Promoting Reconciliation A er Genocide and Mass Killing in Rwanda—and Other Postcon ict Settings: Understanding the Roots of Violence, Healing, Shared History, and General Principles

In the a ermath of genocide, mass killing, or intractable—persistent and violent—con$ ict between groups, how can members of these groups continue to live together and build a nonviolent future.1 How can they create reasonably harmonious relations? Increasingly, research and observations have shown that when violent con$ icts end, even if they end by a peace agreement—rather than one party defeating another as in Rwanda, which will be a focus of this chapter—violence is likely to recur (de la Rey, 2001; Lederach, 1997). 4 e peace agreement may not 5 t the interests of all the segments of the population or elites. Even more importantly, the end to the violence is not likely to change the hostility that gave rise to violence in the 5 rst place, and has become more intense in the course of and as a result of the violence. I will describe here an approach my associates and I have developed to promote reconciliation between Tutsis and Hutus in the a ermath of the horri5 c genocide in