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🇬🇭 Ghana /Conflict & Security

32nd Rwanda genocide anniversary observed - Ablakwa urges actions to curb extremism, violence

From Daily Graphic · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Ghana's Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa urged African governments to actively combat extremism and violence.
  • He referenced the 1994 Rwandan genocide as a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of unchecked intolerance and hatred.
  • Ablakwa called for investment in inclusive national institutions and the promotion of tolerance among youth.

Ghana's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has called on African governments to take decisive action in safeguarding peace, protecting human dignity, and rejecting all forms of extremism and violence. He emphasized that the lessons from the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda serve as a critical reminder of how unchecked intolerance, hatred, discrimination, and division can lead to catastrophic outcomes.

The painful lessons of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis remind us that intolerance, hatred, discrimination and division, when left unchecked for many years, can have devastating consequences

— Samuel Okudzeto AblakwaGhana's Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke about the lessons learned from the Rwandan genocide.

Ablakwa made these remarks during the commemoration of the 32nd anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, held at Burma Camp in Accra. The ceremony honored both the victims of the 1994 genocide and Ghanaian peacekeepers who served in Rwanda under the United Nations. Alongside Rwandan officials, Ablakwa participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Kwibuka Flame of Hope and the Ghana Contingent Monuments.

He urged governments to invest in robust national institutions that foster inclusion, unity, and peaceful coexistence. Furthermore, he stressed the importance of deliberately nurturing values of tolerance, unity, and mutual respect in young people. Ablakwa cautioned that the rise of xenophobia, racism, and discrimination globally indicates that the risk of mass atrocities persists.

We must, therefore, invest in strong national institutions that promote peaceful coexistence, inclusion and deliberately nurture in our young people the values of tolerance, unity and mutual respect

— Samuel Okudzeto AblakwaMinister Ablakwa outlined measures governments should take to prevent future atrocities.

"This commemoration must remind us of our collective duty as governments and citizens to champion peace, defend human dignity and reject all forms of extremism and violence," he stated. He reaffirmed Ghana's commitment to strengthening its relationship with Rwanda through cooperation based on peace, mutual respect, and African solidarity. Rwanda's Minister of Justice, Dr. Emmanuel Ugirashebuja, also spoke, detailing how long-term systems of division and dehumanization, exacerbated by colonial policies and propaganda, created the conditions for mass violence in Rwanda.

This commemoration must remind us of our collective duty as governments and citizens to champion peace, defend human dignity and reject all forms of extremism and violence

— Samuel Okudzeto AblakwaAblakwa concluded his remarks by emphasizing the shared responsibility to promote peace and reject violence.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Daily Graphic. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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