The minute’s silence was held before Charlotte Nzayisenga and Denyse Mutatsimpundu faced New Zealand’s Shaunna Polley and Kelsie Wills in a women’s round robin match in Coolangatta.

Both Rwanadan players also wore black armbands to commemorate the anniversary.

The genocide started on April 7 in 1994, following the assassination of President Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira the day before, after their plane was shot down.

The death of Habyarimana ended a ceasefire which halted the Rwandan civil war a year earlier, as well as sparking killings of the Tutsi people by the Hutu-led Government.

Genocide continued until mid-July in 1994 when it was brought to an end when the Rwandan Patriotic Front took control of the country.

Around one million Tutsi people are estimated to have been killed in the genocide, with a further two million believed to have been displaced as refugees.

"Following discussions we have had with Rwandan CGA President and our own President Louise Martin, we have agreed that the 24th anniversary of the Tutsi genocide be marked and respected today," David Grevemberg, CGF chief executive, announced.

"You will see in the beach volleyball competition between Rwanda and New Zealand a moment of silence.

"The Rwanda team will be wearing black armbands to commemorate this moment in their history.

"Also, there will be a statement read at the Chef de Mission meeting, framing the context of why this commemoration is important.

"In 1994, between April 7 to mid-July the country of Rwanda experienced an atrocity of mass genocide of the Tutsi people.

"An estimated one million Tutsi’s were killed, constituting around 70 per cent of the Tutsi population.

"We, the Commonwealth Family, wish to acknowledge this tragedy and would ask everyone to stand and share a moment’s silence alongside our Rwandan friends.

"We have an opportunity to raise awareness and advocate for things through the power of sport and we should take note of the privilege we have to come together and be a force for good.”

April 7 is a day of national commemoration in Rwanda, while a national mourning period continues through to July 4.

Rwanda joined the Commonwealth in 2009, becoming only the second nation be admitted without a British colonial past or constitutional link to Britain, having been a former colony of Germany and Belgium.

Former Portuguese colony Mozambique is the only other Commonwealth member without a link to Britain.

Rwanda made their Commonwealth Games debut at Delhi 2010 and are now competing at their third edition of the multi-sport event.

Grevemberg claimed the organisation would have to assess requests individually should other nations wish to mark moments on their history at the Commonwealth Games in future.

"We will take these on a case-by-case basis,” he said.

"Rwanda being a country that was not part of the empire, say you will, one of the main reasons they wanted to be included in the Commonwealth was because of these modern ideas of peace, prosperity, good governance and human rights.

"In terms of our modern relevance, a country that has joined this family of nations, we feel this is an important part of history we need to tell and it is now a part of Commonwealth history.

"We do need to be selective, but I do think Rwanda is recent history and to see how they have come through that time of darkness and where the Commonwealth has been seen as a beacon of hope for the future, we felt it was important to recognise that moment."

By contrast, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have sought to avoid remembering specific events at Olympic Games, despite coming under pressure to do so.

They have instead taken other actions to remember events, including victims of the massacre during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, where five Israeli athletes, six coaches and a German policeman were killed by Palestinian gunmen.

At Rio 2016, the IOC inaugurated "the Place of Mourning", a small park which will be a feature at every Olympics, with two stones from ancient Olympia encased in glass.