rwandan genocide

1. Jordan Dyke
Gun Control Laws and the Rwandan Genocide
Hasse
Hr. 9
Gun Control Laws and the Rwandan Genocide
In the capital of Kigali, the genocides began to take place. A youth organization known as the
Interahamwe, set up by Hutu extremists, set up road blocks. They checked ID cards and killed whoever
belonged to the other tribe known as the Tutsi. The violence spread throughout the following weeks.
Hutus, having already overtaken the government, easily went door to door slaughtering any Tutsi they
could find. (identifying each by his/her ID card)
On April 7, Hutu extremists began purging the government of their political opponents, which
meant both Tutsi and Hutu moderates were killed—including the prime minister. When 10 Belgian U.N
peacekeepers tried to protect him, they were also killed. This caused Belgium to start to withdraw it’s
troops from Rwanda.
An estimated hundreds, if not thousands of Tusti women were raped during the door to door
killings. Most were either killed afterwards or kept as sex slaves.
Weapons used:
The genocides began with grenades and handguns, but soon changed the machetes and other
various knives and bludgeons. The Hutu took shifts killing the Tutsi—because of this, it took 2 days to
kill more than 1000 Tutsi.
Most Tutsis were killed by handguns, bludgeons, and machetes, since bullets were so expensive.
The Hutu had no mercy on their opponents and would often torture them relentlessly before finally
killing them. Sometimes, because of the high cost of bullets, the Hutus would give the Tutsis the option
of buying a bullet so that their death would be more swift.

2. Jordan Dyke
Gun Control Laws and the Rwandan Genocide
Hasse
Hr. 9
State/Country Law Statistics for Rwanda:
1. Population: 10,942,950 (according to WorldBank)
2. Total # of guns:
Government:
Defense Forces: 9,880
Police: 12,686
Civilians:
Privately Owned: 58,000
Rate of civilian possession: 0.6 firearms per 100 people
# Of privately owned firearms—World rate: 151st out of 178 countries
3. # of Homicides by any means total:
2008: 1,708
By means per 100,000 populations is:
2008: 2.4
2007: 4.5
2006: 4.8
2003: 4.2
2002: 20.00
1999: 45.08
4. Firearm Law: Guiding gun control legislation in Rwanda is the Law No 13/2000 of 14/06/2000
modifying the decree, the law No 12/79 of 7th May, 1979 concerning Firearms and their
ammunitions, and Law No. 33/2009 of 11/2009 on the Arms System.
The right to own private firearms is NOT guaranteed by law. Civilians are not allowed to posses
weapons of war and rifle sticks, folding rifles, rifles with a barrel or butt that can be
disassembled into separate parts, firearms with silencers, firearms with toxic effects, and any
others that would be considered secretive.
In Rwanda, private possession of fully automatic weapons is permitted under a license.
In Rwanda, private possession of semi automatic weapons is permitted under a license.
In Rwanda, private possession of fully automatic weapons is permitted under a license.
In Rwanda, private possession of handguns is permitted under a license
Carrying guns in public:
In Rwanda, carrying a firearm in plain view in a public place is allowed, but it is
subject to a valid permit.
In Rwanda, concealing a firearm in plain view in a public place is allowed, but it
is subject to a valid permit

3. Jordan Dyke
Gun Control Laws and the Rwandan Genocide
Hasse
Hr. 9
What Should Be Done to Prevent This?
In the aftermath of WWII, the Holocaust, etc, the United Nations adopted a resolution on
December 9, 1948, which stated that “The contracting parties confirm that genocide, whether committed
in time of peace or war, is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and punish.”
Since most Hutu moderates were killed, the U.N viewed this as a civil war instead of genocide so
they did not step in.
Why gun control laws could have prevented the genocide:
(Kopel)
Why gun control could NOT have prevented the genocide:
Stricter gun control promoted the Nazi genocide against 6,0000,0000 Jews and 7,000,000
Gentiles, in which 1.5 million Jewish children were murdered. The Nazis inherited a gun control law
from the Weimar Republic, which enacted gun control to curb political violence. (Rice &Simkin, 19)
Strict Gun control promoted the 20th century genocides, such as Rwanda, because gun control
laws are a step by step euphemism for disarming civilians—which directly promotes genocide. In just
103 days, 800,000 Rwandans were murdered in 1994 because of the laws of November 23, 19964 and
May 1979. (Rice &Simkin, 19)
General civilian ownership of firearms is the only way to prevent mass genocides. (Rice &Simkin, 19)

4. Jordan Dyke
Gun Control Laws and the Rwandan Genocide
Hasse
Hr. 9
Citations
GunPolicy.org. (19, July 2012). Gunpolicy.org. Retrieved from
http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/rwanda
About.com. (n.d.).About.com. Retrieved from
http://history1900s.about.com/od/rwandangenocide/a/Rwanda-Genocide.htm
WorldBank.org. (n.d.).The world bank. Retrieved from http://www.worldbank.org/
Rice, A. M., &Simkin, J. E. (19, Febuary 2000). Gun control and genocide. Retrieved from
http://gunowners.org/op0002.htm
Kopel, D. (n.d.). Gun bans & genocide: The disarming facts. Retrieved from
http://www.davekopel.com/2A/Foreign/gun-bans-and-genocide.htm