Remembering genocide in Rwanda Lithuanian minister stresses the responsibility to protect
7 April, Vilnius. “International community has to learn from the failure to prevent genocide in Rwanda 20 years ago as we still face challenges in preventing genocide and crimes against humanity”, - noted Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius on the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Rwanda Genocide.
The United Nations has named April 7 as the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Rwanda Genocide. In 1994, in the space of three months, about 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in Rwanda. This genocide was one of the fastest, most brutal and systematic massacre known to history when over 80% of the Tutsi population had been killed.
According to the Minister, the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide is an opportunity to commend the role of International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda for its contribution to holding the senior perpetrators of the genocide to account. It is also an opportunity to remind all states that they have to take concrete measures to demonstrate their commitment to the responsibility to protect their population from mass atrocity crimes. Minister Linkevičius stressed that the UN Security Council recently recognized the contribution of the International Criminal Court towards holding accountable those responsible for crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other egregious crimes.
As a state party to the Rome Statute and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide Lithuania acknowledges primary responsibility of States to protect their population from genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity and ensure that responsible for those crimes have to be held accountable.
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