Even as the genocide was taking place between April and July 1994, Rwandan community members in Canada began to mobilize. People and organizations, such as the Montreal‐based PAGE‐Rwanda (l’Association des parents et amis des victimes du génocide au Rwanda), took action to provide survivors, their families and friends with much‐needed solidarity and support.

In the aftermath of the genocide, it became clear that many perpetrators and planners of the atrocity were fleeing or had fled Rwanda and scattered around the world. Rwandan Canadian community members were soon shocked to discover that some of those responsible for the genocide had managed to arrive in Canada by hiding or distorting their involvement. 

Two perpetrators of particular note had arrived on Canadian soil. Léon Mugesera was a propagandist with the Rwandan government who had delivered a vehement and incendiary anti‐Tutsi speech prior to the genocide. Désiré Munyaneza was suspected of leading a militia and personally committing acts of violence and murder during the genocide.

Employing both community activism and means available in the Canadian legal system, the Rwandan Canadian community began the long process of advocating for justice. These efforts would eventually contribute to the deportation of Mugesera to face trial in Rwanda and the criminal conviction of Munyaneza in Canada – to date the only conviction under Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act. 

These community‐led efforts for justice are explored in The Power of Community: Seeking Justice after the Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda. This original documentary film was produced by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in collaboration with PAGE‐Rwanda. It features first‐hand testimony from members of the Rwandan Canadian community who were involved these mobilizations. Learn about their motivations and strategies for pursuing justice, some of the disappointments, challenges and successes they faced along the way, and what it meant for community members to know there was a possibility to pursue justice, even far away from where the genocide took place. 

These efforts show how powerful a community can be when people come together in the aftermath of violence, refuse to be silent and advocate for human rights.