KIGALI, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Unity and reconciliation among Rwandans following the aftermath of the 1994 genocide against Tutsis has improved by 2.2 percent from 92.5 in 2015 to 94.7 percent in 2020, said a report released Wednesday by the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC).
The survey that was conducted from 2016 to 2020 to assess the status of reconciliation in the small central African nation was presented to the Rwandan Senate on Wednesday by Fidele Ndayisaba, Executive Secretary of NURC.
The 1994 genocide was sparked when a plane carrying ex-Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana who was a Hutu was shot down, killing all on board. Rwandan Hutus blamed ethnic Tutsis for the attack and sought immediate revenge. The genocide claimed the lives of over 1 million Rwandans, mainly Tutsis, in an approximately 100-day period.
The report indicated that the percentage of people who view themselves as Rwandans instead of basing on ethnic lines increased from 95.6 per cent in 2015 to 98.2 per cent in 2020.
"Rwanda's efforts to promote unity and reconciliation among Rwandans in the last four years has borne positive results. Now, unity and reconciliation among Rwandans has reached at 94.7 percent since 1994 genocide against the Tutsi," Ndayisaba told the Senate while presenting the report findings.
He attributed the positive progress to Rwanda's strong political commitments and good governance that support Rwandan unity and reconciliation process.
The government, religious leaders, media, civil society organizations, private businesses and development partners played a vital role in achieving unity and reconciliation among Rwandans since 1994, he said.
The survey was conducted in 810 villages that were selected in all 416 sectors that make up 30 districts of the country, and 12,600 people from 9,720 households including inmates from several correctional facilities were interviewed for the unity and reconciliation survey.
Despite the progress made in achieving unity and reconciliation among Rwandans, the country is still facing a huge challenge of genocide denial and revisionism, most especially among genocide perpetrators and their accomplices, said Ndayisaba.
According to the report, genocide ideology and divisive politics among Rwandans have declined to 8.6 percent in 2020 from 25.8 percent in 2015.
Ndayisaba attributed to the decline to enactment of laws to punish genocide ideology and other related crimes. Enditem