Candles were lit and a minute of silence observed in honour of more than one million Tutsi killed during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. The ceremony wove together music and memory, with 15-year-old Belko Kenza Naike performing a memorial song and later delivering her poem “Rwanda, essuie tes larmes!”. Rukabu Tunga Brandy added a musical reflection that captured the depth of the occasion.

Ghada Waly, Director-General of UNOV and Executive Director of UNODC, delivered both the UN Secretary-General’s message and her own reflections. She reaffirmed the United Nations' solidarity with Rwanda and called for sustained efforts to counter hate speech, uphold human dignity, and protect the truth from distortion. She also pointed out two important elements in envisioning peace and stability; that of educating the young generation and bringing women at the round table of negotiations for future peace.

Delivering Rwanda’s official statement, Ms. Betty Dusenge, Second Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Rwanda in Vienna, reaffirmed the country’s message of truth, justice, and global responsibility. She further highlighted Rwanda’s post-genocide journey of reconciliation and nation-building, stating: “The Government of National Unity established on July 19th 1994 prioritized National Unity as a foundation for rebuilding the country. Reconciliation and resilience were the core objectives to the reconstruction, and ‘Ndi Umunyarwanda – translating to I am Rwandan’ was the cornerstone value of the new Rwanda.”

Statements followed, including one from Ms. Ancilla Umubyeyi, who represented the genocide survivors’ community in Austria with a message of remembrance and resolve. She paid tribute to the lives lost and spoke on behalf of those who continue to carry the weight of memory decades after the genocide. Her words were a call to honour the truth of what happened in Rwanda, to reject genocide denial and revisionism in all its forms, and to ensure that the suffering endured by survivors is neither forgotten nor ignored. 

Ms. Sissi Domitrie Mukanyiligira delivered a deeply personal testimony of survival, recounting the horror she lived through as a young girl during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. She spoke of moments when death seemed inevitable, of the loved ones she lost, and of the long, painful road to healing. Her words carried the weight of memory and the clarity of truth, reminding those present that genocide is not an abstract historical event — it is real, it is personal, and its consequences endure across time. 

Kwibuka 31 in Vienna reaffirmed a truth shared by all who gathered: that memory is not about the past alone, but also about the world of peace, free of genocide that the global community must build and protect, together.