Genocide and the place of international intervention have been at the center of ethical debate for quite some time in international humanitarian law. Much debate has surrounded the idea that the Rwandan genocide could have been stopped with the help of international intervention, however, it is worthwhile to note the motives why this was not the case and where morality comes into play. According to the Oxford dictionary morality can be defined as “a particular system of values and principles of conduct concerning the distinction between right and wrong.” Though UN representatives, peacekeepers, and some media outlets were reporting on the issues on the ground level, action was minimal from both the UN and from “western” countries.
Though much of the blame is geared towards the U.S. for not intervening, there are a number of different countries that had the financial and military capability of intervening. However, more intriguingly, one must question whether nations had a moral obligation to intervene and consequently, be
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During this time the UN was present on the ground in order to keep peace, but when the hostility began in 1994, they withdrew as it was considered a civil war. In cases of civil war, it is typical for entities to withdraw in order to respect sovereignty. In the case of Rwanda, where obvious mass destruction and genocide was taking place, countries fear intervening as this would break their stance on neutrality. Neutrality is significantly important especially for a multilateral organization such as the UN as adopting a neutral stance “helps mediators to establish trust, credibility, and respect. It is commonly thought that if a mediator is unable to maintain a neutral stance, codes of ethics and standards of practice require that he or she withdraw from the
Ambassador to the United Nations serve to add ethos to her argument. Because of the “outside world’s refusal to intervene” during the Bosnian genocide, Power decided to explore “America’s responses to previous cases of mass slaughter” (XV). Throughout the book, Power argues that America was largely inactive in cases of genocide—she utilized several case studies, including the Armenian genocide, the Cambodian genocide, and the Rwandan genocide. These case studies are significant, as they proved a wide, varying degree of scenarios of genocide in which the United States chose not to act. This inaction is central to Power’s argument—she argues that America, due to various reasons, largely had a policy of inaction in cases of genocide.
Genocide is a mass killing of a certain ethnic or religious group that can be caused by either one of these factors: Discrimination, Government instability, Persecution based on: race, religion, ethnic origin, Ideology-one group is superior over another and war. To be a genocide they would have to check out at least one box of “checklist”. Past genocides can be caused by these things but the Rwandan genocide was caused by Ideology, discrimination and persecution of race and religion. One factor during the Rwandan genocide that helped contribute to the starting point of this specific genocide is Ideology. This is shown in the source 6, where it is stated “members of the Hutu ethnic majority in the east-central African nation of Rwanda murdered
The United nations refused to intervene during the genocide but instead provided humanitarian aid. As time went on they established six “safe area.” These efforts failed because the U.N. was not prepared or didn’t have the correct resources. The hostile situation went on for over four years. In the beginning of the Bosnian War, U.N. did nothing to stop mass executions, concentration camps, rape and sexual violence, and forced displacement. Again, their role was to show a presence, give assistance when needed and be
Although the book did not mention the genocide much, it is important background information that sets up the scene Ruxin works in. He was working after a genocide that killed roughly 800,000 people (Rwanda). Let’s just take a moment to realize how many people that is. That’s three times the amount of people that live in Cherokee County (Cherokee). The American Civil War had roughly 620,000 deaths (Who). 800,000 men, women, children who had lives, dreams, hopes, friends, and family just like us: gone. I cannot imagine. The people killed were not the unknown enemy where the killers never saw their face. These were neighbors, friends, family, co-workers. Rwanda was in a time of healing when Ruxin entered the scene. People were mourning deaths,
The genocide started with the assassination of the Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira, when the their plane was shot down on April 6, 1994. The current President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, was suspected to have influenced this assassination because he was the leader of a rebel Tutsi group and Habyarimana was a Hutu. Due to his death the Hutu rebel groups, such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), arose because they had felt threatened by their past violent history. The Hutu and the Tutsi lived within the precolonial Kingdom of Burundi in 1972 which was ruled by the Tutsi. The government became increasingly dangerous for the Hutu people, “In 1929, the Belgians decided to merge
Peace talks to settle disputes between the Tutsi and the Hutu set up by the US, France, and Organisation of African Unity had tried to establish a peaceful government between the two groups. That went up in flames fast as the President of the Rwanda was killed as his plane was shot down. The next day the genocide began even with UN peacekeepers in the country. I was astonished to see that the UN peacekeepers just left without taking any military action. The UN was founded after the holocaust in Europe, one of the worst events in human history. Still, rather than the UN intervening and preventing another genocide from occurring they simply left. The UN failed to do one of its most important jobs and it was deeply
In a Western perspective, Africa is perceived as a poor, insecure, and violent continent. Although this statement is ignorant and disregards the multidimensional issues that are in each of the 54 countries, security and violence is a general issue in most African countries. African countries have not endured an easy history, and their history continues to create present conflicts. Their violent colonial past has left certain countries with ethnic rivalries and left their legacies with agents of security. Although the colonial past of African countries have been the leading cause of many of their current problems, they cannot be blamed for everything. Additionally, there is a positive correlated relationship between the state and the violence
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda was a mission designed to help carry-out the conditions set forth in the Arusha Accords, which were signed in 1993, with the purpose of ending the Rwandan Civil War. The UN was aware of the situation in Rwanda, and the tension between the two ethnic groups, well before the genocide was committed.
