Edwin Musoni
2 May 2007
Kigali — The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has recognised Rwandan genocide survivors calling what happened in Rwanda 'humbling'. While officiating the Rwanda Genocide exhibition at the UN headquarters in New York, Ki-Moon said that the UN's thoughts were the survivors, fallen colleagues of the UN family: peacekeepers and civilians who lost their lives in the line of duty as the Genocide unfolded. "As we open this exhibition, our thoughts go to the victims of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, innocent people who lost their lives in such a short period. May they continue to rest in peace," he said.
The exhibition highlights the failure of the international community to prevent the Genocide, examines what happened in Rwanda, emphasizes the plight of victims, particularly those who suffered from sexual violence and details the warning signs for genocide.
The Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Charles Murigande, told The New Times on phone yesterday that Rwanda is fully represented at exhibition.
"We are represented by our Special Envoy to the UN, Dr Zac Nsenga. Our embassy in New York will follow up the exhibition to the last day," he said.
He also added that the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Joseph Habineza, is in the US and is expected to attend the exhibition.
Meanwhile, media reports say that Ki-Moon recalled his visit to the Rwandan memorial sites before becoming Secretary-General, saying the impression would stay with him forever.
"Anybody who visits Rwanda cannot leave without crying, without being very humbled about what happened and what the international community failed to react," he said.
The exhibition on Rwanda Genocide at UN Headquarters was postponed three weeks ago as a result of the Turkish objections to a reference to the murder of a million Armenians in Turkey during World War I.
But Ki- Moon, in a gesture to Turkey, said the exhibit did not 'attempt to make historical judgments on other issues'
The exhibition which will be on display for the next three weeks is sponsored by Aegis Trust, a British non-governmental organization (NGO) that fights against Genocide.
The exhibition includes information panels and a film containing the testimony of three female survivors of the Genocide.
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