A tragedy of unfathomable proportions took place twenty-nine years ago. A genocide, which is a form of violence that is incited by hate speech that is directed at minority communities, took place in Rwanda over the course of one hundred days of horror. During this time, hundreds of thousands of Tutsi were massacred.
Those Hutu and Twa who had the courage to speak out against these atrocities were also put to death.
Today, we join the people of Rwanda as they pause during Kwibuka, which is a period of mourning that lasts for 100 days and is meant to express grief for the loss of innocent lives. We are here to show the survivors of these awful atrocities that we stand with them. We recognize and applaud the bravery of those individuals who stepped up and spoke out in an effort to end to murdering, fear, and hatred.
As part of my career in the Foreign Service, I have had the opportunity to work in Rwanda as a regional refugee coordinator in 1994, which was the year that the Rwandan genocide began. When looking back over the past few decades, it is astounding to contemplate the enormous progress that the people of Rwanda have made.
The USA is happy to support the efforts of people and Rwanda government to overcome the awful legacy left behind by one of the darkest periods in the annals of human history. We applaud Rwanda for making the decision to seek justice for the victims, which not only helped the community recover from the most severe of wounds but also contributed to the reconciliation of the country as a whole.
As we take a stand against hatred, let us also reaffirm our dedication to the United Nations Charter in order to ensure that mass atrocities of the scale of these will never happen again.
