As Rwandans and its friends worldwide yesterday commemorated the 16th anniversary of the Genocide against the Tutsi, UN Secretary-General,Ban Ki-Moon issued a statement, in which he reiterated his solidarity with the survivors of the Genocide which left over 1 million people dead.

"Our thoughts are with the survivors, whose haunting testimony woke us to the reality of a tragedy that was all too preventable,” the message reads in part.

"The United Nations is fully committed to securing justice for the victims of genocide and to preventing future atrocities.”

Ban noted that such efforts to deliver justice and ensure accountability include the International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda (ICTR).

"Simply put, their heinous crimes will not go unpunished.”
"Together, let us pledge our determination to prevent genocide as the best way to remember those who lost their lives so tragically in Rwanda,” he urged the international community.

Reports have pinned the UN for failing Rwanda "in deplorable ways" during 1994.

An independent inquiry commissioned by the then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, into the actions of the UN during the Genocide , pointed out how the UN ignored evidence of a planned genocide and even abandoned Rwandans in need of protection.

"The fundamental failure was the lack of resources and political commitment devoted to developments in Rwanda and to the United Nations presence there," the report said.

Ends