The Failure Of Genocide In Rwanda

Over 800,000 people, mostly Tutsi minorities, were killed by Hutu extremists in just one hundred days (Rwanda Genocide). The United Nations failed to provide support and protection to the people of Rwanda, and were ashamed of the abandonment of the helpless people. At the twentieth anniversary ceremony of the genocide, UN chief Ban Ki-moon mentioned, "In Rwanda, troops were withdrawn when they were most needed (Rwanda Genocide)." The UN left the victims to fend for themselves, resulting in an even larger death total. They ignored the fact that the genocide was planned, and refused to take action, when the Rwandans needed their help (Winfield). As stated by the former Swedish Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson in a press conference, "Our conclusion is there is one overriding failure which explains why the UN could not stop or prevent the genocide, and that is a lack of resources and a lack of will - a lack of will to take on the commitment necessary to prevent the genocide (Winfield)." If the UN had taken more action and became more involved, the Rwandan Genocide wouldn’t have reached the extremity that it had reached. The inaction in Rwanda was the largest failure the UN has ever had. Just about 1,200 miles away about ten years later, the UN once again fails the people of the corrupt country of

The final reason why the United Nations is to blame for Rwanda’s Genocide is because of the fact that they ignored evidence of planned genocide and abandoned Rwandans in need of protection. The United Nations failed trying. The independent report, commissioned by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan ( who was in charge at the time of the Rwandan Genocide), says the UN peacekeeping operation in Rwanda was hopeless from the start by an poor consent and destroyed by the Security Council's unwillingness to strengthen it once the slaughters, murders and rape began. UN officials, together with Annan and then-Secretary-General

This is absolutely ridiculous once again the UN is allowing yet another genocide to happen without trying to put a stop to happen. At this point, I feel as if the UN is a weak group a people and find enjoyment in the fact that millions of people are dying in these cases. I don’t understand why they feel the need to lean on other people to solve their problems. The UN was created to make peace and peacekeeping with different nations but allowing two nations to fight against each other to stop a problem that they can stop themselves is not what they are supposed to do. What nations are you going to help make peace with if everyone in those nations is dying on your

From June 7 to July of 1994, a kind of terrifying violence overcame small East-African country, Rwanda. Close to a million lost their lives in just a span of one hundred days. Neighbors killing neighbors, streets riddled with dead bodies and blood-thirsty rebels waiting to strike, and the near- extermination of an entire population became an everyday reality for helpless Rwandans. The same questions perplexed horrified people all around the world: What inspired such hate? And why did this hate suddenly lead to such a gruesome course of action? The assassination of Rwanda’s president may have been the final catalyst that began the genocide, but it was far from being the only catalyst. Rwanda’s colonial history resulted in a clear schism between

The United States, as a leading world power that owes much of their foundation and rise to power to colonization, holds a responsibility to recognize and prevent acts of genocide. Outside countries cannot be excused for and must be held accountable for their actions during times of crisis, for their passive (and direct) endorsement of systematic annihilation as had happened during the Rwanda Genocide. Western countries especially cannot distance themselves from such issues, cannot claim “innocence” when it is their lack of action and indifference that allowed for such atrocities to occur.

Twenty years ago in the small east African country of Rwanda, eight hundred thousand people, mostly those of the Tutsi tribe, were slaughtered by their own government. The Hutu and the Tutsi tribes followed the same traditions and inhabited the same territory for over a thousand years. The rise of conflict between the Tutsi and the Hutu dates back to 1918, when the Germans lost their colonies following World War I, and the Belgians took control of Rwanda. In 1933, the Belgians establish the superiority of the "Tutsi" over the "Hutu" which lead to a great divide between these two groups (Admin of PBS.org). When the Belgians handed over power to the Hutu majority, a deep resentment of

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

Often described as the most horrible and systematic human massacre since the Holocaust, the Rwandan Genocide has been a subject of research and debate for decades. Typically, ethnic and cultural differences between segments of Rwanda’s diverse population, namely the Hutu and the Tutsi, is the reason given to explain the genocide. Although this is a valid argument, the roots of the conflict are more complex stretching back to the era of colonialism. The impact of colonialism on Rwandan politics and society set the foundations for revolution in 1959 and, ultimately, genocide in 1994.

