Category: Blog

The arrest of Félicien Kabuga in the morning of 16 May 2020 in the Paris suburb of  Asnieres-sur-Seine in France was greeted in Rwanda and across the world with statements and headlines of jubilation and surprise. He was the most prominent fugitive accused of playing a central role in the genocide that targeted the Tutsi… Continue reading Financing a Genocide: What to Expect in Criminal Proceedings against Félicien Kabuga

The 1994 genocide against the Tutsis had devastating impacts including loss of approximately 1 million lives, destruction of economic and social infrastructure, Physical and psychological wounds and generally a social breakdown of social systems. These consequences entail intergenerational, psychosocial and psychological trauma that may exist for generations and also can contribute to future extreme violence.… Continue reading Wounds don’t heal; you just find coping mechanisms

There are many indications that human rights and international justice are not priorities for President Donald Trump’s administration. As Foreign Policy has reported, one of the likely victims of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s reorganization and cuts at the State Department is the Office of Global Criminal Justice. This is the office that would, in theory, advise him and other government… Continue reading Are State Department cuts a major setback for genocide prevention?

Insights from Aegis Trust Programmes Director, Anita Kayirangwa: Over the last week in Kigali, more than 100 experts from Rwanda and around the world met to examine best practice peace education. Throughout the three days of intense debate and discussion, participants heard from a wide variety of speakers who shared insights into what kind of… Continue reading The Path to Peace is Possible

Receiving Rwanda’s President in the Vatican on Monday, Pope Francis expressed ‘profound sadness’ over the genocide against the Tutsi and ‘implored anew God’s forgiveness for the sins and failings of the Church and its members, among whom [were] priests, and religious men and women who succumbed to hatred and violence, betraying their own evangelical mission’… Continue reading Genocide and the church: Pope’s call for forgiveness welcomed

Few would disagree that Rwanda’s progress in the post genocide period is credited to its unconventional approach to statecraft. That there was a heavy dose of trial and error especially in the early days and that gradually as success became predictable it removed whatever element of chance. And that in turn, this helped to build… Continue reading Rwanda’s model of democracy

In this extremely divisive political climate there seems to be fewer and fewer opportunities to find common ground. Nearly everything today is politicized and partisan. But there is one issue that should have no opposition, no reason why we cannot garner widespread bipartisan support. That issue is genocide prevention. Genocide is humanity’s worst crime. The… Continue reading Preventing genocide shouldn’t be a partisan issue

On Monday, March 20, news came that Pope Francis had apologised for the Catholic Church’s role in the 1994 Genocide against Tutsis. The deed followed President Paul Kagame’s visit to the Vatican where he reportedly compared notes with the Pontiff. Understandably, the gesture saw Rwandans hail the man of God for doing what his two… Continue reading Pope Francis seeking God’s forgiveness good but genocide survivors need more

The 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi saw the slaughter of more than one million people over the span of three months, and placed Rwanda at the forefront of the world’s political consciousness. Almost 23 years later, Rwanda has rebuilt and become a modern hub of progress and development, putting in place social, political and economic… Continue reading The 1994 Genocide as Taught in Rwanda’s Classrooms

Creativity and resilience: how do war survivors make international justice work for them? A disempowering judgment by the Special Court for Sierra Leone should not blind us to how local activists still made use of its symbolic power. Steve Evans/flickr, CC BY-NC Kiran Grewal, Australian Catholic University This article is part of the Democracy Futures… Continue reading Creativity and resilience: how do war survivors make international justice work for them?

Why the media is a key dimension of global inequality Nick Couldry, London School of Economics and Political Science and Clemencia Rodriguez, Temple University This article is part of the Democracy Futures series, a joint global initiative with the Sydney Democracy Network. The project aims to stimulate fresh thinking about the many challenges facing democracies… Continue reading Why the media is a key dimension of global inequality

Post-genocide Rwanda has been marked by efforts to rebuild the social fabric which was destroyed during the terrible events of 1994. To coordinate efforts of reconciliation the government established the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) in 1999. The NURC is a permanent body, protected by the constitution with a mandate to promote national unity… Continue reading Strengthening community-level peacebuilding in Rwanda