Rwanda Civil War

Even with this very clear definition of genocide the United Nations Security Council still proved ineffective in preventing the genocide that occurred in Rwanda between the Hutu and Tutsi people. There are a number of theories as to why the U.N. was so inefficient in preventing the genocide such as : there was little political will to intervene from Western countries, the tragedy which had recently occurred in Somalia, and the overlooking of early warning signs.

Before watching this documentary from Frontline, I had never realized about the atrocities that had occurred in Rwanda in 1994. I had been naive in not realizing that mass genocidal killings like the ones shown were happening in our modern world. It was my assumption that international organizations like the United Nations or the United States would take action to prevent these horrendous acts from occurring. It was deeply shocking and overwhelming to see the horrendous acts humans were doing to each other. The murderers in Rwanda acted like savage animals without society or government to stop them from killing 800,000 innocent people. The most interesting aspect of the documentary was learning that the international community failed on purpose and let hundreds of thousands of people die.

Rwanda is an example of a true genocide, one which was documented in Philip Gourevitch’s book, We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda and even with international laws clearly defining the crime of genocide, this crime continues to present day but there are key strategies and interventions that can be used to prevent the huge loss of life in the future.

In both the Rwandan and Bosnian genocide, the UN was “involved.” Their main job was to be peacekeepers and try to keep the remaining peace that was left, intact. They were equipped with guns and weapons to defend themselves, but they were not to be used to protect the victims during the genocides. The UN decided they would only

Genocides are an act of mass murdering for a certain reason, some of the genocides that have happened has been because of hatred against a certain religion, Race, appearance, gender, and many more. Genocides have happened in many occasions throughout time one of the most well genocides know around the world is the holocaust which was a genocide that wiped the majority of the Jewish race. Many other genocides have happened around the world that aren't well known because it wasn't at a scale like the holocaust, but it doesn't make the act any less horrible. Some other well-known genocide, that are only a small portion of the total cases of genocides are the Rwanda,Haiti,Darfur,Bosnia,Cambodia genocides which are genocides that happen throughout

Genocide is a term that can be defined as a planned and systematic destruction of whole or parts of certain national, religious, race, ethnic, cultural or political group (Akhavan 21). Genocide is deliberated with a different set of actions for a purpose to destroy an essential foundation of life. Genocide is characterized with the massive killing of members of a group, causing mental or bodily injuries to a group of people, imposing mechanisms to prevent birth, removing particular group children and putting conditions of life in order to bring to an end existence of a particular group. Therefore, genocide is an illegal action and a crime recognized and punishable by international law (Charmy 35). For instance, Rwanda genocide is characterized by ethnic tensions within the country. Initially the definition of the term genocide as by genocide convection only comprised of racial, ethnic, national and religious groups. They argued that inclusion of other groups cannot strengthen but rather weakens it. This definition failed to recognize other groups such as political groups, economic and cultural groups that are essential elements of genocide. Genocide therefore, is generally considered the worst moral crime the ruling authority can commit against those it controls Naimark (2017).

“As defined in article 2 of the Convention of the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide, genocide is any act with intent to liquidate a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group” (“Office of the UN...”1) . Genocide has been an issue around the world for several centuries, and sadly it continues to this day. There is one specific genocide that many historians study, the forced evacuation of the Chechens. Although this may be classified as a relocation, it was declared an act of genocide by the European Parliament in 2004 (Brauer and “Office of the UN…”).

Various explanations and descriptions of genocide exist. “Genocide is foremost an international crime for which individuals, no matter how high in authority, may be indicted, tried, and punished by the international criminal court” (Rummel). In general, it is considered genocide when the following are committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part a group: Killing members of a group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of a group; deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to

April 7, 1994 marked the beginning of one hundred days of massacre that left over 800,000 thousand dead and Rwanda divided by a scare that to this day they are trying to heal. The source of this internal struggle can be traced back to the segregation and favoritism established by Belgium when they received Rwanda after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1918. At the time the Rwandan population was 14% Tutsi, 1%Twa, and 85% Hutus; the Belgian’s showed preferential treatment to the Tutsi, who were seen as socially elite, by giving them access to higher educations and better employment. This treatment causes the uprising of the Hutus in 1959 overthrowing the Tutsi government forcing many to flee the country, sparking even greater resentment between the two ethic groups. Without the interference and preferential treatment by the Belgian’s this atrocity could have likely been avoided.

With over eight hundred thousand to one million deaths, the Rwandan genocide is undoubtedly one of the most sad and shocking examples of the lack of intervention by not only the US and the UN, but by other countries as well. The ongoing tensions between the Hutu, the largest population in Rwanda, and the Tutsi, the smaller and more elite population is what eventually lead to the Rwandan genocide. The killings began quickly after President Habyarimana 's plane was shot down. After hundreds of thousands of deaths, the US did not intervene in Rwanda because being a landlocked country with no natural resources to benefit the US, there was no economical benefit, and the risk of sending in troops simply outweighed the rewards. The aftermath of the genocide has not only impacted those who lived through it, but it has also impacted future generations as well. At the end of the genocide, the ICTR was formed by the UN to find justice. The Rwandan genocide has shocking similarities between the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide as well. Overall, the Rwandan genocide was a terrible event that escalated far beyond what it should have if there had been intervention from other countries and the UN.

According to the Chambers Dictionary, “genocide is the deliberate extermination of racial, or ethnic group”(Definition). For example, if people were trying to kill all of the black people it would be considered a genocide because they are an ethnic group. Genocide always has mass killings. The 1948(Genocide1932) genocide convention says that countries who signed

Within the definition of genocide there are two major portions: the mental and the physical elements. The mental element is all about the “Intent to destroy” part or all of a “group” (national, ethnical, racial, religious) whereas the physical element is the

“‘ Beautiful?’ said one Rwandan. ‘After the things that have happened here?’” (“GENOCIDE-RWANDA”) This quote is an example of how the Rwandan Genocide changed the lives and perspectives of many people living there. This genocide brings back horrific memories to families and people living in Rwanda. This genocide lasted a total of 100 days and nearly 800,000 people were perished in it. The Rwandan Genocide was a very shocking and depressing event in history that should never be forgotten.

Genocide is a term that can be defined as a planned and systematic destruction of whole or parts of certain national, religious, race, ethnic, cultural or political group (Akhavan 21). Genocide is deliberated with a different set of actions for a purpose to destroy an essential foundation of life. Genocide is characterized with the massive killing of members of a group, causing mental or bodily injuries to a group of people, imposing mechanisms to prevent birth, removing particular group children and putting conditions of life in order to bring to an end existence of a particular group. Therefore, genocide is an illegal action and a crime recognized and punishable by international law (Charmy 35). For instance, Rwanda genocide is characterized by ethnic tensions within the country. Initially the definition of the term genocide as by genocide convection only comprised of racial, ethnic, national and religious groups. They argued that inclusion of other groups cannot strengthen but rather weakens it. This definition failed to recognize other groups such as political groups, economic and cultural groups that are essential elements of genocide. Genocide therefore, is generally considered the worst moral crime the ruling authority can commit against those it controls Naimark (2017).

The term "genocide" was developed during the Holocaust and announced an international crime during the 1948 United Nations Convention that focused on Prevention and Punishment of genocide as a crime. Genocide is, therefore, defined as deeds committed with the aim of destroying, in whole or partially, anethnical, national, religious or racial group.Such acts include, killing followers of the group, causing serious physical or mental harm to followers of the group, intentionallyimposing on the group conditions of living aimed at bringing about its physical loss, imposing measures envisioned to prevent new births within the group, or compulsorily transferring children of the society to a different group.