UNESCO inaugurates Kigali Genocide Memorial as World Heritage Site

In a ceremony on 5 April, UNESCO formally inaugurated the Kigali Genocide Memorial as a World Heritage Site.

Along with the genocide memorial sites at Bisesero, Nyamata and Murambi, the Kigali Genocide Memorial was inscribed on the World Heritage List on 20 September 2023.

In ceremonies on 5 and 6 April, on the eve of the 30th commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi, the Director-General of UNESCO, Ms Audrey Azouley, visited the Genocide memorials in Kigali and Murambi to officially inaugurate them with plaques bearing the UNESCO inscription.

Ms Azouley was accompanied dignitaries including the Minister of National Unity and Civic Engagement, Dr Jean-Damascène Bizimana; the Aegis Trust’s founder, Dr James Smith, and the CEO of Aegis, Freddy Mutanguha.

“UNESCO’s inscription of four genocide memorials on the World Heritage List is first of all a recognition that adds to many others, such as the judicial recognition established by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the official recognition of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi by the United Nations and many countries,” Dr Bizimana commented. “We are still concerned about future generations because they need to learn from the past so that they don’t make the same mistakes. One of the reasons why we have memorials here in Rwanda is to educate.”

“The inscription of Murambi, Nyamata, Kigali and Bisesero sends a very powerful message to the world that what happened here is recognised and that it affects each and every one of us,” commented Ms Azoulay. “Education is another message that we want to send with this inscription … we want the world and future generations to learn from these sites. We stand with you, and as UNESCO we will make sure that the world stands with you.”

“The Kigali Genocide Memorial, which bears witness to the Genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on 20 September 2023, highlighting the need to protect it for the benefit of all humanity,” states the plaque at the Kigali Genocide Memorial. “Plaque inaugurated by Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO on April 5, 2024.”