interest to the community which had a great impact. The Gacaca Courts:
The Rwanda Reconciliation Barometer 2020 report shows that the percentage of Rwandans who view themselves as Rwandans first before anything else has increased from 95.6% in 2015 to 98.2% in 2020, meaning that those who did not agree with that statement were 1.8% of the respondents.
“The most important resource of Rwanda is the people of Rwanda. That’s why we want to invest in healthcare systems and education, and why we made the choice to promote science and technology.
We are looking at how to modernize our agriculture and shift from that to other things.”
Rwanda is now firmly looking to the future with hope and hard work to overcome many decades of violence and suffering for its people. One of the key areas to tackle is poverty, which is seen as an obstacle to the success of many other policies – including unity and reconciliation. Many see the genocide as linked to the problem of poverty and ignorance. A 2005 survey showed 95% of Rwandans thought rampant poverty proved a great hindrance to reconstruction of unity and the social fabric.
Rwanda has undergone several development phases starting from the immediate post-genocide period which focused much on recovery; the early 2000s where Vision 2020 was elaborated, giving a blueprint for a new Rwanda embarking on economic development aspirations and post-2010, a period that intensified efforts to lay foundations for sustained growth through investing in human capital, developing basic infrastructure and expanding access to various services.
Rwanda’s rebuilding process has been based on three fundamental choices: unity, ambition, and accountability. The country has also undertaken reforms aimed at creating an inclusive and fair society which respects human rights and rule of law.
Survivor Apolonie Uwantege, outside the clinic where she joined the team in the wake of the genocide; just one of hundreds of thousands of professional women helping to build the new Rwanda.
The Genocide against the Tutsi brought much of the healthcare system to a halt in 1994. Since then, structural reforms have been undertaken to improve the Rwandan health system, including:
Kigali’s first five-star hotel, the Serena is part of a wave of modern building developments across the city.
Students from across the country interact with the President of the Republic of Rwanda, H.E. Paul Kagame, at an event held in Kigali.
Photo: Paul Kagame, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Education is a key part of enabling the next generation of Rwandans to achieve a unified and prosperous country. During the genocide many schools were burnt and destroyed. Some were even the scene of terrible massacres, while many teachers were killed or fled.
The restoration of the education system has been a priority. By 2003, the number of children attending primary schools had doubled to 1.5 million from 1994 numbers, while there was three times the increase for secondary school children. University numbers quadrupled. Classrooms and buildings have been rebuilt and enrolment rates are close to 90%. Yet many still drop out due to poverty or poor results, and initiatives are being set up to tackle these issues.
Education is essential to address genocide ideology in future generations, and to challenge ethnic division that may be fostered in some families. Equally schools are helping to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS and teach young people the value of Rwandan cultural and traditional values.
“Rwanda remains one of the poorest and most vulnerable countries in the African continent and in the world but it has realized that by basing its health financing systems on solidarity and fairness, it can move towards the universal coverage needed for its society to grow socially and economically.”
Adélio Antunes, health analyst, World Health Organization (WHO)
