Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid tribute to the victims of the 1994 Rwandan genocide in Kigali, where he is trying to build consensus with Commonwealth countries to prevent a new humanitarian crisis.
Mr. Trudeau is the first Canadian prime minister to visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial, which serves as the final resting place for more than 250,000 victims.
He laid a wreath at one of the graves and made the sign of the cross as members of the Rwandan army stood guard and played a somber melody on the bugle.
More than 800,000 people were killed in 100 days, including Tutsis, moderate Hutus and others, during the conflict.
Trudeau is in Rwanda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, where he hopes to bolster support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia and provide support to combat the geopolitical fallout from the conflict.
The Commonwealth, which together represent around 2.5 billion people, is made up of 54 independent countries with historical ties to the British Crown.
Countries range from some of the richest economies in the world to some of the poorest.
Several of the Commonwealth’s poorest countries have felt the pangs of famine, which is becoming an urgent problem around the world as access to grain from Ukraine and Russia is restricted by war.
A meeting scheduled for Thursday between Mr. Trudeau and the host of the summit, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, has been postponed due to a scheduling conflict. The two leaders should meet before the departure of the Canadian delegation.
Try to come together
Separately, a state dinner on Thursday will be an opportunity to try to secure an unlikely Commonwealth consensus on the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
Rwanda was one of 10 Commonwealth members that abstained in a United Nations vote to condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine last March.
Canada’s High Commissioner to the UK, Ralph Goodale, said the Canadian delegation hopes to make an impact in the important talks on climate change and global food insecurity it will have this week with delegations from other countries. of the Commonwealth gathered in Rwanda.
Ralph Goodale, who sits on the Commonwealth’s board of governors, says Canada has a stronger voice at the top because other international powers like the United States, Russia and China are not there.
We will have important contributions to make to some very critical international discussionsthe former liberal minister told reporters in Kigali on Wednesday.
There are Commonwealth countries that are very directly affected by the threat of famine. And this is due to many factors, including climate change, but it is especially now the consequence of the war in Ukraine and the aggression of Russiaaccording to Mr. Goodale.
It is extremely important for Canada to have the opportunity to have its voice heard, in a forum like this where you really see the impact of the war in Ukraine.
This is the first time Commonwealth heads of government have met in person since 2018. The 2020 summit, like most events, has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Trudeau arrived in Kigali on Wednesday, but the official welcoming ceremony will take place on Friday. The leaders are expected to sit down for a series of closed-door meetings on Friday and Saturday.
Although many world leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, are expected to attend the summit discussions, other leaders have chosen to stay home.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and new Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese are notably among those absent.
The Canadian Press
Source: Radio-Canada
