In a statement released on Monday, August 5, 2024, Nderitu said there are still more than 1,000 Genocide fugitives from Rwanda at large, 30 years after committing the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Some of the perpetrators of the Genocide against the Tutsi have taken refuge in different countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), France, Belgium, the US, Netherlands, and Canada. Some of these countries have in the past been accused of lack of goodwill to prosecute or extradite the fugitives.
The UN official also noted that thousands of suspected war criminals from the former Yugoslavia have yet to face justice years after being involved in the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica.
'Only when all perpetrators have been held into account will we be able to uphold the expectations that all victims rightly possess: that their voices are heard and their suffering acknowledged, and that there is justice for the crimes committed against their loved ones,' Nderitu stated.
The 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda was fueled by decades of ethnic violence and claimed the lives of more than a million people.
On the other hand, the Srebrenica genocide occurred during the Bosnian War in 1995. The Bosnian Serb army systematically executed over 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in and around the town of Srebrenica, which had been declared a UN safe area.
Nderitu noted that while some of the perpetrators of the atrocities have been brought to justice by courts in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, there is a need to ensure that those
who continue to evade justice abroad are also brought to book.
The UN Special Adviser emphasized the crucial link between accountability and preventing future atrocities, warning that lack of accountability for past crimes can lead to recurring violations.
'The wheels of justice must keep turning, the voices of victims must continue being heard, and all perpetrators must be held to account for their actions,' she emphasized.
She also highlighted the need to continue promoting healing and reconciliation once the perpetrators are held to account for their crimes and verdicts issued.
'Justice is an essential prerequisite for healing and reconciliation, but it is not sufficient,' Nderitu noted, adding that both leaders and individual citizens have a role to play in preventing a repeat of past crimes such as the genocides.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
