Rwanda Genocide Essay

Essay on Genocide in Rwanda
Genocide in Rwanda
Raphael Lemkin coined the term "genocide" in 1944. According to Lemkin, genocide signifies the
destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group and implies the existence of a coordinated plan, aimed
at total extermination, to be put into effect against individuals chosen as victims purely, simply, and
exclusively because they are members of the target group. This coordinated plan is committed with
the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. According to
the United Nations' definition of genocide in their 1948 declaration of the Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, genocide is a crime under international law
and classified as such:...show more content...
For instance, genocide has the tendency to occur in rural societies that are communal, divided, and
in the mode of inequality and problematic issues. It also has the tendency to occur when the
government says that it is okay to resolve those problematic issues using violence. An example in
which there was a combination of racism, power struggles, and violence that all led to genocide is
in the specific case of Rwanda between the Hutu and Tutsi populations. Before colonial rule, the
Tutsi were herdsmen and came from the Nile Valley. They brought concepts of power, monarchy,
and kingship to Rwanda. The Tutsi took grazing lands from the Hutu, who were farmers, and lived
among them. Gourevitch states that this was the original inequality: cattle were a more valuable
asset than produce…and the word Tutsi became synonymous with a political and economic
elite (p. 48). The Tutsi, who were the powers of Rwanda, also became the protectors of the Hutu
because they were armed with weapons and spears. Rwanda was certainly an unequal society, but the
ethnic boundary was permeable. Overtime, some Tutsi married Hutu. Also, Hutu farmers could, and
did, become wealthy Tutsi and acquired cattle as chiefs were incorporated into the ruling elite. Much
authority was given to Hutu chiefs and certain obligations were imposed on Tutsi administrators as
well.
Colonial rule, however, transformed this
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Rwanda Genocide Sociology
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...show more content...
This had to do with the peacekeepers that were sent to Rwanda, and how long they should stay
there. The UN wanted to pull out troops, but they did not want to be hated. During the time the
plan was being approved President Clinton did not want to commit any forces to Rwanda.
Because of this, the US was scrutinized by the media and asked why they said no, but they did
try to help clean up the situation. Althorugh troops were sent, they did not arrive until the middle
of July. Though they were late, this did help to receive any other refugees to get away and to
clam the genocide. But only fifty US vehicles were really sent to help them get out, the extra
troops were sent by the UN Secretary General for peacekeeping duties along with 200 artillery
pieces for a thousand men. Thanks to all the plans that had been approved and suggested by
others to appease the situation thought many have died a few were saved thanks to UN efforts
and as all know thans to a certain owner of a hotel who convinced a UN officer to take refugees
out of Rwanda despite the risk of taking them out. There were many road blocks that were
swarming with Hutus trying to stop them , but it was too late and because of this many more
lives were saved so the UN sending peacekeepers actually saved lives CONCLUSION In
conclusion, the Rwandan genocide clearly stemmed from decades of feuds and led to the death of
over 800,000 people. Some people think the genocide could have been prevented if the United States
and the United Nations would have done more sooner. Looking at the history of Alexander

Essay On Rwanda Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide: Crime against humanity
Throughout history, human beings have revolutionized the world using technology and other
innovative means. However, it goes without saying on the opposite side of the coin that although
people are capable of creating phenomenal things, people are just as capable of destruction. For as
long as there has been differences amongst people in society, there has always been discrimination
against people in regards to a certain race, class, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and etc. In the
most extreme cases, differences of groups of people in society have resulted in mass persecution
through the systematic destruction know as genocide. In society, atrocious genocides aren't
uncommon events. Since the beginning of time, people have participated in horrific acts of injustice
against one another from the first modern genocide of "the 13th century, when heretics in Medieval
Europe were massacred during Albigensian Crusade" (History 1) to the most recent, the Rwandan
Genocide. The...show more content...
This made the Hutus alter their strategy completely and they decided to exterminate the Tutsis
completely to get ride of opposition, so that they will remain in power.
During the Rwandan genocide, systematic rape was also practiced "as a weapon of war" (End
Genocide). There was around 250,000 to 500,000 women raped and it was done to destroy the Tutsi
by emotional pain. The Hutus wanted the woman to "die of sadness" and to cripple them with health
problems. In most cases, the women were murdered after being raped. Eventually, in the span of 100
days, the RPF started to "make gains on both the battlefield and in the negotiations led by Tanzania".
In the beginning of July, the RPF gained authority over the majority of the country and many Hutus
left the

