A toddler’s dress, and a five-year-old’s dress and sweater. Washed, cleaned, but still stained with blood.

These are the personal items that Immaculée Songa donated to “Stories of Survival and Remembrance -​ A call to action for genocide prevention,” currently on show at UN Headquarters, along with a photo album, showing her daughters, Raissa and Clarisse, laughing and smiling.

“The items in this exhibition are very important to me, because they remind us of the lives, the experiences of our people who are gone, who are no longer here. It’s up to us to talk about them and tell their stories, and how their lives were taken away.

Six years ago, I returned to Rwanda to search for my family’s remains. In a mass grave, I recognized the dresses my daughters wore at the last moment of their lives. The clothes were stuck to their bodies. They were all I had left of my children. So, I took them.

I first displayed my daughters’ clothes at the Illinois Holocaust Museum in the United States, in order to tell their story. Even though they were washed, you can see the blood stains, and you can imagine how they died.

Don’t let my daughters be forgotten

We talk about millions of Rwandans, Tutsis killed during the genocide, and we seem to forget the individuals. This exhibition is here so that we remember the history of each individual.

If I could speak to my daughters, I would tell them that I have not forgotten them, I love them very much and I have spoken about them a lot, because they had an atrocious death that they did not deserve.

I am a mother who did not perish, a woman who cries a lot. I tell myself that God saved me for a reason, to give me the strength to talk about my daughters, and to make sure they are not forgotten.

The facts don’t lie

We have a responsibility to tell the world that injustice exists, that people are dying because of injustice, and that the genocide in Rwanda was planned and executed by very clever people who recruited militants and convinced them to kill. The responsibility to prevent genocides lies with governments, those in positions of influence, and the United Nations.

On our side, we also play our part. For example, we organize commemorations and education days to explain to the public what can happen if people are not careful. Because genocide can be prevented.

There are several phases of genocide, and the last phase is denial. Today, all over the world, people are denying genocides. They have been given platforms, they write books, and say that genocide did not happen.

The facts don’t lie. So, if people see the facts, when they see my children’s clothes, there is no mistake. People said children were killed, and now they see that it’s true.

To ensure that the genocide is not repeated, we must engage everyone. We must go to the schools, and teach peace. When I talk to students, I can see them change. It makes a difference.

Before the genocide, 95 per cent of the population were not educated, and it was very easy to convince them to kill. I think that, if people have access to the education they need, they will advocate for peace.”

The exhibition “Stories of Survival and Remembrance – A Call to Action for Genocide Prevention” opens at UN Headquarters in New York.

“Stories of Survival and Remembrance – A Call to Action for Genocide Prevention”, is on display at UN Headquarters until 15 June.

The objects in the exhibition – clothes, toys, photographs, letters, recipes and other seemingly ordinary objects – survived the Holocaust, genocide and other atrocious crimes in Cambodia, Srebrenica (Bosnia Herzegovina) and Rwanda.

The exhibition is being held during the year of the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

It was inaugurated a few days before the celebration of the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda, in the UN General Assembly Hall on Friday, April 14.

“We are together to mourn the more than one million children, women, and men who perished in 100 days of horror 29 years ago,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

“We pay tribute to the resilience of the survivors [and] recognize the journey of the Rwandan people towards healing, restoration, and reconciliation. And we remember – with shame – the failure of the international community. The failure to listen and the failure to act.”

In April 1994, decades-long intercommunal tensions and clashes unfolded before the world’s eyes into genocide, as Hutu leaders led a deadly campaign against the Tutsi. The bloodshed unfolded, despite the presence of the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda and despite the General Assembly’s unanimous adoption of the Genocide Convention in 1948, which defines genocide as a crime under international law.

“The killings did not start spontaneously,” Mr. Guterres said. “They were carefully planned long in advance and executed deliberately and systematically; it was premeditated murder in broad daylight.”

A generation since the genocide, “we must never forget the dangers posed by the fragility of civility in all societies; it precedes and promotes violence”, he cautioned.

‘Megaphones of hate’ grow bigger today

The hate and propaganda that paved the path to genocide in Rwanda was broadcast on TV, printed in newspapers, and blasted over radio, he said.

“Today, the megaphones of hate are even bigger,” he said, noting that across the internet, incitement to violence, vicious lies and conspiracies, genocide denial and distortion, and the demonization of “the other”, proliferate with little to no checks.

Calling for stronger guardrails, clearer responsibilities, and greater transparency in the digital world, he said the launch of the UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech provides a framework for support to countries to counter this scourge while respecting freedom of expression and opinion.

