African Union Special Envoy on the Prevention of Genocide and Other Mass Atrocities Adama Dieng called for urgent actions to combat racism, negative ethnicity, xenophobia, and all forms of intolerance in the region.

Speaking at the International Conference on Genocide Prevention in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, Dieng said on Monday that the Rwandan genocide against Tutsi in 1994, in which about a million people were killed, did not start with machetes but dehumanisation of the Tutsi ethnic group. He noted that the conflict in South Sudan started as a political crisis, where hate speech across ethnic lines was encouraged and instigated, Xinhua news agency reported.

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Quoting United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Dieng said hate speech is, in itself, an attack on tolerance, inclusion, diversity, and the very essence of human rights norms and principles.

“We should combat intolerance, treat our fellow human beings with dignity and respect. We cannot just be speaking about preventing genocide and then fail to take urgent actions to prevent it,” he said.

Dieng congratulated the Rwandan government for transforming the country from ashes in the aftermath of the genocide into a thriving nation where all citizens live peacefully.

The conference was organised as part of the 76th commemoration of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Adopted in 1948, this landmark United Nations instrument defines genocide as an international crime and establishes responsibility for both individuals and states.

Jean-Damascene Bizimana, Rwandan minister of national unity and civic engagement, highlighted the failures of the international community to stop the Rwandan genocide despite the 1948 genocide convention.

He expressed gratitude to all stakeholders who continue to raise awareness about the genocide against the Tutsi and called for collective efforts to prevent genocide and combat its ideology.