It was exactly 10 years ago when many in the international world watched helplessly as children, fathers, mothers, and grandparents were slaughtered in what is considered one of the greatest crimes against humanity in the second half of the twentieth century.

In 1994, over 800,000 people were murdered in one hundred days. Known as "the land of a thousand hills," Rwanda is a tiny country of only 26,000 square kilometers (about the size of Maryland) with a pre-genocide population of seven million.

On March 26, 2004, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan addressed ambassadors and diplomats around the world in a solemn moment. He said the events of 10 years ago, and the failure of the world to respond, "must leave us always with a sense of bitter regret and abiding sorrow."

Mr. Annan is calling on all people of the world - "everywhere, no matter what their station in life, whether in crowded cities or remote rural areas," - to observe a minute's silence at noon local time in every time zone on April 7, which has been marked by the General Assembly as the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda.

Speaking on behalf of the Seventh-day Adventist World Church president, Dr Jan Paulsen, comments that, "The Adventist Church in Rwanda is a large community, and the scars of 1994 run as deep in this family as in the rest of the nations. The depth of their suffering and our failure to respond as we should have filled us with grief and sorrow. Both what happened and its ongoing legacy must not be forgotten. Our prayer is that God will heal and comfort."

Representing the Adventist Church to the United Nations in New York and Geneva, Dr. Jonathan Gallagher says, "The whole international community recalls with great sadness the events of ten years ago. At this time of the tenth anniversary of this unmitigated tragedy, Adventists call for strength and determination to prevent any similar disaster in the future, and to continue to work on reconciliation and healing. On this International Day of Reflection proclaimed by the United Nations, it is important for the worldwide community to reflect deeply on the fundamental human rights, especially the right to life, and how such rights can be strengthened in today's world."

The Seventh-day Adventist Church has held consultative status with the Economic and Social committee of the UN (ECOSCO) since 1985. The Church is consulted on a wide range of different subjects including religious freedom, human rights, health, medical work, and education.
The Church benefits from such representation and seeks to partner where appropriate in UN-sponsored activities, such as literacy development, humanitarian aid, human rights education, anti-narcotic drug programs, and conventions and declarations of mutual interest.

Read the special flyer in .pdf-Format at:
http://parl.gc.adventist.org/documents/pdf/flyer.pdf