Country Case Studies
instil moral values of integrity and the capacity to deal with one’s
problems. It has been revived to promote the values of unity, truth
and a culture of hard work, all aimed at speeding up the attainment of
Vision 2020 and the Millennium Development Goals.
Abunzi (mediators): Community reconcilers who resolve day-to-day
conflicts before referring them to courts.
Community and National Dialogue: This has also played a significant role
in promoting unity and reconciliation within Rwandan society.
Apart from Gacaca, which became an institution itself, all the home-grown
activities were co-ordinated by the National Commission for Unity and
Reconciliation, which was established in 1999, just four years after the Genocide.
The Commission started by defining unity in the Rwandan context. For the Com
mission, national unity for Rwandans was not an option but essential. This must
happen alongside memory, truth, justice, confession and forgiveness.
In dealing with all these, the government recognizes the contribution of
national and international civil societies. The work done by human rights,
women and survivors’ organizations contributed to shape what Rwanda is today.
International organizations were welcomed to support social cohesion among
Rwandans, mainly by sharing other countries’ experiences and approaches. One
of them is Aegis Trust, a British NGO that works in genocide-prevention and
crimes against humanity. It uses a unique peace-building model of learning from
the past, and inspires individuals to take responsibility and participate in shaping
the future of their nation, free from discrimination, prejudice and genocide.
Because of its experience in teaching about the Holocaust, the Aegis Trust
was invited by Rwandans and supported by government in establishing the Kigali
Genocide Memorial, which is the biggest memorial in Africa in the context of
genocide. The Memorial is used not only by survivors to grieve and remember
their beloved ones but also as a signpost to say that this has happened. So
people should be committed to ‘never again’. From my experience, literacy and
numeracy do not guarantee peace. On the contrary, the organizers of genocide or
crimes against humanity – wherever it happens, here in Rwanda, in Zimbabwe,
in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s – were among the best educated in their
communities. Aegis Trust peace-building education targets all levels in the
community, including the army, police, community leaders, government officials,
young people, and so on.
In this context, peace education must help to discuss the way that people view
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International Conference on Transitional Justice, Zimbabwe
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