Genocide in Rwanda Essay
Genocide
War is not a necessary evil humans must endure. Although, war is not necessary, humans go to war
to try to gain power, fortune, and to spread their particular group's religions and beliefs. By
definition civilization is an advanced state of intellectual, cultural, and material development in
human society, marked by progress in the arts and sciences, the extensive use of record–keeping,
including writing, and the appearance of complex political and social institutions. The chaos of war
is reflected in the semantic history of the word war. War can be traced back to the Indo–European
root *wers–, "to confuse, mix up." In the Germanic family of the Indo–European languages, this root
gave rise to several words having to do with...show more content...
They also had begun organized slaughter, starting in the capital Kigali. They had killed nearly one
million Rwandans in 100 days time.
The first people to be killed were those most likely to resist the plan of genocide. Those people
included the Prime Minister, the Prisdent of the constitutional court, priests, leaders of the Liberal
Pary, etc. Also, those who did not immediately join the comapaign, like the governor of the south,
were removed from their political positions and some politicians were killed.
As the killing intensified, the international community deserted Rwanda. The US closed their eyes
to the problems going on in Rwanda and Burundi because it did not affect them. Western nations
landed troops in Rwanda or Burundi in the first week to evacuate their citizens, did so, and left.
The UN mission (UNAMIR), created in October 1993 to keep the peace and assist the governmental
transition in Rwanda, sought to intervene between the killers and civilians. It also tried to mediate
between the RPF and the Rwandan army after the RPF struck from Rwanda to protect Tutsi and
rescue their battalion encamped in Kigali as part of the Accord. On April 21, 1994, the United
Nations Security Council, at the behest of the United States–which had no troops in
Rwanda–Belgium, and others, voted to withdraw all but a remnant of UNAMIR. The Security
Council took

Essay On The Rwanda Genocide
DAYSTAR UNIVERSITY
School of Arts and Humanities
Department of Theology and Biblical Studies
ETH 202: Ethics of War and Peace
Assignment: Credo II
A discussion on the Rwandan Genocide and Kenyan Post Election Violence
Presented by: K. Ntinyari Mbogori 15–1658
Presented to: Reverend Steven Nduto
Date: 29|09|17
1.What was the main reason that triggered the Rwandan Genocide on April 7, 1994?
The country of Rwanda comprises an old kingdom that spanned several hundreds of years,
established, ruled and ran by a people who spoke the language Kinyarwanda. Within its years, these
people split into two groups namely the Hutu and the Tutsi. It is unclear why, but it is speculated that
it may have been because of the different occupations they took; the Hutu being farmers and the
Tutsi raising cattle. The Tutsi, despite...show more content...
What possible benefits did the Kenyans got from the 2007/2008 PEV?
Post– election violence occurred following similar ethnic frustrations to the Rwandan Genocide.
Once again, the perceived marginalization of one community economically, politically and socially
led to an uprising that devastated the country. Prior to this, Kenya had been considered the most
stable and the most successful democracies in East Africa following the landslide victory that
overthrew Daniel Arap Moi.
Following the announcement of the election victor on December 27th 2008 and the subsequent
clandestine swearing–in ceremony of the announced winner Mwai Kibaki, violence erupted around
the country with tribes of the western part of Kenya namely the Luo and Kalenjin rising up against
the Kikuyu and the latter's retaliation. The violence spread and lasted until February the next year
after which followed the peace, power–sharing and mediation talks conducted by Kofi Anan the
former UN Secretary General. By this time, an estimated 1500 Kenyans had been killed and
thousands others displaced, doomed to live several years in Internally Displaces Person's

