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NEWS PROVIDED BY
Matthew Daniels, JD, PhD
April 6, 2021
OPINION, April 6, 2021 /Christian
Newswire/ -- The following is submitted by Matthew Daniels, JD, PhD:
This April 7 should be a solemn day of remembrance.
Designated by the United Nations as the
International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda, this
Wednesday marks the beginning of the 1994 mass slaughter of Tutsis.
An estimated 800,000 people were murdered in little more than three months.
The rest of the world did little to stop the genocide. Four years later
President Bill Clinton visited Rwanda. He apologized for the failure of the
international community. More important,
he looked ahead at what needed to be done: "We cannot change the past.
But we can and must do everything in our power to help you build a future
without fear, and full of hope."
After the Holocaust the civilized world collectively declared: "Never again"
Yet mass killings, massacres, and genocides continued:
East Timor,
Cambodia,
Sudan,
Liberia,
Democratic Republic of the Congo, and
Burundi. And, of course, Rwanda.
Tragically, in our own era, we are witnessing a rising tide of political,
religious, ethnic, and tribal violence around the world. Of particular
concern is West Africa, the site of terrible brutality and killing, much of
it sectarian. For instance, violence is roiling Nigeria, Africa's most
populous nation. Tens of thousands of Nigerians have been murdered over the
last decade. Several violent jihadist groups are active, including Boko
Haram, Islamic State in West Africa Province, and Ansaru.
Beyond Nigeria, West Africa is the target of increasing Islamist violence.
Three Islamic State affiliates are on the rise in Africa—Islamic State in
the Greater Sahara (ISGS), Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP),
and Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP).
Containing such violence will be no easy feat. Better security is critical,
of course. But in countries such as Nigeria the military often has been part
of the problem. So it is critical to go deeper and address the underlying
causes of murderous intolerance and violence.
For this purpose,
AfroLeadership, a pan-African human rights NGO is joining with
Good of All, a non-profit educational organization in Washington, D.C.
to harness the power of digital media for universal rights education in
Africa.
Perhaps the great tragedy of this age is that advances for humanity such as
the Internet have been used for evil by terrorists, racists, and extremists
of all varieties at home and abroad. It is essential to harness these
technologies for good.
This is the reason for our creation of the
Universal Rights Academy. Our goal is to use the educational power of
the Internet to promote the transcendent principles of human rights and
freedom that are the best antidote to ideologies of racism, violence and
genocide.
The anniversary of the horrific events in Rwanda remind us of the urgency of
this task. After every genocide the world declares "Never again!" But then
it happens again. It seems to be unfolding in front of us in West Africa
today. Unless we act, it will reappear somewhere else tomorrow.
It is not enough to confront violence as it occurs. We must preempt genocide
before it starts. That requires inspiring a digital generation with our
shared human dignity and the universal rights that are the birthright of all
humanity.
Dr. Matthew Daniels is the Chair of Law
and Human Rights at the Institute of World Politics. He is also the founder of
Good of All,
an international human rights education organization and creator of
www.universalrights.org.
SOURCE Matthew Daniels, JD, PhD
CONTACT: Audrey Mullen, Advocacy Ink, 202-270-2772,
audrey@advocacyink.com