Chief Justice Ntezilyayo challenges international community on new mechanisms to fight Genocide ideology

This Monday, the Aegis Trust in partnership with the embassy of Israel in Kigali and B'nai B'rith international convened an international conference on incitement and dehumanization as precursors to genocide and crimes against humanity.

While speaking at the meeting, the Chief Justice of Rwanda, Faustin Ntezilyayo said that hate and discrimination is a big challenge which means that fighting against genocide incitement and dehumanization is an obligation to all of us saying in order to prevent genocides, there is a need to have proper channels of justice.

The international conference on incitement and dehumanization brought together scholars, activists and Genocide survivors from and outside Rwanda to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp, signaling the final chapter of the holocaust as well as reflecting on the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda ahead of Kwibuka that will be observed in April this year.

"What needs to be done is to continue giving exemplary punishments to the ones that commit genocide atrocities or acts that look like them. There also needs to be continued sensitization to the youth and making them aware that these actions are bad hence the research conducted by the Rwandan senate last year," Chief Justice Ntezilyayo said. 

The Ambassador of Israel to Rwanda, Ron Adam, describes Rwanda after the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi as such an inspiration and went on to call upon world leaders to protect against the dehumanization and denial of genocide atrocities.

"At the end of the day, human dignity will win if we fulfill our obligation — an obligation of remembrance: to never allow the memory of those who died to be forgotten by anyone, anywhere in the world,"  Ambassador Ron said. 

Aegis Trust through collaboration with the government of Rwanda is working to break cycles of violence and mass atrocities through peace and values education.

Esther Mujawayo a survivor of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi is grateful for such meetings and collaborations in the fight against dehumanization 

"The more we keep silent, the more history repeats itself. Its been 75 years for the Jews and they are still fighting against genocide denial, something that happened under everyone's watch. For us, it's been 25years coming to 26 and we also have such people. People mistake us talking about this to be out of hatred but that's not the case. It is because we want people to know how it happened. So if people know how this comes about, then it would be easy to stop such actions," Mujawayo said. 

The conference examined forms of indoctrination to hatred, fanaticism, and violence that have historically led to mass atrocities, as well as relevant contemporary challenges and some approaches to trauma and future prevention.