Essay On Genocide In Rwanda
Heartbreak and Loss Inside a Nation
Harmony turned power hungry. The Tutsis, tall warrior people, invaded the homeland of the Hutu
farmers. The Tutsis had fewer numbers. Yet, they still conquered the Hutus. There was a
compromise: if the Tutsis raised the crops the Hutus would in turn protect them. They lived as one,
spoke the same language, and intermarried. However, when Belgium withdrew their troops a power
vacuum spread rapidly throughout the rugged Rwandan plains. The Tutsis and Hutus civil war
turned into a mass genocide that lasted for months. Some 600 years after, the Hutus pushed aside the
Tutsi and finally regained their rightfully deserved control. Now, Rwanda is at peace, but concerned
with AIDS and other diseases. It is made lots...show more content...
Instead of confronting the Hutus with words or nonviolent protests, the Tutsis began a warfare. I
learned that no more than half of the Tutsi and Hutu groups can read and write in their native
language. Belgium and Germany must have seen this as an advantage. The Tutsis who held military
power inherited it from the colonia lpower and don't want to share fully with the Hutus. A news
reporter stated, "The German and Belgian invaders shrewdly manipulated the Tutsi and Hutu with
the age–old, highly effective "divide and rule" strategy." If the Tutsis and Hutus had been educated
they would have realized that. If they had a higher education they could have run for office, instead
of electing a king. They were smart enough to form an army, train children with deadly weapons,
and kill millions of people. The only difference between the two groups is economical, rather than
ethical. Once they began the assassinations they could not stop the slaughter. At first the Hutus were
victims of the atrocity, but once they regained power terror struck down on the Tutsis. All the unfair
distribution of resources such as, wealth, and education powered their fight. Segregation was also a
fuel that was ignited every time they were called "dark

Rwandan Genocide Essay
The formation of the United Nations in 1945 was marked by an international outcry to 'never again'
idly bear witness to the genocidal atrocities capable of man, as so harshly revealed in the nature of
the Holocaust. In doing so, all member states actively sought to facilitate discussion in the United
Nations as a world forum, in order to achieve both international and intra–national security. While the
United Nations has achieved various successes in the international community, the international
entity and its' member states are subject to various legal and moral flaws, weakening response to
conflicts in the contemporary era of international relations. These failures are exemplified tragically
in the response to the Rwandan genocide in...show more content...
The genocide was partly founded in ethno–politics, as a group of exiled Hutus, the Rwandan
Patriotic Front, invaded Rwanda from Uganda in order to reclaim their power within Rwanda from
the Tutsi peoples.
The turbulent relationship between the two groups was founded in pre–colonial, colonial,
post–colonial and modern relationships and frameworks. The pre–colonial ethnic distinctions of
Hutu, Tutsi and Twa, defined by social and economic organization were furthered by colonization,
during which rigid segregation continued to plague political and social Rwandan frameworks. These
distinctions were hypothesized and glorified by the academic community during colonization as the
Hamitic hypothesis began to gain prominence. The theory was based upon the idea of a scientific
racial supremacy separating the three tribes, praising the Tutsi pastoralists as being naturally
destined to be the ruling group (Codere 1962, 48). Further, the premise was of distinguishable,
observable traits between the two groups, in a practice often conceptualized as scientific racism. As
decolonization became a more common shift in the international realm, the second colonizers of
Rwanda, the state of Belgium, began to maintain authority over the territory. The Rwandan
Revolution of 1959, saw a dramatic switch in the Rwandan power structure, as the Hutu majority
suddenly rose to prominence and the Tutsi were excluded from government with active

