07 April 2011 - UNAMID’s peacekeepers today paid respect to the victims of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. In three months, the mass killing claimed more than 800,000 lives.

In a ceremony at the Mission’s headquarters in El Fasher, North Darfur, Force Commander Lt Gen Patrick Nyamvumba, from Rwanda, remarked that “the genocide has taught us that we should not be complicit to violence, death and destruction by remaining silent or indifferent to human atrocities. […] The presence of Rwandan troops, police officers and civilian staff in Darfur, as part of UNAMID, with all the sacrifices, is an eloquent testimony to the resilience of the Rwandan people to assist bringing peace to other parts of Africa and the world”.

Force Commander pays his respects to the Rwandan genocide. Photo by Albert Gonzalez Farran

UNAMID Deputy Joint Special Representative (DJSR) Mohamed Yonis, on behalf of JSR Ibrahim Gambari, praised the Rwandans for their courage, tolerance and will to move forward. “They have ridden out the prejudices and the phobias that were the cause of the conflict,” said DJSR Yonis.  

The ceremony included a minute of silence and the laying of wreaths by UNAMID leadership and representatives of the Rwandan military, police and civilian staff. The Rwandan flag, along with the African Union and United Nations flags, were lowered to half-mast.

Rwanda, among the largest of UNAMID’s troop contributing countries with 3,234 military personal and 181 police advisors, has lost nine peacekeepers to hostile action since the inception of UNAMID in December 2007.  

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