John Kerry at Kigali Genocide Memorial: “Thank you for your work in prevention and healing.”

On Friday 14 October, US Secretary of State John Kerry visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Rwanda to honour the memory of the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Established by the Aegis Trust in 2004 at the request of the Rwandan Government and Kigali City Council, the Kigali Genocide Memorial continues to be run by Aegis today on behalf of CNLG (Rwanda’s National Commission for the Fight against Genocide) as a place both of remembrance and learning for a new generation.

Secretary Kerry, who was in Kigali for a global summit on climate change, laid a wreath at the mass graves which are the final resting place for more than 250,000 victims of the genocide.

He was also shown around the memorial’s exhibitions (see video above), which not only cover the genocide in Rwanda but also highlight the continuation of genocide and mass atrocities through recent history.

“A beautiful final resting place created out of a horrendous tragedy,” John Kerry wrote in the Kigali Genocide Memorial’s guestbook. “Thank you for your work in prevention and healing.”