The Genocide Of The Rwanda Essay
In 1994, Rwanda was a situation of hatred and revenge tailored by European influence that mixed
together to form the recipe for Genocide. Classical control of third world nations and exploitation by
the west is nothing new. In Africa, the direction of the government is often manipulated by countries
that have had historical control over them. The Genocide of Rwanda was a transfer of position that
placed the Hutu people in a seat of power over the former rulers, which were the Tutsis elite. This
shift in power led to the division of a nation, evolving propaganda, and a psychological approach
used to create a genocide.
In the early history of Rwanda, there lie differences in people, but peace among the populace was
always upheld in the eyes of the Tutsis. In the opinion of the Hutu, they recall being subjugated
beneath the"mwami", the Tutsis elite. In the precolonial times, the Hutu and Tutsis were called a
collective name, the Banyarwanda, which was the term for people of Rwanda. Germany gained
control of the region in 1885 and governed their region through the "mwami". An English man
named John Hanning Speke gave a hardline separation of the two people that would be echoed by
the Belgians and the Hutus later into the 20th century. The term "Hamitic hypothesis" stated that the
origins of the Hutu and Tutsis were that of a leader and servant. It claimed that the origin of Tutsis
had descended from the Biblical King David out of Ethiopia and they were a superior race

Genocide In Rwanda
Genocide is defined as the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a
particular ethnic group or nation. In other words mass murder.
But it's more than that, it also means committing any of the following acts with intent to destroy, in
whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. Killing or Causing serious bodily or
mental harm to members of the group, Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of living and
bringing it to its physical destruction in whole or in part, Imposing measures intended to prevent
births within the group, and transferring children of the group to another group by force. To
understand genocide we have to brake it down into eight stages the eight stages of genocide...show
more content...
This occurs when members of a group are consider to be animals, vermin, insects or diseases. At this
stage, hate propaganda in print and on hate radios is used to illustratively and verbally abuse the
victim group. While fighting against this dehumanization, incitement to genocide should not be
confused with protected speech. Genocidal societies lack constitutional protection for countervailing
speech, and should be treated differently than democracies. Local and international leaders should
condemn the use of hate speech and make it culturally unacceptable. Leaders who incite genocide
should be banned from international travel and have their foreign finances frozen. Hate radio
stations should be shut down, and hate propaganda banned. Hate crimes and atrocities should be
promptly

The Failure Of Genocide In Rwanda
involved until after the atrocities were done. There is also a question of motives that has recently
come out on the part of the French.
In August of 2008, a Rwandan commission looking at the genocide believes that the French
government was involved in the actual genocide. The commission "accuse Paris d'avoir Г©tГ© au
courant des prГ©paratifs du massacre qui a fait entre 800 000 et 1 million de morts"[27] (accuses
Paris to have known about the preparations of the massacre that had between 800,000 and 1 million
dead). This is the first time that the French have been formally accused by a commission regarding
their dealings with Rwanda as previous French and journalistic commissions found that France was
not involved in the genocide.
It is unsure...show more content...
Should the slightest abuse in human rights give the right for states to "intervene". Who decides
those human rights? The West? The U.S invaded Iraq because of weapons of mass destruction and
because of the horrible man Saddam Hussein was. However, when he gassed his own people, there
was no invasion of the country. The world may not be able to agree on all human rights issues;
however they should realize that everyone has the right to live. When there is systematic killing of
an ethnic civilian group, genocide is occurring. There are no acts of genocides, there is just

Causes Of Genocide In Rwanda
Genocide is that large numbers of people were killed because of their ethnicity. However, a
different level conflict is a central element led to genocide. "By 1994, Tutsi in Rwanda, much like
Jews in Nazi Germany, were 'socially dead' people, whose murder was as acceptable as it became
common"(). Between April and June 1994, an estimated more than 800,000 Tutsi were killed in the
space of 100 days. Ethnicity causes of genocide in Rwanda is nothing new. There have been always
been disagreements between the majority Hutus and minority Tutsis, but the hatred between them,
since the colonial period. "The Nazis had seen the conflict as a racial war" (Cole and Symes, p.
100). This shows German Jews during the holocaust. Approximately 6 million Jews

