UK: Amnesty hosts UK premiere of 'Hotel Rwanda' in London, Monday 21 February
Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said:
"Hotel Rwanda is an important and timely film. It is a poignant and powerful story of one man and his family set against the backdrop of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, which claimed the lives of over 800,000 people and created a refugee crisis affecting more than three million others."
Based on a true story, Hotel Rwanda tells the story of real life Rwandan hero Paul Rusesabagina who saved more than 1200 lives in the face of appalling danger and at great personal risk to himself and his family.
Kate Allen added:
"As Paul Rusesabagina proved, one man can save many lives and change the course of history. The filmmakers involved in Hotel Rwanda wanted to tell this story.
"As an organisation that has been defending and promoting human rights for over four decades, Amnesty International believes that this kind of socially relevant filmmaking is not only entertaining, but has the potential to educate and mobilise audiences.
"We commend Terry George, A. Kitman Ho, Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, and everyone involved in this cinematic achievement. We also applaud MGM/UA and Entertainment Films for distributing such an important film."
Amnesty International has recently reported on the legacy of the genocide in Rwanda, and in particular the continuing suffering of Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights who were raped. The UN estimates that between 250,000 and 500,000 rapes were committed during the genocide.
These were often extremely violent and included gang rape, sexual torture and mutilation. Of those who survived, seven in ten are now living with HIV/AIDS, and many of those are stigmatised and discriminated against. Amnesty is campaigning for justice and better healthcare for these Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights.
Kate Allen concluded:
"If we are moved by the bravery and the love for humanity shown by people like Paul Rusesabagina, if we are serious about never again permitting human rights atrocities like these to happen, then we must ensure that there is justice for the crimes that have been committed in Darfur, western Sudan, over the last two years.
"The only way the international community can prove it is serious about preventing further human rights atrocities like Rwanda is by ensuring that perpetrators of human rights violations, wherever they take place, are brought to justice."
Hotel Rwanda will open in London’s West End on 25 February followed by a nationwide release on 4 March, It is distributed by Entertainment Film Distributors.
Visit the official Hotel Rwanda website