Genocide Archive of Rwanda Collection

Historical Note

The 1994 Rwandan Genocide (alternately called the Genocide against the Tutsi) represents one of the fastest and most atrocious cases of genocide in modern history. From early April until July of 1994, members of the Hutu ethnic group systematically slaughtered approximately 1,000,000 Tutsi, politically moderate or sympathizing Hutus, and Twa people, with whom they had previously co-existed and shared cultural practices. The history of the Genocide dates back to the 1960s, when the postcolonial government instituted anti-Tutsi discriminatory practices, resulting in a deep seated hatred of and periodic violence towards Tutsis. This violence peaked in 1994 when the Hutu leadership, fearing a loss of power in the face of a pro-democracy movement, organized and instigated the Genocide through a calculated dissemination of extremist rhetoric and threats of violence through state-controlled and independent media. The Genocide ended when the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) captured Kigali in July 1994 and defeated the Rwandan army.

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Administrative History

The Genocide Archive of Rwanda is a collaborative project of the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, Aegis Trust, and Rwanda’s National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide, with the assistance of the University of Texas Libraries Human Rights Documentation Initiative, USC Shoah Foundation Institute, the Rwanda Development Board, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Annenberg Foundation, and the Bridgeway Foundation, to document the Rwandan Genocide through personal history and contextual materials.

The oral history testimonies and other videos in the collection were created by the The Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, a permanent memorial and museum dedicated to the history of the Rwandan Genocide opened in April 2004. The physical materials that comprise the rest of the collection have been contributed by various partner organizations and repositories: the Dominicains Brotherhood of Rwanda, IWACU, Ibuka, the National University of Rwanda, the National Archives of Rwanda, the National Museum of Rwanda, ORINFOR, the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and numerous individuals, including Bruno Boudiquet and the family of Dr. Paul Rutayisire.

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Scope and Contents Note

The Genocide Archive of Rwanda is an interactive online digital archive and contains materials that document the development, lived experiences, and aftermath of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. In addition to the online site, a local version of the Genocide Archive Rwanda is accessible at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre in Kigali, Rwanda. Copies of the materials on the site are also available at the Human Rights Documentation Initiative at the University of Texas Libraries in Austin, Texas. The collections in Kigali and in Austin contain materials not available on the site: uncatalogued materials, restricted materials, and higher resolution archival copies of photos and videos.

The collection itself is divided into five main format-based series:

Videos are organized into the seven following sub-series: Survivor Testimonies, Rescuer Testimonies, Perpetrator Testimonies, Elders Testimonies, Gacaca Court Proceedings, Remembrance Events, and Conferences. Videos were created by the Kigali Genocide Memorial; some include subtitles, Kinyarwanda transcripts or English or French translations of transcripts. A map with locations linked to places mentioned in testimonies is also available. Additionally, many videos are not yet cataloged and available online, and a small number of videos are restricted and can only be viewed at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre.

Audio is comprised of transcripts of recordings from Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM), a Rwandan radio station which broadcast hate propaganda against Tutsis, moderate Hutus, Belgians, and the United Nations Mission in Rwanda (UNAMIR) from July 8, 1993 to July 31, 1994. The UT Libraries Human Rights Documentation Initiative harvested the transcripts from the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Judicial Database.

Photographs are arranged into 15 sub-series: Alleged Perpetrator Photographs, Burial Photographs, Commemoration Photographs, Conference Photographs, Exhumation Photographs, Human Remains Photographs, Identity Documents, Memorial Site Photographs, Memorial Site Visit Photographs, Perpetrator Photographs, Political Figure Photographs, Roadblock Photographs, Survivor Photographs, Victim Identity Photographs, and Victim Photographs. Photographs may also be viewed by their source repository or, in some cases, by thematic groupings based on original physical order. Photographs include both scanned film photos and born-digital photographs.

Publications are organized into three sub-series: serial publications (including magazines and newspapers), books, and reports. Publications are comprised of works published prior to and during the Rwandan Genocide and include anti-Tutsi and pro-National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND) publications, opposition publications, pro-Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) publications, and foreign publications. Publications can also be viewed by their source repository.

Archival Documents are organized by title and are comprised of non-published documents--including correspondence, speeches, and administrative documents--related to the Rwandan Genocide and Rwandan history. Archival documents can also be viewed by their source repository.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Unrestricted.

Use Restrictions

Standard copyright restrictions apply.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Cite as: [Name of item], Genocide Archive of Rwanda Collection, Human Rights Documentation Initiative, University of Texas Libraries, the University of Texas at Austin, [link to item, if applicable].

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Box and Folder Inventory

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