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From Never Again

-Kofi Annan, April 7, 2004 at the United Nations

The Context

In only one hundred days, between April and July 1994 more than one million Tutsi and Hutu political moderates were murdered in the unnamed and terrible genocide. The consequences of genocide in Rwanda are immeasurable, but include problems of orphans, widows, street children destruction of social and economic infrastructures, HIV/AIDS, fear frustration and mistrust among people.

There is a need to learn from the tragic failures in Rwanda: the lack of international response, the disinterested world media, and the global public’s apathy about the brutal deaths of so many Rwandans. There is still a profound lack of understanding about the events that took place, their causes and consequences. Rwandan’s tragic history must be used as an opportunity for national and international reform.

Never Again wishes to unite global youth in the work of conflict prevention. Rwandan and international youth participants will be given the opportunity to work alongside each other. Never Again aims that this Global Youth Summit will provide a space for mutual learning, thereby furthering Rwanda’s peace building efforts and fostering international understanding. The youth are the global window of hope for today and tomorrow.

Introduction

Never Again, an international Youth network, was founded at the Institute for International Mediation and conflict Resolution’s 2001 Symposium at The Hague. Never Again, a group of students and young graduates from around the world, created a collaborative international partnership. Never Again aims to alert the international community to both the causes and effects of genocide and facilitate the exchange of ideas between young people - those who have lived through genocide and those who wish to learn from them. Never Again aims to provoke ideas and action for the prevention of future conflict by bringing people together to cross borders.

Global Youth Genocide Prevention Forum

The Global Youth Genocide Prevention Forum – dedicating the 11th commemoration of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide to Global youth - is a collaborative effort that will bring together young people from all over the world: Africa, Europe, America and Asia. The participants will meet in Rwanda from 1st to 8th April, 2005 to commemorate the 11th anniversary of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.

Distinguished international scholars, experts, politicians, diplomats will be invited for discussions and public lectures. The participants will also visit genocide sites, different organizations, groups and individuals: witnesses to the genocide, perpetrators and those active in the reconciliation process.

Target Audience

The target audience of the Global Youth Genocide Prevention Forum includes Youth from Rwandan, Uganda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Kenya and International youth. The authors of the genocide achieved their goal by using the youth. Yet young people also became victims of genocide during and after the genocide.

Today we recognize that the youth, both in the national and international contexts, are a potential force for the prevention of genocide. If young people around the world are aware of past genocides and have a level of personal engagement with the horror genocide entails, they are more likely to speak out if genocide occurs again. Young people represent a significant active portion of the world demography and they should be encouraged to initiate projects for peace and genocide prevention. Genocide happened to the Jews, Bosinians, Alminans, Cambodia, former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and now it is happening in Sudan (Darfur). In each of these cases it is the sons and daughters of this global village that are used and set to exterminate their own brothers and sisters.

In the context of Rwanda, there is evidence that a significant number of young people participated in the 1994 genocide. Most of them are now in prisons, or are in the jungles of Democratic Republic of Congo. They are victims of the situation created for them by myopic and greedy political manipulators. On the other hand, hundreds of thousands of young people lost their lives; while many of those who survived were torture, raped, traumatized, infected by HIV/AIDS.

Goal

To facilitate global collaboration and dialogue between young people from around the world to:

• Encourage critical analytical thinking among young people about the causes of the genocide in Rwanda.
• Raise awareness and understanding and share ideas about issues of conflict and conflict prevention.

Objectives

• Create a global youth forum to exchange ideas on Genocide prevention.
• To raise international awareness of genocide and plant a seed to keep the memories unforgotten.
• Encourage youth co-operation through collaborative commemoration.
• Set up ways and mechanisms to use the existing systems to work for genocide prevention.
• Promote thinking and research about Rwanda’s past, present and future and collate contributions from conference delegates on this theme in order to publish a record which will be able to be shared internationally.

Never Again Experience (Chronologically)

Never Again International has planed, organized, forums and lectures at national, regional and international levels. We have collaborated with older and more established organizations who have helped to stretch our capabilities and we have participated in important and instructive events and meetings.

