In 1994, the world failed to stop genocide in Rwanda. In 1995, we failed in Sbrebrenica. Today, in Gaza, we are again being tested. We must act now!
Archiv: April to July 1994: genocide in Rwanda / 800.000 to 1 million people slaughtered / ten UN soldiers slain on 07-04-1994 / UN troops reduced from 2500 to 270 on 21-04-1994 / let it all happen
British MPs urge UN-led military intervention to stop genocide in Gaza
Five British MPs have written to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper urging the government to „urgently pursue UN-led military intervention“ to stop Israel‘s genocide in Gaza.
The letter by independent MP Adnan Hussain has been signed by three of his fellow members of the parliamentary Independent Alliance – Ayoub Khan, Iqbal Mohamed and Shockat Adam – as well as Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George.
A Closer Look at Where Rwanda‘s Lethal Weapons Came From
(June 11, 2014)
Despite this recognition by the UN of the devastating effect that imported weapons was having, absolutely nothing was done to prevent or stop the slaughter of one million Tutsis and those who protected them.
Twenty years ago in Rwanda, the government got the message from the international community, again and again, that it could get away with genocide facilitated by foreign arms. It was not until May 17, 1994, more than five weeks into the genocide, that the United Nations Security Council imposed an arms embargo on the genocidal regime.
With the global Arms Trade Treaty still not ratified, I cannot help but wonder how many other governments are getting that very same message from the international community today.
Rwandan Genocide Survivor Recalls Horror
(November 30, 2006)
There are things you can point to, but do they explain what happened? What could possible explain what happened?
Here‘s one explanation from one killer who had been Immaculee‘s neighbor, Alex Ntibirukee, who spent 11 years in prison after admitting he killed six people: „They told me that I would be rewarded with a piece of land and a banana plantation. They told the same to other people, but you see they didn‘t give me any banana plantation.“
UN Failed Rwanda
(December 16, 1999)
In a statement, Annan acknowledged the systematic failure of the United Nations and expressed his „deep remorse“ on behalf of the organization. Annan, who was head of UN peacekeeping operations during the genocide, commissioned the report to find out the truth about the UN role in the massacre and to learn from the mistakes. He appointed a three-man team to conduct the 6-month-long analysis, and turned over UN files, cables and archives as well as UN personnel for testimony.
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The report faulted the United Nations in several key areas leading up to that date, including its failure to act on a now-famous cable sent by the force commander, Canadian Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire on Jan. 11, 1994 warning of the risk of genocide. The cable was received by Annan and wasn‘t shared with the Security Council and didn‘t receive the follow-up such an important piece of evidence deserved, the report said. In addition, the United Nations and Security Council virtually ignored a groundbreaking assessment by the UN human rights investigator for Rwanda who raised the possibility in August 1993 that a genocide might occur.
But the report points most of its criticism at how the United Nations – and in particular its Security Council members – reacted to the killings once they started. There was little political will within the council, particularly from the United States, to authorize a robust peacekeeping force in the months after the failed Somalia mission, that left 18 Americans dead. After rampaging killers in Rwanda killed 10 Belgian peacekeepers at the beginning of the genocide, there was little will to keep the peacekeepers in place, much less strengthen their mandate.
The departure of peacekeepers from a school where thousands of civilians had massed hoping for protection was cited by the report as one of the main reasons for the enduring bitterness Rwandans feel Thursday toward the United Nations because of the ensuing massacre there. „The manner in which the troops left, including attempts to pretend to the refugees that they were not in fact leaving, was disgraceful,“ the report said.
Belgian Charged in Rwanda Deaths of 10 Peacekeepers
(December 30, 1995)
The Belgian paratroopers were guarding Rwandan Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana, who was also killed by rampaging Hutu soldiers.
Families of the troopers have charged that Marchal and other officers placed the lightly armed peacekeepers in a position of excessive danger and failed to launch a rescue mission after their capture.
Prosecutor Bernard Dejemeppe said the investigation found that Marchal could have done much more to prevent the deaths, including using other U.N. forces present, seeking the advice of other officers and better assessing the risks his men faced.
Rwanda 1994: How 1 Million Were Killed in 100 Days
May 30, 2025 #paulkagame #historydocumentary #africanhistory
In just 100 days, nearly 1 million people were killed in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. This documentary explores how decades of colonial division, civil war, and the assassination of President Juvénal Habyarimana led to one of the most horrifying massacres in modern history.
1 million killed by machete, club and gun: Rwanda remembers its genocide 20 years later
(April 7, 2014)
Ever since the massive killing spree, the world community has been forced to acknowledge that it stood by and did nothing.
Rwanda: How the genocide happened
(May 17, 2011)
When the Belgian colonists arrived in 1916, they produced identity cards classifying people according to their ethnicity.
The Belgians considered the Tutsis to be superior to the Hutus. Not surprisingly, the Tutsis welcomed this idea, and for the next 20 years they enjoyed better jobs and educational opportunities than their neighbours.
Resentment among the Hutus gradually built up, culminating in a series of riots in 1959. More than 20,000 Tutsis were killed, and many more fled to the neighbouring countries of Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda.
When Belgium relinquished power and granted Rwanda independence in 1962, the Hutus took their place. Over subsequent decades, the Tutsis were portrayed as the scapegoats for every crisis.
This was still the case in the years before the genocide.
Hundreds of UN staff pressure rights chief to call Gaza a genocide, letter shows
„OHCHR has a strong legal and moral responsibility to denounce acts of genocide,“ said the letter signed by the Staff Committee on behalf of over 500 employees, which called on Turk to take a „clear and public position“.
„Failing to denounce an unfolding genocide undermines the credibility of the U.N. and the human rights system itself,“ it added.
It cited the international body‘s perceived moral failure for not doing more to stop the 1994 Rwanda genocide that killed more than 1 million people.