Young Rwandans take part in a candle lit vigil on the first of 100 days of remembrance as Rwanda commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Tutsi genocide on April 7, 2024 in Kigali, Rwanda. Photo: Luke Dray / Getty Images
Young Rwandans take part in a candle lit vigil on the first of 100 days of remembrance as Rwanda commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Tutsi genocide on April 7, 2024 in Kigali, Rwanda. Photo: Luke Dray / Getty Images

What is the legacy of Rwanda and other atrocity crimes, and how are sexual and gender-based crimes addressed in today’s conflicts? In this public event, keynote speaker Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, will address accountability efforts and sexual violence, as we commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide.

The 1994 genocide against the Tutsi people in Rwanda is a stark example of the international community’s failure to prevent mass atrocity crimes. A significant legacy of the Rwanda genocide was the accountability efforts at the local, national and international levels. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) delivered the first international conviction of a person for the crime of genocide, and firmly established sexual violence as an act of genocide.

Despite these developments, sexual and gender-based violence continues to plague violent conflict.

This event’s keynote address will be followed by a panel discussion with

  • Freddy Mutanguha, CEO of the Aegis Trust and Director of the Kigali Genocide Memorial, Rwanda
  • Erik Møse, former president of the ICTR and current Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine
  • Savita Pawnday, Executive Director, Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
  • Jacqui True, Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence against Women (CEVAW), Monash University and PRIO Global Fellow.

The conversation will be moderated by Ellen E. Stensrud, Head of research at the Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies.

Opening remarks will be given by Torunn L. Tryggestad, Deputy Director at PRIO and Director of the PRIO Centre on Gender, Peace and Security.

Closing remarks will be given by Inger Skjelsbæk, Director and Professor at the Centre for Gender Research, University of Oslo.

A light breakfast will be served from 8:30.

A link to the stream of this event will be provided shortly.

This event is co-hosted by The Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies, PRIO Centre on Gender, Peace and Security, and Centre for Gender Research at the University of Oslo.