By Dennis Sadowski Catholic News Service Apr-8-2014

Healing and reconciliation continue 20 years after Rwanda’s 100 days of genocide, making the central African nation a strong example for troubled states to emulate, international observers said.

Hutus and Tutsis, the country’s primary social groups, now work alongside each other to rebuild a country that was often afflicted with political and social violence that ultimately led to genocide during its first three decades as an independent nation.

Still, the world continues to struggle to develop ways to prevent atrocities in the first place, leaving questions about how much leaders have learned from the most horrific period in Rwanda’s history.

Almost daily, reports from Congo, Central African Republic, the Darfur region of Sudan, Cambodia, Syria and elsewhere shock the senses. Killings are used as a tool to terrorize and intimidate. Violence can also take the form of rape or torture. Often the level of response to any given situation depends on the geopolitical forces at play in a world no longer solely dominated by two superpowers.

Observers told Catholic News Service that while reports of mass atrocities have declined in the 21st century, the likelihood of smaller-scale incidents remains. They said countries would do well to bolster diplomatic initiatives and support local peacebuilding programs in an effort to head off mass atrocities.

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