“Today, I call on all Member States to become parties to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide without delay, and I call on all States to back their commitments with action,” the UN chief said.

“Together, let us stand firm against rising intolerance,” he added. “Let us truly honour the memory of all Rwandans who perished by building a future of dignity, security, justice, and human rights for all.”

Rwandan genocide was ‘not an accident’

General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi said the genocide was not an accident, but rather, it stemmed from years of fomenting a racist ideology and waging a campaign aimed at the systematic destruction of a population. As it was carried out, the world was silent.

“We were silent despite repeated and unmistakable early warnings about the preparation of genocide,” he said. “To this unconscionable inaction, we must say ‘never again’.”

With strength and determination, the people of Rwanda have rebuilt their nation from the ashes of devastation. Today, the success of these endeavours is seen everywhere, he said, pointing to gender parity in the lower house of Parliament, the vibrancy of Rwandan innovation, the resilience of its economy, and in the strength of its health care system.

“Importantly, Rwanda has invested in its young people, opening opportunities for those under 20 years old – who represent half of its dynamic population,” he said. “Rwandans have built a nation that looks towards a better future. May we in the General Assembly do the same.”

‘They killed my entire family’

The Assembly also heard from genocide survivors, who shared their harrowing stories.

Ahead of the event, Henriette Mutegwaraba, 50, a survivor who now lives in the United States, met with UN News to discuss how she survived and healed, and how hate speech today strikes a haunting echo of the genocide in Rwanda.

“Every time I talk about it, I cry,” she said. “They raped women. They opened pregnant women; opened their wombs with a knife. They put people in septic holes alive. They killed our animals. They destroyed our homes. They killed my entire family, my mom, my four siblings.”

During the 1994 genocide against Tutsi, “the whole world turned a blind eye”, she said. “They knew. Nobody came to help us. Nobody came to us. I hope that this will never happen to anybody in this world. I hope that the UN can come up with a way to respond quickly.”

‘Genocide can happen anywhere’

Nobody is immune to what happened to Rwanda in 1994, she said, emphasizing that there is so much propaganda happening in the United States and people are not paying attention and the country is very divided.

Ms. Mutegwaraba elaborated on this current issue in her book By Any Means Necessary. Indeed, she said she had felt the same fear on 6 January 2021 during the attack on the United States capitol that she did in April 1994.

“Genocide can happen anywhere,” she said. “Do we see the signs? Yes, we see the signs. Do we pretend that it doesn’t affect us or our world? Yes, we do. My message is this: wake up. Something’s happening. It’s all about propaganda.”

“Nearly 900 conflict-related detainees are being released by the parties in Yemen starting today, Friday, and over the course of three days,” the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen said in a statement.

“This release operation comes at a time of hope for Yemen as a reminder that constructive dialogue and mutual compromises are powerful tools capable of achieving great outcomes,” Mr. Grundberg’s office added.

Swiss connection

The development is in line with an agreement reached by the Supervisory Committee on the Detainees’ Exchange Agreement, which announced the initiative at UN Geneva in March.

Facilitated by Special Envoy Grundberg and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the agreement involves the freeing of 887 conflict-related detainees, held over the course of more than eight years of clashes between Yemen’s Government and Houthi opposition fighters that are widely believed to have killed thousands and created what the UN has described as the worst humanitarian emergency in the world.

“More releases” are planned once Yemen’s warring parties meet in May, according to the Special Envoy’s Office, which noted that the Red Cross is managing the release operation which includes flights between six airports in Yemen and Saudi Arabia to repatriate all prisoners.

Ramadan cheer

“Today, hundreds of Yemeni families get to celebrate Eid with their loved ones because the parties negotiated and reached an agreement. I hope this spirit is reflected in ongoing efforts to advance a comprehensive political solution,” said Special Envoy Grundberg.

After highlighting that “thousands more families are still waiting to be reunited with their loved ones”, the UN official expressed hope that the warring parties would “build on the success of this operation to fulfill the commitment they made to the Yemeni people” in talks in Sweden in 2018, “to release all conflict-related detainees and bring this suffering to an end”.

Apart from carrying out prisoner exchanges, the two other main components of the Stockholm Agreement – endorsed by the UN Security Council under resolution 2451 (2018) – covered an agreement on the city of Hudaydah; the ports of Hudaydah, Salif and Ras Issa, and “a statement of understanding” on the city of Taiz.

In his statement, Special Envoy Grundberg also urged the parties “to immediately and unconditionally release all arbitrarily detained individuals and to adhere to international legal standards” regarding detention and fair trials.