List of World Heritage Sites in Rwanda

Nyungwe

Bisesero

Gisozi

Murambi

Nyamata

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Location of World Heritage Sites in Rwanda. Blue dots indicate the sites connected to the Rwandan genocide.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972. ^[1] Cultural heritage consists of monuments (such as architectural works, monumental sculptures, or inscriptions), groups of buildings, and sites (including archaeological sites). Natural features (consisting of physical and biological formations), geological and physiographical formations (including habitats of threatened species of animals and plants), and natural sites which are important from the point of view of science, conservation, or natural beauty, are defined as natural heritage. ^[2] Rwanda accepted the convention on 28 December 2000, making its sites eligible for inclusion on the list. There are two World Heritage Sites in Rwanda, both of them were listed in 2023. There are no sites on the country's tentative list. ^[3]

World Heritage Sites

UNESCO lists sites under ten criteria; each entry must meet at least one of the criteria. Criteria i through vi are cultural, and vii through x are natural. ^[4]

World Heritage Sites

Site	Image	Location (province)	Year listed	UNESCO data	Description
Memorial sites of the Genocide: Nyamata, Murambi, Gisozi and Bisesero		Eastern, Kigali, Southern, Western	2023	1586; vi (cultural)	The serial property comprises the sites commemorating the Rwandan genocide, where between April and July 1994 an estimated one million people, belonging to the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu militias. These sites are the Bisesero Genocide Memorial Centre (monument pictured), Murambi Genocide Memorial Centre, Nyamata Genocide Memorial Centre, and the Kigali Genocide Memorial. [5]
Nyungwe National Park		Southern, Western	2023	1697; x (natural)	This site comprises three protected areas with rainforests, peat bogs, moorlands, and grasslands. The area is home to the eastern chimpanzee, golden monkey, and Hills' horseshoe bat. The park is also important for bird conservation. [6]

References

1. "The World Heritage Convention". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
2. "Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
3. "Rwanda". UNESCO. Archived from the original on November 22, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
4. "UNESCO World Heritage Centre The Criteria for Selection". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 12 June 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
5. "Memorial sites of the Genocide: Nyamata, Murambi, Gisozi and Bisesero". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
6. "Nyungwe National Park". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2024.