Peace – Reflection on Rwanda
Minister of State and of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and
Official Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste
Dili, April 11th, 2016
Peace – Reflection on Rwanda
Thursday the 7th of April marked the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda. Today, Monday the 11th of April, the UN Secretary-General will join survivors at a memorial ceremony in New York to remember the more than 800,000 people systematically murdered throughout Rwanda in 1994 and to renew a resolve “to prevent such atrocities from ever being repeated, anywhere in the world.”
Reflecting on Rwanda and on our own devastating experience of 24 years of violence we recognize the supreme value of peace and the importance of life with dignity.
This experience has driven our priorities on the international stage.
Timor-Leste was a champion of the development and inclusion of Goal number 16 in the new Sustainable Development Goals. The 17 goals or SDGs are at the heart of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Goal 16 is to promote “just, peaceful and inclusive societies” and first in the list of its 12 associated targets is to “significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.”
It is also why Timor-Leste is now a member of the Champions Group of countries that work to see the achievement of this goal worldwide.
Having suffered the effects of conflict and violence we are now compelled to take leadership to promote peace.
Spokesperson for the Sixth Constitutional Government, Minister of State Agio Pereira noted “Many countries including our own have experienced the darkest of days and we are mindful of the experience of Rwanda being remembered at the ceremony today. Everyday in Timor-Leste the people of our nation demonstrate that with resilience, tolerance and generosity of spirit we can work together to build a dignified and peaceful society.”
