April 7th is Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Rwanda Genocide

Clockwise from top left,
Kazungu Ziwa, Shabani Lufuno, Ngabu Bita and Matata Badoda.
All are Congolese men who were recently raped and agreed to be photographed

The United Nations (UN) has named April 7 as the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Rwanda Genocide. This day commemorates the deaths of 800,000 people who were murdered during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, central Africa.

In 1994, in the space of three months, about 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in Rwanda in what came to be known as the Rwanda genocide.  In 1995, the UN called for an outreach program entitled “The Rwanda Genocide and the United Nations” and “to take measures to mobilize civil society for Rwanda genocide victim remembrance and education” to help prevent future acts of genocide. The Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Rwanda Genocide has been observed each year since 2004, 10 years after the genocide took place.