On 10 April 2018, law students from the University of Nottingham attended the 24th Rwanda Genocide Commemoration Service at St. Marylebone Church in London. They were supported by the International Criminal Justice Unit of the Human Rights Law Centre, and joined hundreds of other people including representatives of the UK government, of the Rwandan government as well as diplomatic representatives from other governments and from international organisations.
The event marked an annual International Day of reflection on the Genocide that claimed over 800,000 Rwandans lives, in the Extermination that had been targeted against Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994.
Students reflection on commemoration of genocide
At the end of the Rwanda Genocide Commemoration, some of the law students who had an opportunity to interact with the High Commissioner for Rwanda gave their reflections on the event and its relevance towards promotion of peace and prevention of similar acts against humanity in other parts of the world.
"Genocide commemoration day Kwibuka, as it is known in Kinyarwanda, marks the day every year where the international community remembers its collective failure to prevent and stop the slaughter of estimated 800000, women, men and children in Rwanda in 1994. At the Commemoration at St. Marylebone Church in London this year, it was reinforced that while the crimes committed in the past are irreversible, the task of preventing them in the future is very much a work in progress and it deserves the full attention of the international community."
Natasha Barigye, LLM International Criminal Justice, University of Nottingham
"The Annual commemoration of the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda is a significant ceremony in keeping the memory of the 1994 massacres alive. This serves as a constant reminder of every individual’s responsibility to prevent such future occurrences and for the international community, the duty to act towards humanity across the world."
Ivy Mburu Nyambura, LLM International Commercial Law, University of Nottingham
Read the full report (PDF)
Posted on Friday 15th June 2018