“Knowledge, sources and resources on the genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi in Rwanda”
Published on 19 September 2022

From 11 to 19 September 2022, the Ministry of National Unity and Civic Engagement (MINUBUMWE) has been joining the University of Rwanda (UoR) and a team from the research commission on the French archives relating to Rwanda and the Genocide against the Tutsi - Équipe de Recherche (ERE), for the international symposium entitled: “LA RECHERCHE EN ACTE: Savoirs, sources et ressources sur le Génocide perpétré contre les Tutsi au Rwanda.” The symposium is the first of its kind and the first session that is happening in Rwanda between Kigali and Huye for nine days. The second session will take place in Paris, France in September 2023.

The objective of the symposium is to bring together researchers specializing on the subject of the Genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi, listen, and entrust them with the task of building a collective and international scientific knowledge. Its organizers have endeavored to bring together researchers committed to knowledge, in particular young researchers.

The first day, the kick off of the symposium took place in the Amphitheatre of the Kigali Genocide Memorial with the organisers honoring the memory of the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, and introducing the symposium and its objectives. The audience was also privileged to hear two speeches from H.E. Paul Kagame, the President of Rwanda, and H.E. Emmanuel Macron, President of France, which put the symposium in its context of the two countries’ historical relationship.

The Permanent Secretary of MINUBUMWE, the Executive Directors of different directorates, and the analyst in charge of research gave an overview of the activities of MINUBUMWE, and highlighted the importance of the symposium in fulfilling the mission and responsibilities of the Ministry. One of the responsibilities that aligns with the objectives of the symposium is “Conducting, publishing and establishing mechanisms to disseminate research on history of Rwanda in general, and on the Genocide against the Tutsi, the unity of Rwandans and civic education, and to build the capacities of researchers.”

On the second day, 12 September, Honorable Minister Dr. Jean Damascene Bizimana officially opened the symposium works including plenary sessions, round tables, and testimonies from survovors in Huye District, at the University of Rwanda Campus. In his speech, he applauded the efforts of the organisers to fight for the truth about the history of the genocide against the Tutsi using research and education. Rwandan and French educators, researchers and authors did not only reveal the existing work on the genocide against the Tutsi, but also noted the progress of knowledge and measured what remains to be accomplished. The Huye sessions went on until the 16^th of September 2022.

The last three days were spent in Kigali conducting other sessions. It was also an opportunity for the participants to pay tribute to the professors and democrats assassinated during the Genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi of Rwanda, and pay visit to the Nyanza Genocide Memorial to honor the victims.

Each session will be followed by reports and publications available to the public.