Four Genocide Memorial Sites in Rwanda Added to the UNESCO World Heritage List

Four Genocide Memorial Sites in Rwanda have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List for their remarkable universal historical value. These sites are just a few of the numerous resting places for more than 800,000 people (mostly the Tutsi) who lost their lives during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. The Sites being Bisesero, Nyamata, Kigali Genocide Memorial Center, and Murambi commemorate the mass killings (through hacking, beating, and shooting) of Tutsi and moderate Hutu and by inscribing them, the United Nations Cultural body brings to an end the moratorium on considering Memorial Sites for human suffering.

The historic decision to include the four Genocide Sites of Rwanda in the UNESCO World Heritage List will help safeguard the memory, counter denial, as well as strengthen Global Genocide prevention efforts to prevent the same from happening again in the future. This inscription was welcomed by the Rwandan Government Spokesperson Yolande Makolo who acknowledged the move on X (formerly Twitter).

Genocide Memorial Sites in Rwanda

Nestled on Gisozi Hill, just a stone’s throw from Kigali City Center is the incredibly popular Kigali Genocide Memorial Site, established in 1999 and officially launched in 2004. This Center is the final resting place for over 250000 Genocide victims who were found in Rivers, houses, streets, and mass graves in Kigali and its surroundings. It is one of the renowned genocide sites and undeniably for the strong-hearted because you get to see the wall of names dedicated to the genocide victims, skulls, torn clothing, and bone fragments which will confront you as you make your way into the Site.

At Nyamata Genocide Memorial Site, based around a former Church approximately 40 kilometers south of the Site, the remains of over 50,000 people were buried. When the mass killings began in April 1994, a number of Tutsi people sought refuge in the Church (as Churches were considered one of the safest places to hide), but the Hutu extremists never spared them and instead threw grenades into the Church to create holes on church walls. Remains such as victims’ personal belongings (IDs, clothes, and even remains) as well as weapons (machetes, and guns) will be seen at the Genocide Site.

Bisesero Genocide Center set on top of Muyira Hill in western Rwanda represents a “resistance memorial” and honors the Tutsi who tried fighting back and hiding in the surrounding hills. While over 40,000 people lost their lives here, the Hutu extremists faced a bit of resistance compared to other massacre sites across the country.

On the stunning Murambi Hill, approximately 150 kilometers southwest of Kigali is the Murambi Genocide Site founded on 21st April 1995 to honor the estimated 50,000 lives that were lost there. It is said that

when the Tutsi tried hiding in a local church, the then Bishop and local Authorities lured them into a trap by convincing them to hide at the nearby Technical School with the promise of being protected by the French Troops. As a matter of fact, about 65,000 people moved to the school but surprisingly, no food or water was provided to the victims hence making them too weak to resist. Having defended themselves for only a few days with stones, the Tutsi were overpowered, and worse still, the French Soldiers left the School prompting the Hutu Interahamwe Militiamen to attack the school. There were only about 34 survivors in Murambi and presently, over 50,000 graves can be seen in the area which also houses a Genocide Museum where skeletons and mummified bodies of some of the victims are exhibited.

Besides the four that have been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, other Genocide Memorial Sites in Rwanda include Ntarama Genocide Memorial, Nyanza Genocide Site, and Nyarubuye Genocide Memorial