Rwandan human rights activist to speak at Dalhousie

Rwandan human rights activist to speak at Dalhousie

The Rwandan winner of a prestigious human rights award, who is recognized as a source of hope and justice for survivors of the 1994 Genocide, will be speaking in Halifax this month. Godeliève Mukasarasi, winner of Rights & Democracy's 2004 John Humphrey Freedom Award, will be in Halifax Monday, Nov 29, for the first of five Canadian stops.        

The public event takes place on Monday from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Room 105 of the Weldon Law Building at Dalhousie University, 6061 University Avenue.         

A survivor of the 1994 genocide, Ms. Mukasarasi has gone on to make an invaluable contribution to the promotion of human rights and democratic development in Rwanda as a social worker with the Women's Network for Rural Development and as the founder of SEVOTA, a support group for the widows and orphans of the April 19, 1994, massacre of Tutsi in the town of Taba.         

Ms. Mukasarasi has worked actively for several years to improve the status and fate of women in her country. Her commitment has proven incredibly influential and SEVOTA now involves close to 80 organizations, including the group Urunana, which is made up of 230 Tutsi and Hutu women survivors of the genocide.

For more information, please contact Steve Smith or Louis Moubarak at (514) 283-6073.