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	Rwanda – Letters from the Living to the Dead by Edward Luck UN Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect   Close to a million Rwandans were killed during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Artist Odile Katese was in exile at the time. Despite being far from the killing, she was not immune to the deadly events and their repercussions. Returning three years later, she barely recognized her country.   The tragic events there – more than 800,000 Rwandans, mostly ethnic Tutsi, were massacred by Hutu militia and government forces over a period of just 100 days – occurred despite the existence of the Genocide Convention of 1948, which makes it a crime to commit genocide. In response to this collective failure and in an effort to learn from the past, the United Nations outlined an action plan for the prevention of genocide in 2004.   In Ms. Katese’s case, it led to the idea of the “The Book of Life.” The project is a collection of letters "from the living to the dead," written by widows, orphans and perpetrators to their lost loved ones and to their victims.   The idea for the project came to Ms. Katese as she witnessed the pain Rwandans were experiencing recounting memories of those who had been killed. It prompted her to find a way to revisit the genocide “in a more peaceful way because we have to make peace with our history.”   “The one thing that seemed to hurt Rwandans the most was the fact that the victims were dead and nothing else,” Ms. Katese said.   “What if we could create a very symbolic way of keeping in touch and, in this way, somehow bring peace to both the dead and the living,” the artist said, adding that the writing process itself was healing and essential. “I think it is really important to write your pain and nostalgia. You feel lighter and more serene.”   Seeking to “balance the testimonies,” the project aims to create a more serene and peaceful space from which Rwandans can revisit and process the genocide, so that they can move forward, the artist said. It seeks to put a more “human face” on the lengthy list of names traditionally read aloud each year during genocide commemorative ceremonies, and strives to commemorate the victims’ lives, rather than their deaths. The letters often recount how the lost ones laughed and brought joy to life.   “There have been many efforts to rebuild the country, this project tries to help Rwandans heal and move forward with their lives at a much more personal level,” Ms. Katese said, adding that she hopes that by participating in an interactive project such as hers, Rwandans can reconcile themselves with themselves, and with life and death.   “This is about memories that reconcile you with your self, it"s a memory that appeases your pain, and brings to life the victims of the genocide…because I think that, over time, if we tell the story of how they die, we kill them again and again,” she said.   In the years after the genocide, the UN General Assembly declared 7 April the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda and called for the establishment of an information and educational outreach programme to “mobilize civil society for Rwanda genocide victim remembrance and education in order to help prevent future acts of genocide.”   “The Book of Life” will be featured at this year"s commemoration event at UN Headquarters in New York, taking place today, the theme of which is “learning from history to shape a better future.”   "These letters remind us of an essential truth: that mass atrocities are the accumulation of thousands of individual murders," said the Secretary-General"s Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, Edward Luck. "For the families of each victim, the legacy of pain and loss will last for generations. But so too will the love and the memories captured so movingly in these letters. As they attest, in the end life does indeed triumph over death."   Ms. Katese said she hopes the “Book of Life” project will continue to grow, extending to generations beyond and across borders “so that my kid and the next generation will find the testimonies of the survivors, stories of perpetrators, and they will find also that we continued to think about them and even our kids can write to them if they want.”   She envisions setting up a space where people can write to the victims, remembering them and their lives, and having people from 100 countries write 100 letters on how they are affected by the genocide and having the collection bound into a school manual for all to learn from. Visit the related web page
	Human Rights, Democracy and Freedom by Tenzin Gyatso, the XIVth Dalai Lama Tibet / India   The Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that all human beings have the right to freedom from want and freedom from fear. These human rights are inclusive, interdependent and universal.   Whether we are concerned with suffering born of poverty, with denial of freedom, with armed conflict, or with a reckless attitude to the natural environment everywhere, we should not view these events in isolation. Eventually their repercussions are felt by all of us.   We, therefore, need effective international action to address these global issues from the perspective of the oneness of humanity, and from a profound understanding of the deeply interconnected nature of today''s world.   At birth, all human beings are naturally endowed with the qualities we need for our survival, such as caring, nurturing and loving kindness.   However, despite already possessing such positive qualities, we tend to neglect them. As a result, humanity faces unnecessary problems. What we need to do is to make more effort to sustain and develop these qualities.   