Genocide In Rwanda Genocide
During the Rwandan genocide, it didn't matter whether or not you have known someone for five
years or fifteen years, in the end, you would be killed. In this time, many people who married
Tutsis were targeted as well due to the fact that they were married or engaged. Even having a
relationship even if it was not exclusive you were targeted for being interested in a Tutsi, who at the
time were called cockroaches. Tutsis were identified by having lighter skin, lighter eyes, and thinner
noses. They were also typically taller and thinner. Yet that doesn't make someone Tutsi orHutu, yet
back then if you had any of these traits you were considered a Tutsi even if you were really a Hutu.
This racial segregation that was created led to many...show more content...
She said that since the war had already started in1990 there were already refugees. "The genocide
started after the death of the president, it was April 6 at 8:30 AM" she had said. "A private radio
station started calling all Hutu's to kill Tutsi's. The radio messages were "We must kill the
Tutsi's... the woman... the children...everybody!" They kept on chanting, "We must kill the
Tutsi's!, We must kill the Tutsi's!" They sang this "song" every five minutes" she had said. I
know from prior knowledge, that she is referring to radio RTLM. She told us that when she was
forced to flee she had witnessed the deaths. That they would pile them like trash, and feel
triumphant afterward. "I could bear the sight, people were being killed like animals." As she
retells the story of her escape and endless wander she says, "As I was passing through a barrier, I
remember telling my husband: The fate of the Tutsi people is to die. You are Hutu. You must not
stay with me any longer. I am going to die, stop following me! We said goodbye and I said, "If
god wills, we'll meet each other again..." She has not seen nor heard of her husband since. The
things she saw were sickening. "Passing through the barriers I saw how people were being killed
with machetes, people were killed that... I don't know how someone could justify that." She had
later said, "As I was

Genocide In Rwanda
Genocide is not a good thing to have in our world so I am going to talk about sometimes it has
happened, How to fix it, and why the heck would someone start genocide.
Some examples of Genocide are the holocaust, Armenian Genocide, and Rwandan Genocide. These
were all times a mass group of people was targeted based on how they looked or what they believed
in. In the Holocaust Adolf Hitler targeted Jews. In the Armenian Genocide the Ottoman Empire
killed a lot of people and finally the Rwandan Genocide. In the Rwandan Genocide it was the Tutsi
people being targeted. These all affected people in a big way which caused them to rebuild as a
group.
How to help Genocide? One way that the world can help Genocide is having a countries allies come

Genocide In Rwanda
The United Nations efforts in peace–keeping operations in Rwanda had many setbacks and was
considered to be a failure for many reasons. One of the reasons being the International community's
failure to make a distinction between a civil war and genocide in Rwanda. (Khan, 196) This meant
that the little effort presented by the UN department of peacekeeping operations was often too late.
In previous years the world has witnessed countless civil wars which have taken place in Somalia,
Liberia, Haiti, Georgia and Angola. However, genocide was not present in these wars and was
uncommon. (Khan, 196) According to Alain Destexhe,Rwanda was only the third experience of
genocide in this century. Thus, with the ongoing tensions and unrest, dating back to 1990, between
the Hutu–led government and the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) it was evident that Rwanda was
on course for a civil war but what was failed to realise was that a genocide was also taking place.
(Khan, 197)...show more content...
(Wikipedia) The member states of the Security Council were more so focused on the aspect of civil
war rather than genocide, which made it difficult to provide effective assistance and also prevented
them from acting under the 1948 'convention of the prevention and punishment of the crime of
genocide'. (Khan, 197) Although, there was a Chapter VI mandate which called for a ceasefire and
for Rwanda to revisit the Arusha Accords presented in 1993 (Khan,2) however, the unrest in Rwanda
was in fact a genocide and thus the Chapter VI mandate did not have much of an effect and could
not prevent the massacre of thousands of

Genocide In Rwanda
The Rwanda Genocide "' 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.
To start with, Rwanda is a very small country located near the center of Africa ("Rwandan
Genocide<< World Without Genocide–Working to create a World Without Genocide"). It had a
population of 7.7 million: 90% Hutu ethnic group and 9% Tutsis before the genocide began
("Rwandan Genocide<< World Without Genocide–Working to create a World Without Genocide").
The first tension was driven between the Hutus and the Tutsis when European colonists moved into
Rwanda and chose the Tutsis for a group to be privileged and educated ("GENOCIDE–
RWANDA"). Because of this, Hutus...show more content...
According to the United Human Rights Council, "Tutsis and people suspected of being Tutsi, were
killed in their homes as they tried to flee to get away from Hutu persecution." People who didn't
agree with the killing, even Hutus, were brutally murdered as they tried to speak against the
genocide ("United Human Rights Council"). The killing in this genocide, often using machetes and
clubs, was entirely carried out by hand ("GENOCIDE–RWANDA"). About 200,000 people
participated in the killings of the genocide ("United Human Rights Council"). In the time span of
100 days, 800,000 men, women, and children were killed, which was as much as Вѕ of the Tutsi
population ("United Human Rights

