Tomorrow marks the beginning of Genocide Awareness Month - a time to reflect on mass atrocities so that they can be prevented, a time to honor victims and survivors and draw courage from upstanders, and a time to redouble efforts to end identity-based violence and persecution.

April is Genocide Awareness Month because several significant dates related to genocide fall during the month, including:

April 24, 1915 - the beginning of the Armenian Genocide
April 19, 1943 - the start of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, a significant event in the history of the Holocaust
April 19, 1975 - the beginning of the Cambodian Genocide
April 7, 1994 - the start of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda

At AMEL, we spread awareness and lessons about genocides and mass atrocities in order to counter division and empower new generations of allies and upstanders. The AMEL Institute dedicates a critical module in its curriculum to learning about the Holocaust and other genocides as well as the processes that led up to them in order to equip young leaders in Africa and the Middle East with the know-how to interrupt discrimination and dehumanization before it rises to the level of violence and mass atrocities.

Follow AMEL’s social media channels over the next month and contribute to the reflections, lessons, and actions so that, together, we can learn from the past and build a future without genocide.