The Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

DECLARATION BY THE ACP GROUP OF STATES
ON THE OCCASION OF THE 15th ANNIVERSARY OF
THE GENOCIDE IN RWANDA
Brussels - 7 April 2009

On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the day of remembrance of the genocide that plunged Rwanda into mourning in 1994, the people of Rwanda and all humankind still remember that wide-scale tragedy that took the lives of one million innocent victims killed simply because of their ethnic origins and ideology.   

With the duty of keeping alive the memory, the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP Group) reaffirms its compassion, solidarity and support to the Government and People of Rwanda at this painful time.

In keeping with the spirit of the conclusions of the 79th Session of the ACP Council of Ministers held in Gaborone, Botswana, on 4 and 5 May 2004, which called for 7 April to be commemorated as the day of remembrance of the Rwandan genocide, the ACP Group:

1. Highly commends the Government and People of Rwanda for all the actions and measures taken, and progress made in the process of reconciliation and consolidation of national unity, with due regard for the fundamental principles of human rights, the rule of law and democracy;

2. Notes with satisfaction the progress made in the process of national reconciliation aimed at re-establishing truth, combating impunity, dispelling any lingering resentment and fostering the recovery of a peaceful and stable nation;

3.Encourages the international community to continue the fight against impunity, notably by setting up mechanisms for legal cooperation with Rwanda;

4. Supports all initiatives by the Government of Rwanda to rehabilitate the victims of the Rwandan genocide, restore their dignity and ensure their integrity;

5. Recalls, once again, the circumstances of extreme poverty and misery of the orphans, widows, and survivors of the genocide, and urges the international community to display even greater solidarity towards these people by effectively implementing the plan to create an international assistance fund for the survivors of the Rwandan genocide;

6. Notes with regret the persistent trend towards denial and revisionism, and the potential danger of repeated atrocities, and reiterates its appeal to all ACP States, the European Union and entire international community to adopt legal instruments aimed at repressing denial and revisionism in all its forms;

7. Renews its support to the Government and People of Rwanda in their efforts to ensure that the memory of the innocent victims of the genocide is honoured, condemns all acts that desecrate genocide memorials, and urges all States to ensure due protection and respect for those sites;

8. Emphasizes that the increasing poverty throughout the world, and particularly in a large number of ACP States, constitutes a vector for all forms of human rights violations, and therefore urges the international community to intensify its efforts to combat poverty;

9. Undertakes to address the root causes of violence and genocide, particularly hatred, intolerance, racism, and tyranny, and calls on ACP States to strengthen their cooperation to eradicate these social ills, which constitute fertile ground for genocide and other widespread human rights violations; and

9. Calls on all ACP States to undertake, on this day of remembrance, deep reflection on the causes of the genocide and the lessons to be learnt so as to bolster their national systems in order to prevent such atrocities in the future.