Genocide in Rwanda Essay
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...show more content...
The Belgians also decreed that Tutsis should be the only ones in power and thus removed Hutus
from positions of power and excluded them from higher education (Arraras). "By assuring the Tutsis'
monopoly of power the Belgians set the stage for future conflict in Rwanda" (Arraras). The Tutsis
were enjoying their status as being superior to the Hutus but all that changed in 1959 with the
Hutu revolution and so in 1960 and 1961 the Hutus won the elections. Since then, ethnic tensions
had always been brewing between the Hutus and the Tutsis. However the tensions escalated when
Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, was shot down above Kigali airport on April
6, 1994. I consider this to be a form of political violence because someone or a group that opposed
this President which represented only the political interests as well as the viability of the Hutus had
to be killed in order for another group possibly the Tutsis to fill the vacuum of power left by the
Hutu president. The Hutus blamed the assassination of their president on the Tutsis and in turn
sparked an all out massacre waged on to the Tutsi people. Although it is sometimes viewed that
major players in the international community did not get involved in the conflict between the Hutus
and the Tutsis I argue that in some form or fashion they did. For example, prior to the genocide of
1994 the United States had formed an alliance with the Tutsis, they even gave Paul Kagame,
co–founder of the

Rwandan Genocide Analysis
Introduction
The Rwandan Genocide of 1994 saw the highest level of violent atrocities and killings committed
against the Tutsi ethnic group as perpetrated by the Hutu ethnic group. The Rwandan Genocide
remains to be one of the most notable genocides of the 20th Century due to the significant number
of civilians, killed of approximately '500,000 to 800,000' Bhavani and Backer (2000) tutsi's
slaughtered in the short time of 90 Days. The genocide occurred as a result of ethnic, political and
socio–economic tensions triggered by Belgian colonial rule aiming to divide these ethnic groups into
three distinct categories 'Hutu, Tutsi or Twa'. The shooting of Hutu president Habyarimana's plane
triggered the violence, as 'this event was all the justification...show more content...
The Rwandan genocide not only wiped out ordinary civilians but on the sector level devastated the
criminal justice system of Rwanda due to the murders of judiciaries, lawyers, judges, prosecutors
who unfortunately fell victims to these mass atrocities (Longman 2009, Human Rights Watch 2011).
Accountability for these atrocities was difficult to achieve due to the high numbers of civilians who
partipated in the genocide, and the high prison population of individuals detained for these crimes
which the national courts, and international courts were unable to process and trial efficiently. The
Gacaca system an indigenous system of conflict resolution adapted to the needs of providing
communal justice, by involving Rwandan's within the Justice process. Aside from trailing and
prosecuting 'gacaca's mandate was extended to include a focus on truth–telling, reconciliation and
the reintegration of prisoners'. Palmer (2005:4) The extension of Gacacas mandate to include
reconciliation and truth telling was a necessary measure as it played a strong role in not only
providing justice for the victims of the genocide, but provides perpetrator the opportunity to express
remorse for their actions, which was an absent factor of both the national and international
mechanisms. For reconciliation to be truly fostered, perpetrators must acknowledge that their actions
were wrongful, negatively impacting on individuals, and must be given a platform, to express these
feelings and remorse which the gacaca system aimed to provide, in a complex three–part interaction
between the victim, perpetrator and members of the community who witnessed the violence. In
order to examine the extent to which Gacaca, has fulfilled its primary goals, an outline of Gacaca's
Jurisdictions is strongly