Therefore, the promotion of human values is of primary importance. We also need to focus on cultivating good human relations, for, regardless of differences in nationality, religious faith, race, or whether people are rich or poor, educated or not, we are all human beings. When we are facing difficulties, we invariably meet someone, who may be a stranger, who immediately offers us help.   We all depend on each other in difficult circumstances, and we do so unconditionally. We do not ask who people are before we offer them help. We help because they are human beings like us.   Closing the Gap Between Rich and Poor   Our world is increasingly interdependent, but I wonder if we truly understand that our interdependent human community has to be compassionate; compassionate in our choice of goals, compassionate in our means of cooperation and our pursuit of these goals.   The awesome power that economic institutions have acquired in our society, and the distressing effects that poverty continues to wreak, should make all of us look for means of transforming our economy into one based on compassion. This form of compassion affirms the principles of dignity and justice for all embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.   Wherever it occurs, poverty is a significant contributor to social disharmony, ill health, suffering and armed conflict. If we continue along our present path, the situation could become irreparable. This constantly increasing gap between the "haves" and "have-nots" creates suffering for everyone.   Concerned not only for ourselves, our families, our community and country, we must also feel a responsibility for the individuals, communities and peoples who make up the human family as a whole. We require not only compassion for those who suffer, but also a commitment to ensuring social justice.   If we are serious in our commitment to the fundamental principles of equality that I believe lie at the heart of the concept of human rights, today''s economic disparity can no longer be ignored. It is not enough merely to say that all human beings must enjoy equal dignity. This must be translated into action.   Democracy and Peace   Today, the values of democracy, open society, respect for human rights, and equality are becoming recognized all over the world as universal values. To my mind there is an intimate connection between democratic values and the fundamental values of human goodness.   Where there is democracy there is a greater possibility for the citizens of the country to express their basic human qualities, and where these basic human qualities prevail, there is also a greater scope for strengthening democracy. Most importantly, democracy is also the most effective basis for ensuring world peace.   However, responsibility for working for peace lies not only with our leaders, but also with each of us individually. Peace starts within each one of us. When we have inner peace, we can be at peace with those around us. When our community is in a state of peace, it can share that peace with neighbouring communities and so on. When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace.   We can work consciously to develop feelings of love and kindness. For some of us, the most effective way to do so is through religious practice. For others it may be non-religious practices. What is important is that we each make a sincere effort to take seriously our responsibility for each other and the world in which we live.   Human Rights   Providing for equality under law, the declaration states that everyone is entitled to equal rights and freedoms without discrimination of any kind. Peace and freedom cannot be ensured as long as fundamental human rights are violated.   Similarly, there cannot be peace and stability as long as there is oppression and suppression. It is unfair to seek one''s own interests at the cost of other people''s rights.   Truth cannot shine if we fail to accept truth or consider it illegal to tell the truth. Where will the idea of truth and reality be if we push the truth and facts under the carpet and allow illegal actions to triumph?   Internationally, our rich diversity of cultures and religions should help to strengthen fundamental human rights in all communities.   Underlying this diversity are basic human principles that bind us all together as members of the same human family.   The question of human rights is so fundamentally important that there should be no difference of views about it. We all have common human needs and concerns. We all seek happiness and try to avoid suffering regardless of our race, religion, sex or social status.   However, mere maintenance of a diversity of traditions should never justify the violations of human rights.   Thus, discrimination against persons of different races, against women, and against weaker sections of society may be traditional in some regions, but if they are inconsistent with universally recognized human rights, these forms of behaviour should change.   The universal principle of the equality of all human beings must take precedence.   There is a great and growing desire for change in the world; change that ushers in a renewed commitment to ethical and spiritual values, that resolves conflicts peaceably, employing dialogue and non-violence, that upholds human rights and human dignity as well as human responsibility. We need change that educates and promotes the urgent need to care for the planet and its ecological systems, that calls upon all nation states to work towards the universal abolition of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction and that encourages peace, compassion, respect and warm-heartedness.   I believe that these goals can be achieved on the basis of increased awareness. Let us widen our perspective to include the well being of the whole world and its future generations in our vision of prosperity and freedom. Visit the related web page
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