Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Rwanda is, “An incredibly powerful reminder of man’s inhumanity to man,” during a visit to the site Aug. 10.

Blinken said the Rwandan Genocide Memorial was a powerful incentive to do everything possible to ensure it can’t happen again anywhere, according to a State Department release.

“It’s so important to be reminded of that on a regular basis because we continue to see conflict, major conflict, in parts of the world and the potential for the past to be prologue,” Blinken said in the release.

Blinken said what makes the memorial so powerful is how it makes the death of a million people, men, women and children whose lives were eradicated because of hatred and genocide, so real, palpable and human, the release stated.

The Kigali Genocide Memorial is more than just a memorial, Blinken said. It represents living history to inspire in the present and the future to make sure all do their part so that “man’s inhumanity to man does not come to the fore and carry the day.”

The secretary expressed gratitude for the chance to visit the memorial, which resonates with him because of his family background, according to the release. His late stepfather was a survivor of the Holocaust. The two events in history are profoundly connected, Blinken said, and he hopes as people visit the memorial, they can fully appreciate the human dimension of the horror and resolve to not let it happen again.