The Savage Endowment is hosting the lecture Rwandan Genocide Twenty Years Later: Its Origins, Its Legacy, and Its Lessons for the Prevention of Genocide, led by former U.S. Ambassador Joyce Leader, on Wednesday, April 16 at the Knight Law Center Duncan Campbell Auditorium, 7:30 pm. The event is free and open to the public.

Leader is the current Carlton and Wilberta Ripley Savage Professor for International Relations and Peace.

Leader, who capped her 21-year Foreign Service career as United States Ambassador to Guinea in West Africa, was Deputy to the Ambassador in Rwanda when the genocide broke out in 1994. An Africa specialist, she has since represented the U.S. in multiple attempts to build confidence among the countries of the region so that they can resolve the horrific threats to peace and human rights in Central Africa. During her diplomatic career, Leader also served in Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Geneva, Marseille (France) and Washington, DC. She received several State Department awards for both Superior and Meritorious service. She is currently updating and revising her 2001 book on “Rwanda’s Struggle for Democracy and Peace:  1991-1994” recounting U.S. policy and her experiences in Rwanda. The second edition will include extensive discussion of the challenges conflict prevention poses for diplomacy. For the past five years, she has made her home in Eugene.

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About the Savage Endowment for International Relations and Peace
In 1987, Carlton Savage gave a generous gift to the university in support of international relations and peace. Through his decades of work in the Department of State, Savage developed his strong belief that "war is the most terrible of all calamities." He devoted his life to world peace and the promotion of human rights, and the Savage Endowment has become a centerpiece in the University of Oregon's work in the fields of international relations, human rights, peace, and conflict resolution.

About Genocide & Mass Atrocities: Responsibility to Prevent
"Genocide & Mass Atrocities: Responsibility to Prevent" is a University of Oregon community initiative that examines personal and political responses to mass atrocities from the perspective of numerous disciplines. The goal of the project is to formulate strategies that will motivate students, citizens, and governments to become more responsive to issues related to the prevention of genocide and politicide. The initiative is inspired by the work of Dr. Paul Slovic, UO Professor of Psychology and internationally renowned scholar in the areas of decision research, psychic numbing, and apathy to genocide.