KIGALI, Rwanda (BG) – Rwanda on Monday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi with ceremonies across the country and around the world to honor more than 1 million victims.

President Paul Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame joined thousands at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where they laid a wreath and lit the Flame of Remembrance, which will burn for 100 days, reflecting the length of the genocide.

Kagame addressed the nation during the National Remembrance Ceremony. He reflected on resilience and resistance in the face of adversity.

“We must face the cruel present knowing fully well that it is deeply connected to our dark past,” Kagame said.

“There is a choice to make: Either we are crushed between the two and cease to exist, or we stand up and fight,” he added.

Kagame also urged Africans beyond Rwanda to resist “dehumanization” and assert their dignity.

“But my message goes to other Africans who live like this on a daily basis, who are dehumanized and they accept it and they beg. I can’t beg to live. I can’t beg anybody,” he said

“We’ll fight, If I lose, I lose. But there is a chance. There is a chance, a significant chance, that if you stand up and fight, you will live. And you will have lived a dignified life that you deserve, that anybody else deserves,” he added.

Across Africa, commemorations were held in solidarity with Rwanda. At the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, religious leaders from the Orthodox, Muslim, Catholic and Ethiopian Evangelical Church communities led prayers for the victims and survivors.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres also called for global vigilance during the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi.

“Let’s commit to be vigilant and to work together to build a world of justice and dignity for all – in honour of all the victims and survivors of the genocide,” Guterres said in a social media post.

During 100 days of violence in 1994, extremist militias killed an estimated 1 million Tutsi and moderate Hutu.

Rwanda’s annual Kwibuka commemoration, which means “remember” in Kinyarwanda, aims to honor the victims, support survivors and renew the commitment to prevent future atrocities.