Rwanda Genocide: The Assassination Of Rwanda
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...show more content...
Initially, Western media dismissed the beginnings of the genocide as just another "tribal conflict" or
civil war in "war–torn Africa". This often led outside countries to dismiss the conflict for up to a
month. Soon, however, as the Western journalists in Rwanda began to communicate to their
countries how bad the violence really was, a growing understanding of just how catastrophic the
genocide was finally began hitting the West. Unfortunately, before the West could gauge much more,
all non–Rwandan people were ordered out of the country. French, Belgian, American, and other
citizens living in Rwanda were ordered back to their country and they took with them the last of the
journalists who were truly connected to the Western world. Information about what was happening
every day and how the genocide was escalating was limited (The Editorial Board). Even then, there
were enough humanitarian organizations on the ground that constantly updated the international
community on the disastrous state of Rwanda. Despite knowing enough about the genocide to at
least intervene on some level, the international community was especially slow to move. People
were dying at alarming numbers in Rwanda and the world was hesitant to move because it did not
want to label the conflict a genocide ("Rwanda, Genocide, Hutu, Tutsi, Mass Execution..."). Calling
the conflict a genocide would mean definitive involvement and this involvement, purely done for
humanitarian reasons, would take up money and resources. Since most countries had no interests to
protect in Rwanda, they felt a limited sense of urgency and discussed the correct definition of the
word "genocide" while thousands got displaced and died ("Rwanda, Genocide, Hutu, Tutsi, Mass
Execution..."). Aside from not wanting to spend resources, nations like America were hesitant to
intervene in Africa because of their past on the continent. In the past, American soldiers

War Crimes And Genocide In Rwanda
The frequency of war crimes and genocide in Rwanda was portended by the commencement of the
Civil War. Madsen (21) explains that, more than 1200 Bagogwe people, a group of the
North–western Rwanda related to the Tutsis were massacred by Armed Forces of Rwanda while
"irregular Hutus" slaughtered Tutsis all through the northern and southern regions of Rwanda. The
complicity of the RPF in the repeated violation of Interntional Law was replete in their actions
during the Civil War. Thousands of civillians were the targets of brutal attacks. Rusesabinga(22) in
an account of one of the attacks on a prison states that:
The RPF opened the gates of Ruhengeri prison, freeing many prisoners and enrolling them as
fighters. The RPF also engaged in heavy

Genocide in Rwanda: international response
CONTENT 1INTRODUCTION In the course of a hundred days in 1994, over 800,000 Tutsi and
moderate Hutu were killed in the Rwandan genocide. It was the fastest, most efficient killing spree
of the twentieth century. My thesis is that the international community utterly failed to prevent and
stop this atrocity. I will focus on numerous interconnected aspects that led to international inaction
and also on the main actors, Belgium, the United Nations Secretariat, the United States and France,
that knew that there was genocide underway in Rwanda – therefore, they had a responsibility to
prevent and stop the genocide, but lacked political will. This led to inaction at the level of the
Security Council (SC), where member states...show more content...
International leaders had available means other than armed force, which could influence the conflict
but decided not to use them. During the first weeks even simple actions, with almost no expense,
could have saved thousands. Major donors of aid to Rwanda did not ever threaten to withhold the
financial assistance from a government guilty of genocide. Radio RTLM was communicating orders
for the implementation of killings, naming persons to be killed and revealing areas for future attacks
through the entire course of genocide. The broadcast stations could have been interrupted without
military action. They discussed the idea shortly in the SC, but dropped it soon, because the
traditional American commitment to freedom of speech, which was more important than disrupting
the voice of genocide. Third cost–free action that could be done was imposing an embargo on arms
to Rwanda, which only happened on May 17th, after almost two months of killing. The potential
effect of these actions would also be weakened by continued French support of the interim
government. Two weeks after the start of the massacres, governments refused to admit Rwandan
delegation sent to justify the genocide – with exception of France. The Rwandan representatives
were greeted in Paris at the highest levels and France officials offered help to genocidal
government, on a condition to end bad publicity about the slaughter. France also helped to flee some
of the perpetrators of the genocide later. When

Rwanda Genocide Essay

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