What have been or are the responses of the international community (UN, regional organizations, individual countries, non-state actors) to the Rwandan Genocide.
International
Community Responses to the Rwandan Genocide
The
Rwandan Genocide in 1994 is considered one of the bloodiest social class
conflicts, with the competing factions Hutu and Tutsi seeking to eliminate one
another. With the continuing struggle for power and differing perceptions, the
situation turned to worse with the genocide of 800,000 Tutsi’s in the country.
In seeking to advance peacekeeping and order in the embattled region, states
and the international community, such as the United Nations (UN), advanced
specific responses that sought to facilitate the maintenance of peace as much
as they can. Though the overall outcome of the intervention proved to be
limited and unsuccessful, the Rwandan Genocide offered opportunities to
recognize the role of states in responding to issues such as genocide and
advance the function of agencies such as the UN in the pursuit of collective
action to the conflict.
Looking
closely, the state responses during the Rwandan Genocide came from countries
such as Belgium and Canada. Each party had a corresponding influence in the
development of the class struggle and eventually would fail to prevent the
bloody outcome. First, there is Belgium. The Belgians, during colonial times,
controlled Rwanda and during the conflict was responsible for providing troops
with an effort to quell genocidal intentions of the Hutus (Rohr 1). Apart from
offering a military contingent, Belgium was also in constant interaction with
the United Nations to provide their assessment of what is happening. Canada on
the other hand, provided leadership for the United Nations Assistance Mission
in Rwanda (UNAMIR) which began in 1993 (Maritz 1). This demonstrates the country’s commitment in
adherence to its obligation as part of the International Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of Crime and Genocide. However, due to lack of
sufficient intelligence and resources, the objective of preventing genocide was
never fully achieved. Other state participants are France and China that sought
to offer military troops as part of the UNAMIR.
For the international community, the United
Nations remains to be the primary governing body that sought to respond to the
genocide in Rwanda. The creation of the
UNAMIR served a specific function wherein forces from countries such as Canada,
Belgium, France and China comprised of the Peacekeeping team. Quotidiana.org
provides that “on May 17, 1994, the Security Council strengthened UNAMIR by
sending in 5,500 more men. More French were sent into Rwanda but left in August
of 1994 to hand it over to the Ethiopian UN troops” (1). However, the limited
capacity of the group to engage and prevent killings made the group helpless in
safeguarding the victims (Tutsi) against the Hutus. Though efforts have been
made in order to advance peacekeeping operations, the attempt remains to be
limited due to its inability to exercise its objective of establishing peace.
In
conclusion, the international community responses during the Rwandan genocide
demonstrate the intention to advance peacekeeping and order. It features the
efforts coming from states such as France, Belgium, China and France to provide
troops in support of maintaining peace and collaborating with international
agency to familiarize with what is happening. Equally, the United Nations,
through its UNAMIR program helped solidify the international and consensus
among participant states in preventing genocide from happening in the region.
Despite these responses from various parties, the attempt to intervene and
advance order in the social struggle remains to be a failure due to the lack of
support, resources and information to sustain the peacekeeping operation.
Though this may seem to be the case, the lessons learned in the Rwandan
genocide offer agencies such as the United Nations, the direction necessary in
helping advance the commitment towards intervention and shaping policies
pursuant to the promotion of peace and stability.
This is a sample Essay International Community's Response on Rwandan Genocide. We are the leading provider of affordable essay writing services in the United States and the United Kingdom. If you need help we will write well written essays at very affordable costs starting at $7.50/page.
Works Cited
Maritz, Dominique. ‘Rwandan
Genocide: Failure of the International Community?’ E-
International Relations Students, 7 Apr. 2012. Web. Accessed 28 June 2014.
Quotidiana.org. Rwanda: Global Response. 2006. Web.
Accessed 28 June 2014.
Rohr, Stephanie. ‘The Response of
the International Community to the Rwanda Genocide’
Journal of Undergraduate Research XII, 2009. 1-9. Web. Accessed 28 June 2014.
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