- The date, 7 April, marks the start of the 1994 genocide. Every year, on or around that date, the United Nations organizes commemorative events at its Headquarters in New York and at United Nations offices around the world.
- On 26 January 2018, the United Nations General Assembly adopted draft resolution designating 7 April as the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, recalling that Hutu and others who opposed the genocide were also killed.
- The new resolution amends the title of the annual observance, which was originally established on 23 December 2003 as International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda.