Global Policy Forum

Rwanda

Women Take Lead in Reconstruction of Rwanda (November 16, 2003)
Since the 1994 genocide, women have played a pivotal role in reconstructing Rwanda. The Rwandan constitution formalized the critical importance of women's leadership in the country's recovery. This article calls for Iraq and Afghanistan to follow this example and include women as full partners in the reconstruction process. (Women's e-News)

Rwanda's Genocide Suspects Face Future (February 26, 2003)
Some 40,000 prisoners, suspected of participating in Rwanda's genocide, are expected to leave prison after meeting the requirement of admitting their guilt. Detainees dread facing relatives of their victims and an uncertain future. (Associated Press)

UN Prosecutor Rallies UK Support to Investigate Rwandan Army (December 3, 2002)
The UN accuses Rwanda's government of "failing to cooperate" in the International Criminal Tribunal for investigations against some officials' alleged war crimes. (Fondation Hirondelle)

Kabila And Kagame Sign Ambitious Congo Peace Deal (July 30, 2002)
Calling it a "bright day for the African continent," the Democratic republic of Congo and Rwanda have signed an ambitious peace agreement which aims to unlock the impasse in Central Africa. (AllAfrica)

Understanding How Violent Mind Works (February 3, 2002)
Conventional genocide-prevention methods include diplomacy and military intervention, which are often mobilized in a "very late-stage" of a crisis. Yet learning from the Rwandan experience, strengthening the rule of law and democracy are the most effective safeguards against genocide.
(Associated Press)

Bystanders to Genocide (September 2001)
Samantha Power of the Atlantic Monthly retraces the decision processes of the US administration and highlights the lack of action from top US officials during the Rwanda crisis.

US 'Ran from Rwanda Responsibility' (August 22, 2001)
The US National Security Archive released official documents showing that "the US was aware, but decided not only not to stop genocide, but also to prevent others from intervening in a way that could have saved hundreds or thousands of lives,"(Agence France Presse)

The Cross and the Genocide (August 9, 2001)
The 1994 Rwandan genocide, killing an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus, is made even more incomprehensible by the documented participation of many representatives of Rwandan church societies. (Afrol News)

Rwanda Warns of Hutus Preparing Second Genocide (August 4, 2001)
Rwanda's Tutsi-led government believes that Hutu militias based in the DRC are preparing for another genocide. However, many feel that Rwanda is simply trying to justify the presence of 11,000 troops in the DRC. (Independent)

Rwanda Justifies Role in Congo (July 17, 2001)
Rwanda claimed a victory in its efforts to justify its role in the three-year war in the Democratic Republic of Congo by announcing the capture of a Hutu rebel leader, who was allegedly attempting to infiltrate the country and commit a new genocide. (Independent)

Now Is the Time to Tell the Truth About Rwanda (April 26, 2001)
Rwanda suffered the fastest genocide in recorded history. Although Belgium, France, and the UN have held extensive hearings or official inquiries about their role in the "cataclysm", the US has not. The Atlantic gives the opinions of Harvard's Alan J. Kuperman and Human Rights Watch's Alison Des Forges.

UN Confirms Secret Probe of Tutsi War Crimes (December 15, 2000)
After trying only Hutus and their collaborators to date, the Rwandan war crimes tribunal has indicted an ethnic Tutsi. But has the tribunal made a deal with the Rwandan president to limit its investigation of Rwanda's Tutsi government? (Toronto National Post)

ICTR Aims for a Busy End of Year (November 24, 2000)
The judges on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda are not totally pleased with the court's progress so far, which includes only seven convictions, but hope that all cases will be heard before the end of the judges' mandate in three years. (IRIN)

Rwandan Ex-Premier Kambanda's Life Sentence Upheld (October 19, 2000)
The UN War Crimes Tribunal sends former Prime Minister Jean Kambanda to prison for life. (Deutsche Presse-Agentur)

The Lesson of Rwanda (October 12, 2000)
A critical piece on the failure of either Gore or Bush to successfully comment on Rwanda, in which the US did little to act - a failure that even Clinton "apologized for". (Washington Post)

UN's Rwanda Tribunal Calls for Compensation of Unjustly Detained, Prosecuted (Oct 9, 2000)
A proposal to amend the court's statute to enable the Tribunal, to compensate people who have been wrongfully detained is now under Security Council consideration. It comes shortly after a similar proposal for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). (UN News)

African Say UN Must Pay for Genocide (July 7, 2000)
The Organization of African Unity released a special report concerning the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. The report specifically points the finger at the US, France, and the UN Security Council for allowing the "terrible conspiracy to go ahead." Link to the full report.(Guardian)

Shame; Rationalizing Western Apathy on Rwanda (May/June, 2000)
Could the Western states have done something to stop the genocide in Rwanda? Des Forges revisits this agonizing question and challenges Alan J. Kuperman's argument ("Rwanda in Retrospect," Foreign Affairs, January/February 2000) that the world was unaware of the genocide in April 1994 until it was too late. (Foreign Affairs)

Still Wanted: The Rwandan Genocide (April 22-28, 2000)
An article in The Economist highlights the difficulties in bringing the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide to justice, as many are now in neighboring countries, and Rwanda's government would rather see the money for the tribunal being used to rebuild the country.

What Rwanda Needs is a New Constitution (April 20, 2000)
In a recent interview acting Rwandan President Paul Kagame advocated a new constitution and denied allegations that he ordered the shooting down of former Hutu President Juvenal Habyarimana's plane, which some have claimed was the impetus for the 1994 genocide. (The East African - Nairobi)

U.N. Council Accepts Responsibility in Rwanda Genocide (April 15, 2000)
Although issuing no formal statement or any new resolution, the Security Council did for the first time formally respond to a report critical of UN policy during the genocide in Rwanda. (Associated Press / Miami Herald)

Rwanda Court Sentences 8 To Death (April 2, 2000)
The Associated Press reports of eight new death penalties (plus fines), seven life sentences and six new acquittals being handed out, bringing to around 300 the total of death penalties handed out so far in the proceedings with125,000 still awaiting a trial.

Former Rwandan Minister Denies Genocide Charges at UN Court (March 24, 2000)
The former Minister for Culture in the Rwandan Government, Jean de Dieu Kamuhanda, accused of handing out deadly weapons and giving the order to kill in the 1994 genocide of Tutsis, has plead not guilty at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda at Arusha, Tanzania. (UN Newservice)

Unlawful Detentions and Ill-Treatment of Civilians in Mukamira Camp (February 2000)
Amnesty International paints a gruesome picture of the treatment of suspects inside a Rwandan military camp.

Rwandan Genocide Suspects Arrested in Europe (February 15, 2000)
Two "high-ranking military officers, Francois-Xavier Nzuwonemeye and Innocent Sagahutu have been arrested in France and Denmark. They are wanted for the killings of many Tutsis and moderate Hutus, including Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana, as well as ten Belgian peacekeepers. (BBC Online)

High Court Rejects Rwandan's Appeal (January 25, 2000)
The extradition of Elizaphan Ntakirutimana who is accused of acts of genocide is given the go-ahead . (Washington Post)

UN to Seek Immunity on Rwanda (January 14, 2000)
Two Australian Human Rights Lawyers are preparing to sue the UN on behalf of the survivors of the more than 800,000 Rwandans massacred in 1994. (Sydney Herald)

1999

Inquiry into the Actions of the UN During the 1994 Genocide (December 15, 1999)
A report of the independent inquiry commissioned by Secretary General Kofi Annan.

UN Failed Rwanda, Ignored Evidence of Genocide (December 16, 1999)
An Associated Press article about an independent report, commissioned by Secretary General Kofi Annan, that faults the UN and Security Council members for lack of political will. It says the UN ignored information that a genocide was planned, refused to act once the genocide had begun and then abandoned Rwandans in need of protection.

Kofi Annan on Rwanda Inquiry (December 16, 1999)
The Secretary General's statement on receiving the report of the independent inquiry into the actions of the UN during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Albright Shuns Investigation of Rwandan Genocide (December 6, 1999)
US Secretary of State Madeline Albright, who was UN ambassador at the time of the mass killings in 1994, will not cooperate with the UN mandated inquiry into the genocide. (Toronto National Post)

Infighting Cripples Rwandan Tribunal (August 16, 1999)
"In five years the court has spent $209m and dealt with five cases." The mission of International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has been thwarted by costly bureaucracy and bitter power struggles. (Associated Press)

Battle Rages in Congo While Leaders Talk Peace (August 16, 1999)
A Nando Media article on the fight between Rwandan and Ugandan troops and the leaders' efforts to end the confrontation that imperils their campaign to oust Congolese President Laurent Kabila.

Former Official Cleared in Rwandan Genocide Case (April 27, 1999)
Nando Media article delivering some figures on the current situation in Rwanda.

Hutu and Tutsi Ask: Is a Unified Rwanda Possible? (April 6, 1999)
This New York Times article takes a deep look at the current difficulties Rwanda's population is facing.

UN Could Have Prevented Rwandan Genocide, Report Says (March 30, 1999)
A new report by Human Rights Watch adds to the pile of evidence that the United States, France, Belgium, and the UN Security Council knew of the impending killings in Rwanda, but did nothing to stop them from happening.

Annan Asks Probe of UN Response to Rwanda Genocide (March 22, 1999)
The role of the UN before the outbreak of the genocide. (Reuters)

UN Inaction on 1994 Genocide Continues to Raise Unanswered Questions (May 11, 1998)
An article from International Documents Review by editor Bhaskar Menon.

UN Chief Leaves Rwanda after Unhappy Visit (May 8, 1998)
A Reuters report by Nicholas Kotch.

Rwanda Genocide Survivors Say Annan Part Responsible (May 8, 1998)
A Reuters report by Corinne Dufka.

US Neglected Rwanda (May 6, 1998)
An excerpt from an Associated Press dispatch.

"UN Chief Denies New Rwanda Charges" (May 5, 1998)
An article from the New York Times.

The 1994 Rwandan Genocide and US Policy (May 5, 1998)
Congressional Testimony of Holly Burkhalter, Physicians for Human Rights in the Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Operations.

Doctors Without Borders Calls for an Inquiry (March 2, 1998)
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontií¨res calls for a commission of inquiry into the role of the French Government in the Rwandan Genocide.