Rwanda genocide 13 years later

dpa German Press Agency Published: Monday April 9, 2007

New York- A photography exhibition on the massacre of
800,000 Rwandans in 1994 was opened at UN headquarters Monday with
human rights advocates denouncing sexual violence as a major weapon
in conflicts, citing the current situation in Sudan's Darfur region.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon opened the exhibition at UN
headquarters, saying two lessons should be taken from Rwanda above
all.

"First, never forget, second, never stop working to prevent
another genocide," Ban said. "Today, our thoughts go to the victims -
the more than 800,000 innocent people who lost their lives, with
terrifying speed. May they continue to rest in peace."

"Out thoughts go to the survivors," he said. "Their resilience
continues to inspire us."

The massacre of ethnic Tutsis, which was incited by the Hutu-led
government in Kigali following the death of their leader in a plane
crash in April, 1994, has been branded a genocide and condemned by
the international community.

The victims were slaughtered within three months while a UN
peacekeeping mission stood by under orders not to get involved - the
result of a restrictive mandate provided by the UN Security Council
in New York.

But Jody Williams, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who last month
led a mission to investigate atrocities against civilians in Darfur,
said that rape has remained the weapon of war in what she called "the
genocide in Darfur."

Williams' mission, commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council in
Geneva, was to investigate the killing in Darfur. But the Sudanese
government denied visas to the mission's members and they spent their
time interviewing Darfurian refugees outside the country.

"Rape is a major tactic in the war in Darfur," Williams said. "It
is intended to destroy not only the women, but also their families
and communities."

She said the targeting of women for rape, during the Rwandan
conflict 13 years ago and now in Darfur, has remained a tactic in
war.

The ethnic conflict in Darfur has killed more than 300,000 people
since 2003 and resulted in more than 2 million refugees.

Williams led the global campaign against landmines, which won her
the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Rwanda genocide exhibition will remain at UN headquarters
until May 11, then moving to Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and
Tanzania.

Since the 1994 killing in Rwanda, governments in Africa's Great
Lakes region have signed a pact on security, stability and
development, which contains a protocol on the prevention and
punishment of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

© 2006 - dpa German Press Agency

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