About 1 million people, mostly of the Tutsi community and moderate Hutus, were killed in the genocide by Hutu extremists during a massacre within a span of days. President Paul Kagame and first lady Jeannette Kagame alongside the dean of the diplomatic corps and representatives of survivors laid wreaths at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where over , victims are laid to rest.
A family that does not remember can be easily wiped out," said Jean Damascene Bizimana, the executive secretary of Rwanda's Commission for the Fight against Genocide.
Commenting on the report, Kagame said it "marks an important step toward a common understanding of what took place. We welcome the report, it is a good thing.
The Rwandan leader also faulted countries offering genocide suspects safe haven, urging them to either try them in court or hand them over to Rwanda to face justice. Neighbours killed neighbours and some husbands even killed their Tutsi wives, saying they would be killed if they refused. At the time, ID cards had people's ethnic group on them, so militias set up roadblocks where Tutsis were slaughtered, often with machetes which most Rwandans kept around the house. Thousands of Tutsi women were taken away and kept as sex slaves.
Rwanda has always been a tightly controlled society, organised like a pyramid from each district up to the top of government. The then-governing party, MRND, had a youth wing called the Interahamwe, which was turned into a militia to carry out the slaughter. Weapons and hit-lists were handed out to local groups, who knew exactly where to find their targets.
The Hutu extremists set up a radio station, RTLM, and newspapers which circulated hate propaganda, urging people to "weed out the cockroaches" meaning kill the Tutsis. The names of prominent people to be killed were read out on radio. Even priests and nuns have been convicted of killing people, including some who sought shelter in churches.
By the end of the day killing spree, around , Tutsis and moderate Hutus had been killed. The Belgians and most UN peacekeepers pulled out after 10 Belgian soldiers were killed. The French, who were allies of the Hutu government, sent a special force to evacuate their citizens and later set up a supposedly safe zone but were accused of not doing enough to stop the slaughter in that area. Paul Kagame, Rwanda's current president, has accused France of backing those who carried out the massacres - a charge denied by Paris.
The well-organised RPF, backed by Uganda's army, gradually seized more territory, until 4 July , when its forces marched into the capital, Kigali. Some two million Hutus - both civilians and some of those involved in the genocide - then fled across the border into the Democratic Republic of Congo, at the time called Zaire, fearing revenge attacks. Others went to neighbouring Tanzania and Burundi. Human rights groups say RPF fighters killed thousands of Hutu civilians as they took power - and more after they went into DR Congo to pursue the Interahamwe.
The RPF denies this. In DR Congo, thousands died from cholera, while aid groups were accused of letting much of their assistance fall into the hands of the Hutu militias. Human Rights Watch. World Report Donate Now. Rwanda Events of A memorial service commemorating the 25th anniversary of the genocide, at Amahoro stadium in the capital, Kigali, Rwanda, on April 7, Available In: Available In.
Kenneth Roth Executive Director. Political Repression After years of threats, intimidation, mysterious deaths, and high profile, politically motivated trials, few opposition parties remain active or make public comments on government policies. Freedom of Expression State interference and intimidation have forced many civil society actors and journalists to stop working on sensitive political or human rights issues.
The BBC Kinyarwanda service remained suspended, as it has been since Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Rwanda is one of the only countries in East Africa that does not criminalize consensual same-sex relations. Arbitrary Detention, Ill-Treatment, and Torture Although lack of access to the country and detention centers to conduct research posed challenges to documenting violations, reports continued that prison guards used threats, beatings, and intimidation against detainees, including to extract confessions.
Rights of Refugees In February, the National Commission for Human Rights published the findings of its investigation into the February killing of at least 12 people , when police fired live ammunition on refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Justice for the Genocide Twenty-five years after the genocide, a significant number of people responsible for the genocide, including former high-level government officials and other key figures, have been brought to justice.
Protecting Rights, Saving Lives Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people in 90 countries worldwide, spotlighting abuses and bringing perpetrators to justice. IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Politics Covid U. News World Opinion Business.
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