Genocide in Rwanda: Ban says the UN has learned important lessons

On the occasion of a ceremony commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Genocide in Rwanda, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon said on Thursday that the UN had made important lessons from the failure of the international community to respond to the genocide in 1994.
"We always remember the 800,000 innocents who were brutally murdered", Ban said at the opening in New York of the event entitled "Kwibuka 20" with the slogan "Remembrance, Unity, Renewal". Genocide in Rwanda was a historic failure of the community international, who has not responded to the crimes committed.
The Secretary General stressed that the UN has taken a number of lessons from this failure and improved responsiveness since.
"States Member have adopted the responsibility to protect. We have established the Office of the Special Adviser to the United Nations on the Prevention of Genocide" he said. "We have strengthened our capacity for mediation and preventive diplomacy. We have also initiated new efforts to protect civilians on the ground, including the recent political "open" in southern Sudan."
Ban Ki-Moon also highlighted the activities of the International Criminal Court, international tribunals and national courts. "The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, with the cooperation of Rwanda and other states, continues to prosecute people for their alleged role in the genocide", he said.
Ban Ki-Moon urged the people and Government of Rwanda to continue to promote the openness needed for healing and reconciliation and deepen respect for human rights.
However, the Secretary General felt that more needed to be done to fully integrate and apply the lessons learned from the failure of the international community in Rwanda.
He cited the collective inability to prevent atrocities in Syria over the past three years.