Rwanda : 30 Years After Genocide

Commemoration activities to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1994 genocide will kick-off on Sunday, April 7, 2024 in the Rwandan capital Kigali. The genocide, a mass slaughter orchestrated by Hutu extremists against the Tutsi minority over 100 bloody days. More than 800,000 men, women and children, mainly ethnic Tutsis but also moderate Hutus, were killed in the murderous onslaught that saw families and friends turn against each other in one of the darkest episodes of the late 20th century. Ahead of the commemoration, U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said, “We will never forget the victims of this genocide. Nor will we ever forget the bravery and resilience of those who survived, whose courage and willingness to forgive remain a burst of light and hope amidst this dark chapter in human history.”             
Thirty years after the event, tens of thousands of Rwandans have been convicted, hundreds more suspects are still at large, and several dozen of whom are living in Europe, mainly in France or in former colonial power Belgium. In 1996, Rwanda started trying genocide suspects two years after the genocide. On a single day in April 1998, 22 convicted killers were executed by firing squad. Rwanda abolished the death penalty in 2007, lifting the main obstacle for extradition of genocide suspects to Rwanda for trial. Nearly two million people passed through Rwandan village "gacaca" courts, in which attackers faced their victims. To help foster reconciliat...