Never Again Events

• ”What can we the youth do so Genocide never happen again” 2004
• For the commemoration of the 10 anniversary of 1994 Rwandan genocide between June- August 2004 Never Again with the funding of US $ 60.000 from DFID through CARE International organized youth history competition with the aim of allowing the youth to express their ideas on the theme
• The Rwanda Forum 2004
• On March 27th 2004, Never Again International, in collaboration with the Imperial War Museum in London, organized the Rwandan Forum which brought together 200 participants from all over the continent to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 1994 Rwanda Genocide http://www.iwm.org.uk

Never Again Lecture Series 2004

• Prof. Eric Markusen, head of the Department of Holocaust and Genocide studies from the University of Minnesota, USA.(October 2004) at Kigali Institute of Science and Technology Rwanda(KIST) ,Rwanda National Television (TVR).
• Linda Melvern, a renown investigative Journalist, (April 2004) and a scholar at Kigali Institute of science and Technology Kigali (KIST) Rwanda
• Never Again Rwanda Chapter organized a public lecture on the atrocities taking place in Durfur Sudan at Kigali Independent University (ULK, August 2004 )

Coordinating International Exchanges and Research Trips in Rwanda

In the years 2003-2004 Never again organized University research trips. Reports of these researches were published in their home countries.

2004

The following groups of students came to Rwanda from different universities:

• 18 Students from Northwestern University Chicago
• 3 students from Vermont University, USA
• 6 students from Holland
• 11 students from University of Lund, Sweden

The Rwanda Trip 2002

An international group of Never Again members from around the world journeyed to Rwanda to be paired up with a Rwandan host student. The group spent two weeks meeting survivors, government ministries, prisons, orphans, NGOs and building relationships between the members of the group – learning together about the genocide and the processes of reconciliation. The Rwandan hosts were students at the National University of Rwanda. The visitors came from:

• 3 Students from University College of London
• 1 student from London school of Economics and political science
• 1 student from School of Orient and African Studies ,UK
• 1 student from McGill University Canada
• 1 student from Northwestern University
• 1 student from Harvard
• 1 student from New York University, USA

Never Again organized, attended and participated in the following meetings and events:

• 2nd Nov 2004 Meeting with Gerd Scheuerpflug DED- Germany Development Service Kigali Rwanda.
• 4th April 2004 A lecture to All Party Parliamentary Committee for the Great Lakes Region – General Dallaire UK.
• 3rd April 2004 Never Again Rwanda asked a question about genocide prevention to the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair in one of the offices in the House of Commons , London
• 3rd April Never Again International meeting with Lord Janner of Braunstone
• 2nd April Never Again International Meeting with Phillip Dodd at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London
• 1st April Never Again International Rwanda Forum follow up meeting with the Foreign Policy Centre
• 31st March Never Again International speak at the Foreign Policy Centre’s Social Capital Forum
• 6th April 2002 Rwandan genocide Memorial seminar at the school of Orient and African Studies, remembering Genocide in Rwanda; "Building a firm Foundation for the future"
• 31st May 2002 Advisory meeting with Caroline Phillips, deputy Programme Manager, Rwanda, Africa great Lakes & Horn Department; UK Government Department for International Development.
• 1 July 2002 Seminar organized by by Never again , SOAS Participants included members of Never again , Genocide survivors and members of the Rwandan community in the UK.
• 17th July Never Again organized and hosted the book launch for: Micheal Barnett’s Eyewitness to a Genocide: The United Nations and Rwanda: Micheal N. Barnett (Cornell University press, 2002)
• July- August 2001 Institute for international Mediation and conflict Resolution 2001 Symposium
• November 2001 The shallow Graves of Rwanda (St Mattins press, 2001) Shaharayar M.Khan. Book Launch. School of Oriental and African Studies.

Conclusion

We hope that the Global Youth Genocide Prevention Forum Dedicating the 11th Commemorations of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide to global youth will be an opportunity for the youth to express remembrance, laying strategic measures to prevent genocide and other crimes against. Through the practical experience the global youth will sensitize the world to what happened in Rwanda and call upon the world to help in Rwanda’s efforts to build peace. We also hope that through collaborative efforts we will create a foundation for future cooperation in order to contribute to genocide prevention around the world since genocide is extending its borders.