Support community facilitators training in Rwanda

This Report was made by GER and CFOR during the Commemoration of 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

During this period, we have made contact and organised a consultative meeting with community leaders. The meeting was held on April 4, 2025 at Centre Christus-Remera, with 55 participants, and the aim was to discuss the role of everyone to support reconciliation and resilience in Rwanda in 6 districts (Ruhango, Gasabo, Musanze, Rwamagana, Kicukiro and Bugesera), and their role during Kwibuka#31, the Commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Participants included youth, women, religious leaders, local authorities and stakeholder’s representatives.

The discussions in the meeting focused on the continued presence of ideological discrimination and its impact on survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, as well as the ongoing trauma experienced during the commemoration period, especially among youth.

Participants highlighted the need to facilitate interactions with convicts who have completed genocide-related sentences in their communities.

During the meeting, one of the perpetrators (Christophe), who participated in the Genocide against the Tutsi, provided insights into his journey and reintegration, pointing out that participating in this kind of interactive dialogue helped him to overcome his fear, and he opened up and shared about his role in the Genocide. After the dialogue organised by GER and CFOR, he also disclosed the location of the remains of the person that he had killed, so they could be buried in honour.

Theophile, a genocide survivor, said that she had a deep fear of genocide perpetrators and initially refused to attend GER-CFOR workshops. After encouragement from past attendees, she finally decided to participate, and she was surprised to witness genuine remorse and requests for forgiveness from perpetrators. This helped her process her trauma, forgive those who harmed her, and build friendships with people she once feared.

The participants further recommended that GER and CFOR continue to work with youth on intergenerational trauma through facilitated deep dialogues, to heal the past and build the future, as present and future leaders.