War is a necessary part of human nature. War has always been a part of countries and nations history. Militarism in countries , people who are nationalist extremist showing their aggression towards other countries. War is a necessary part of humanity because people naturally view others as ‘Us and them’, people being patriotic,nationalist or extremist causing tension between nations of the world.
Rwanda is a country located in the middle of the African continent. The two ethnic groups present in the country lived in peace under their monarch until the arrival of Europeans. The Belgians arrival into Rwandan is what split the two ethnic groups of the Tutsi and Hutus, making them identify themselves with ID cards. This caused tension between the two groups as the Belgians favored the ethnic Tutsi, and made them the head of the government. Decade’s later Hutu extremists would take over the government and have revenge on the Tutsi. The new government would send out broadcasts calling on Hutus to kill their friends and neighbors. The Rwandan genocide would become the worst genocide to ever happen in Africa and one of the worst in the world. Today Rwanda’s recovery is surprisingly fast with the help of multiple nations and organizations. Rwanda’s recovery is nothing short of a miracle and is an amazing story of a war between two peoples.
Genocide is “the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, ethnic, political, or cultural group”. In Rwanda for example, the Hutu-led government embraced a new program that called for the country’s Hutu people to murder anyone that was a Tutsi (Gourevitch, 6). This new policy of one ethnic group (Hutu) that was called upon to murder another ethnic group (Tutsi) occurred during April through June of 1994 and resulted in the genocide of approximately 800,000 innocent people that even included women and children of all ages. In this paper I will first analyze the origins/historical context regarding the discontent amongst the Hutu and Tutsi people as well as the historical context as to why major players in the international
The world is full of events, some are good and some are just plain cruel. Unfortunately humankind more cruel things than good things. Humans are probably the cruelest of them all. Humankind is so cruel that when humans do something other humans don’t like we revert to killing other humans and in severe cases genocide. One of those cases is the Rwandan genocide, it is one of the most recent genocides to happen to the world also it is the fastest and one of the most brutal mass killing in human history.
The world’s history has been tainted by many instances of violence targeted at specific groups of people due to either their ethnicity or beliefs. This paper will discuss the characteristics of the Rwanda Genocide and the Jewish Holocaust. The Rwanda Genocide targeted the Tutsis because of their ethnicity, while the Holocaust targeted the Jews because of their ethnicity and religion.
The Rwandan president, Habyarimana and the president of Burundi, Cyprien Ntaryamira, are killed when the president’s plane is shot down near Kigali Airport, on April 6th, 1994. That night on the 6th of April, 1994, the genocide begins. Hutu people take to the streets with guns and machetes. The Hutus set up roadblocks and stopped anyone that looked Tutsi or suspected of helping Tutsi people to hide. On April 7th, 1994 the Rwandan Armed Forces set up roadblocks and went house to house to kill any Tutsis found. Thousands of people die on the first, while the U.N. just stands by and watches the slaughter go on. On April 8th, 1994 the U.N. cuts its forces from 2,500 to 250 after ten U.N. soldiers were disarmed and tortured and shot or hacked to death by machetes, trying to protect the Prime Minister. As the slaughter continues the U.N. sends 6,800 soldiers to Rwanda to protect the civilians, on May 17th, 1994, they were meant to be the peacekeepers. The slaughter continues until July 15th, 1994, in the 100 days that the genocide lasted 800,000-1,000,000 Tutsis and Hutus
The analysis of the genocides that took place both in Rwanda and Sudan’s Darfur region exhibit some similarities as well as differences. The character of violence was similar in both cases, but in Rwanda the violence was more intense, participatory, and extraordinary. The violence in these two places took place in an environment that had experienced civil wars. It was a period of political transition which was further aggravated by ethnic nationalism and a conflict of ethnic populations that were living in close proximity. However, in the Rwandan genocide, the state is more centralized, compact, and effective. This is what explains the intensity and variation. The international response to these genocides through observers emphasized on