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“Genocide does not happen in a vacuum” Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe urges global vigilance against hate
Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Amb. Olivier Nduhungirehe, has called on the international community to remain vigilant in combating hatred and early warning signs of genocide, stressing that genocide is never an accident but a carefully planned process that can be prevented if addressed early.
He made the remarks on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, during the International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemoration, which also marked 81 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, the largest Nazi camp used for the imprisonment and extermination of millions of people.
The commemoration ceremony took place at the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Gisozi and was attended by representatives of international organizations operating in Rwanda, members of the Jewish community living in Rwanda and their friends, diplomats, and senior Rwandan government officials.
Addressing the gathering, Minister Nduhungirehe emphasized that genocide unfolds in stages and can be stopped when the warning signs are recognized and confronted in time.
“Genocide does not happen in a vacuum. It is a carefully orchestrated plan,” he said. “We approach this day as members of the international community, as friends, and as a nation that understands firsthand the devastating impact of genocide.”
He underscored the collective responsibility of nations, institutions, and individuals to ensure that past atrocities are neither forgotten nor repeated.
“Our shared responsibility as nations, institutions and individuals is to ensure that the atrocities of the past are neither forgotten nor repeated,” Minister Nduhungirehe stated.
Reflecting on the human cost of genocide, he noted that remembrance must go beyond history books and statistics.
“The testimonies of survivors remind us that behind every historical account lies a human life, families, and aspirations unfairly cut short. As a result, remembrance is a call to responsibility,” he added.
The Holocaust, which occurred during the Second World War between 1939 and 1945, was orchestrated by the Nazi regime in Germany and resulted in the murder of more than six million Jews, nearly two-thirds of the Jewish population in Europe at the time.
Rwanda’s participation in the International Holocaust Remembrance Day reflects its commitment to global efforts against genocide denial, hate speech, and intolerance, informed by its own history and the lessons drawn from the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
