Rwandan Genocide Essay - 3369 Words

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 peopl es. 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 activeShow MoreRelatedThe Genocide Of The Rwandan Genocide Essay1711 Words   |  7 PagesThe Rwandan Genocide took place in 1994 and involved members of the Hutu mass killing Tutsi and Tutsi sympathizers who were Hutu. The genocide resulted in the deaths of around 800,000 people, majority Tutsi. The separation of classes came from Belgian internationals creating the two ethnic classes and giving power to the Tutsi who were taller and had lighter skin, and generally appeared more European. In response to this, after the country gained independence from Belgium, Hutu extremists gatheredRead MoreThe Rwandan Genocide And The Genocide1654 Words   |  7 PagesMiranda Shearer Mrs. Sohal/ Mrs. Love Period 3 17 October 2014 The Rwandan Genocide A genocide is defined as the deliberate killing of a group of people, especially of a certain ethnicity. By that definition and almost any other a dictionary could define, the killing of the Tutsis was certainly a genocide.The Rwandan Genocide occurred in 1994, in an African country called Rwanda. A long history of building friction between the Hutus and the Tutsis undeniably caused the mass murder of over 800,000Read MoreThe Genocide Of The Rwandan Genocide1421 Words   |  6 PagesThe Rwanda Genocide was an unfortunate case where thousands of deaths could have been prevented, but because of irresponsibility and selfishness of global governments’ innocent lives were lost. The Genocide began on April 6, 1994 and was, â€Å"initiated by the Hutu political elite and extremists and its military support, their prime targets were the Tutsi, as well as Hutu moderates.† (Hain 2) The Hutu made up majority of the population and government officials and enforced a government-ass isted militaryRead MoreThe Rwandan Genocide Essay959 Words   |  4 PagesThe problems of today can often be traced in the beginnings of yesterday. The Rwandan Genocide was a divisive division of two groups that culminated in the mass murder of nearly 500,000 Rwandans, three-fourths of the population. The tactful subterfuge by the ruling party fueled the separation of two ethnic groups that reminisce the events in Europe 55 years earlier. Naturally, the question becomes, how? Simply speaking it was the indifference of global elites and political demagoguery that incitedRead MoreThe Rwandan Genocide And The Genocide866 Words   |  4 PagesThe Rwandan genocide occurred during the period of April to July of 1994. This genocide was as a result of the Hutu ethnic majority slaughtering the Tutsi minority. During this period as much as 800,000 Tutsis were killed. The genocide was started by Hutu extremists in the capital of Kigali and the genocide soon spread across the country. Despi te all of this there were several survivors of the genocide. Immaculee Ilibagiza is one of those people. Immaculee Ilibagiza was born in 1972. She is theRead MoreThe Rwandan Genocide1335 Words   |  5 PagesRwanda is a country made up of a population with three ethnic communities, the two main communities, the Hutu and Tutsi and an additional community of Twa (or pygmies) who all spoke the same language, Kinyarwanda or Rwandan (Clapham, 1998). There is a stereotype of appearance attributed to these two main communities, with Tutsi being seen as tall and having an aquiline shaped nose, and the Hutu as being short and flat-nosed (Clapham, 1998). In the pre-colonial state of Rwanda, it was the TutsisRead MoreThe Genocide Of The Rwandan Genocide2458 Words   |  10 PagesGenocide has been plaguing the world for hundreds of years. Millions of innocent lives have been taken all for the sake of prejudice. One of the most atrocious aspects of genocide is that a large percentage of them are sponsored by the state in which they are taking place. Over the years scholars have studied just wha t motivates a state to engage in such awful behavior. What motivates them? Why would they do such horrendous things to their own citizens? Is it solely for some economic incentive, orRead MoreThe Genocide Of The Rwandan Genocide Essay2042 Words   |  9 Pagespeople that commit genocide; we are all capable of it. It’s our evolutionary history† (James Lovelock). According to the Oxford dictionary, genocide is defined as â€Å"the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular nation or ethnic group.† Although it may be hard to believe, genocides have occurred all over the world and all throughout time. There have been well documented genocides such as the Holocaust. Additionally, there have also been genocides that have barelyRead MoreThe Rwandan Genocide1188 Words   |  5 PagesRwandan Genocide The Rwandan Genocide began on April 6, 1994 and lasted for about 100 days (History). The two groups involved, the Hutus and Tutsis, were in a massive conflict after their president was killed. The Hutus brutally killed about 800,000 Tutsis and supporters. This tragic genocide was not stopped by other countries during its peak, leaving the world wondering why. As we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide, it is important to be informed about the tragedy. The wayRead MoreThe Rwandan Genocide And The Genocide1637 Words   |  7 PagesWith over eight hundred thousand to one million deaths, the Rwandan genocide is undoubtedly one of the most sad and shocking examples of the lack of intervention by not only the US and the UN, but by other countries as well. The ongoing tensions between the Hutu, the largest population in Rwanda, and the Tutsi, the smaller and more elite population is what eventually lead to the Rwandan genocide. The killings began quickly after President Habyarimana s plane was shot down. After hundreds of thousands