A commemoration of the 1994 genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi in Rwanda was, for the very first time, held in Brussels at European Union level, on April 9, according to the Rwandan embassy in Belgium.

The event, co-organised by the Rwandan Embassy in Belgium and the European External Action Service (EEAS), took place at EEAS headquarters. It attracted more than 100 members of European institutions, including Josep Borrell, the High Representative and Vice-President of the European Union, EU member states and members of the diaspora.

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At around 5.10 pm, the commemoration began with a speech by Borrell, who stressed that reconciliation could only succeed on the basis of acknowledging what happened, holding the perpetrators accountable and preserving the memory of the victims.

Borrell's speech was followed by an important moment in the ceremony, the lighting of the candles, where Borrell, Rwanda's representative to the European Union Amb Igor Cesar, and Ernest Sagaga, the president of Ibuka in Belgium, each lit an electric candle in tribute to the innocent lives lost during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. Ibuka is the umbrella organization for genocide survivors’ associations.

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A minute of silence was observed after the candles were lit, allowing participants to reflect on the profound impact of the genocide against the Tutsi and to honour the memory of its victims.

But the heart of the ceremony was the testimony of Esther Mujawayo, one of the founders of AVEGA-Agahozo, the association of widows of the genocide.

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"In 1994, on the hill where I grew up, all the Tutsi were killed. As widows, we ask ourselves: Who am I now that I have no one left? How do you stay alive? I always feel uncomfortable talking in places of power like the UN, or the EU, because they knew what was going to happen and did nothing.

"If the right decisions had been taken, I wouldn't have to be there, to testify.”

Finally, Amb Cesar appealed against indifference, pleading for justice and calling on the European Union to stop such atrocities from happening.

The ceremony ended with a visit to the "Peace is our choice" exhibition, which looks at the historical roots of the genocide and the reconstruction of Rwanda.