Historical Context: The Rwanda Genocide was a genocidal slaughter of the Tutsi’s by the Hutu’s, taking place in 1994. This event was a shock to the world, as 1,000,000 Rwandans were killed within the space of 100 days. The atrocity took place following the Civil War, an on-going conflict that had reached a conclusion in 1993, which many Hutu’s weren’t happy with. As a result, in 1994, Hutu’s within the army, police, Government backed militias and the civilian population turned on the Tutsi’s. This mass slaughter marked a significant disruption to World Order, due to the large number of deaths and the inaction of the world to reinstate peace in Rwanda. Nations who faced criticism for their lack of action include; the US, UK and Belgium, who failed to support the UN peacekeeping troops in Rwanda.

In today’s world, it is of the utmost importance to learn from mistakes of the past. Certain events, especially tragedies that could have been avoided, hold within them the lessons and wisdom that should be used to prevent similar disasters. The 1994 Rwandan genocide resulted in over 800, 000 deaths of the Tutsi people, at the hands of the Hutu; the genocide, and the international response to it, is a lesson about the humanitarian responsibilities, successes, and shortcomings of the United Nations.

The United States refused to call what was going on in Rwanda a genocide. The U.S had helped Somalia with their conflict and the U.S didn't want to get in more African Conflicts. Former president, Bill Clinton went to Rwanda in 1998 and apologized for the lack of help the U.S showed. Clinton still remarks that his biggest regret was not acting to prevent the Rwandan Genocide ( Prejudice in the Modern World Reference Library). The UN and Belgium had troops in Rwanda but were basically useless. Belgium pulled their troops out after 10 were killed. The French had a controversial role in the genocide. The French were believed to have sold rifles and machetes to the Hutus although they deny this. The French supposedly set up safe zones but still didn't do much to stop the violence (Rwanda genocide: 100 days of

INTRODUCTION After the atrocities suffered by the Jewish people at the hand of the Nazi regime, the United Nations formed the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (UNCG), dedicated to the understanding and prevention of future genocides. The UNCG defines genocide as acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. Genocides have occurred on almost every continent and the UNCG has had little impact on prevention. Indeed, 2since its creation in 1951 the world has seen a rise in genocides beginning in 1975 in Cambodia, followed by the horrors in Yugoslavia in 1992, then Rwanda in 1994, and the on-again-off-again atrocities in Darfur since 2003 (Maddox). The causes of each of these genocides are as unique as the topography of the land they occur on and as varied as the languages and cultures of the people involved. The genocide occurred in Rwanda in Central Africa between April 6, 1994 and July 1994. The decades of unjust treatment by Belgium favored the Tutsi tribe and the assassinations of the Rwandan president and Burundi president led to the genocide in Rwanda. CAUSES

The term genocide encompasses some of the darkest times in the history of the world. There is no definitive answer as to what drives one sect of society to try and eliminate another based purely on their cultural, racial, national or political affiliation either by birth or by choice. During World War II, between six and eleven million Jewish people were systematically exterminated by the Nazis. Although it was the most prolific of genocides, it was not the first or the last of this atrocity to occur. In 1994, genocide occurred in the African nation of Rwanda. At the time it happened, the world paid little heed while almost a million people were killed. After the incident, the reaction of the United Nations came under scrutiny as researchers

The Belgians’ act of inhumanity through the discrimination of the Hutu is the main reason that the Rwandan genocide took place. In the article titled, Rwanda Genocide of 1994, the author begins by introducing the background of Rwanda: “The three groups, Tutsi, Hutu, and Twa lived together for centuries. Belgium ruled Rwanda in the 19th century and granted the Tutsi social power over the Hutu.” (“Rwanda Genocide”). For instance, the Belgian colonizers threw the Hutu into agriculturist and other primary jobs which did not earn them enough to support themselves. Tutsis were given complete control over the government. This cruel classification of the Hutus directly relates to the different acts of inhumanity present before the genocide even started.

In the spring and summer of 1994, Rwanda experienced a genocide that killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people. After seeing the tragedies that took place in Nazi Germany, one would expect the international community to respond quickly and effectively in the case of the Rwandan genocide. However, the killings were largely pushed aside or ignored by the rest of the world, begging the question of when states have the right or duty to betray another state’s sovereignty. There are different methods of intervening to protect human rights, but they are much debated and there have been many times that intervention has made a situation worse. However, there is a moral obligation that we all have to protect others when we can, whether they are part of our nation or not. If human rights are being abused in a state, other states have the duty to take multilateral actions to stop killings and provide aid.