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Kigali, 19 September 2019

A regional conference entitled, “Rwanda’s Journey towards Sustainable Peace – 25 Years” has started in Kigali today. The 2 days conference is organized by Rwanda Peace Academy, in partnership with the Government of Japan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The conference seeks to evaluate the progress and identify challenges to the socio-economic and political transformation in Rwanda after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and to come up with strategies to continue the drive to sustainable peace.

In his remarks during the opening ceremony, Hon Minister of Defence, Maj Gen Albert Murasira said, “This conference is a reminder that unless we invest in understanding, owning and implementing peace building programmes, our countries risk relapsing into violent conflict or will fail to prevent future violence. Sustainable peace is a measure of successful peace building and cannot be realised without building the institutions that are capable of resolving future conflicts peacefully.”

“Rwanda’s journey to recovery and development is a story of ownership, innovation, leadership, resilience and vision, and there is a lot to learn from this long journey. I really trust that this conference will open space for debate and discussion on how these and other factors contribute to peace building, peace consolidation and sustainable development,” said Mr Stephen Rodriques, The UNDP Resident Representative for Rwanda.

The Ambassador of Japan to Rwanda, H.E. Takayuki Miyashita emphasised that peace and security are fundamental for Africa to achieve development.

About 80 participants from 9 African countries, namely; Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe are attending the conference. The majority of participants from outside Rwanda are from peacekeeping training and research institutions that are engaged in similar business with the Rwanda Peace Academy.

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