The analysis of the genocides that took place both in Rwanda and Sudan’s Darfur region exhibit some similarities as well as differences. The character of violence was similar in both cases, but in Rwanda the violence was more intense, participatory, and extraordinary. The violence in these two places took place in an environment that had experienced civil wars. It was a period of political transition which was further aggravated by ethnic nationalism and a conflict of ethnic populations that were living in close proximity. However, in the Rwandan genocide, the state is more centralized, compact, and effective. This is what explains the intensity and variation. The international response to these genocides through observers emphasized on using the genocide label to create domestic constituencies especially in the Rwandan case.
The Darfur case however, revealed that both of these strategies are not effective. Responding to the genocide in Darfur, the US officials declared the label genocide to be occurring. Thereafter, a politically civil-society coalition emerged so as to lobby the administration. The net outcome of these two scenarios however was the same in the absence of effective policies that could halt the genocide. The Rwandan genocide has always acted as the point of reference for similar genocides taking place around the world. Since the 2003 crisis in Darfur, a lot of comparisons have been made to Rwandan genocide. Observers have likened the Darfur genocide to what happened in Rwanda and of course giving it two connotations. First, the violence in the western parts of Sudan has been referred to another Rwanda, by basing their arguments on the nature of the violence. Since whatever was happening in Darfur is similar t...
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... different since the US was guided by the realism approach of not extending humanitarian help beyond their borders.
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Straus, Scott. Rwanda and Darfur: A Comparative Analysis.
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As the news reported that Islamic State committed genocide against Christians and other minorities had suffered serious defeats from recent battles against the allied forces, the images of piles of dead bodies shown to the world in Rwanda about a couple decades ago emerge once again and triggers an interesting puzzle: why did the Rwandan Genocide happen in one of the smallest nations in the African Continent? The documentary film, Rwanda-Do Scars Ever Fade?, upon which this film analysis is based provides an answer to the puzzle.
Though the event occurred almost twenty-one years ago, the Rwandan genocide of 1994 has prompted much discussion about what truly caused the deaths of an estimated 800,000 civilians. Scott Straus, a political scientist and author of The Order of Genocide: Race, Power, and War in Rwanda, makes the claim that it is very difficult to precisely identify what began the genocide in Rwanda for a number of reasons, and also comments that many of the beliefs in regards to the causes and evolution of genocide in Rwanda are incomplete. In his book, Straus focuses on three main aspects: to look closely at the local dynamics of the genocide, to produce an assessment of explanations, and finally to develop a theory that would explain the genocide in Rwanda.
In the Darfur region, part of Sudan, a civil war (often referred to as genocide) has been occurring for approximately 8 years. The current conflict began in 2003 when rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and the Justice and Equality Movement, made up of the Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit tribes took up arms against the government of Sudan because the non-Arab Sudanese felt oppressed and that the government was in favor of Sudanese Arabs. A previous period of conflict in Sudan-Darfur during 1985-1988 saw only 9,000 killed, while during the first 3 years of this most recent conflict, 2003-2006, over 200,000 Darfurians are believed to have been...
“Darfur Genocide.” World Without Genocide. William Mitchell School of Law, n.d. Web. 16 April 2014. .
The genocides of the 20th century which occurred in Rwanda and Germany had striking similarities, something that should have alerted the world to stop them. At the core of these two massacres, patterns existed that outlined how similar thinking and reasoning could lead to something as horrible as these two events. One can see how both groups used their command of knowledge as a way to control the people, how the rest of the world refused to step up to stop the killings, and how the people were thought of as less than humans to provide a just cause for such terrible acts.
In April of 1994 the African nation of Rwanda was involved in a civil war between two of its major ethnicities, the Hutu and the Tutsis. Almost overnight, a state-sponsored genocidal campaign took the lives of nearly 800,00 Rwandans while the international community turned a blind eye. In Ghosts of Rwanda we saw the stories of the individuals who failed to act at the hands of international organizations, those who stood up with hope and tried to save lives, and those who survived through the massacre and lived to tell their stores.
Africa has been an interesting location of conflicts. From the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea to the revolutionary conflict in Libya and Egypt, one of the greatest conflicts is the Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide included two tribes in Rwanda: Tutsis and Hutus. Upon revenge, the Hutus massacred many Tutsis and other Hutus that supported the Tutsis. This gruesome war lasted for a 100 days. Up to this date, there have been many devastating effects on Rwanda and the global community. In addition, many people have not had many acknowledgements for the genocide but from this genocide many lessons have been learned around the world.
When the Rwandan Hutu majority betrayed the Tutsi minority, a destructive mass murdering broke out where neighbor turned on neighbor and teachers killed their students; this was the start of a genocide. In this paper I will tell you about the horrors the people of Rwanda had to face while genocide destroyed their homes, and I will also tell you about the mental trauma they still face today.
In conclusion, the events that occurred in Sudan from 2003-2011 can be defined as genocide due the evidence of rape, murders of ethnic groups and destruction of their livelihood to deliberately inflict on a their condition of life calculated to bring apart their physical destruction. However, if the Sudanese government didn’t organize and arm the Janjaweed militia to destroy the non-Arabs of Sudan, then the mass killings would be defined as civil war. The international community Is also to be blamed for not getting involved in the events leading up to the genocide as well as not doing as much as they could to stop the mass killings before they got to the extent that they did. Hundreds of thousand killed, millions displaced and/or affected either directly or indirectly, in a world that said “ Never Again”.
This essay will argue that the genocide convention is not a meaningless document, but rather weak in dealing with genocide as evidenced in the case of Darfur 2003, because of limitations in definition which need to be addressed. The convention is characterized as being problematic due to the following grounds, its definition of genocide and its furtherance’s as well as lack of enforceability and its failure to prevent genocide. Even though the statement contains an element of truth, it is too subjective and unfairly undermines the legal significance of the Convention. This paper will consider this claim paying particular attention to the legal definition of genocide, which is described by Martin Shaw as vague and incomplete. First, this essay will examine the origins and define the concept of genocide in accordance with the GC; second, it will address the case of non intervention during genocide using the realist and liberal paradigms, third, It will address the case study and examine whether or not the genocide convention is indeed a meaningless document then conclude by arguing that it is not meaningless but is in need of reform.
Straus, Scott. "Darfur And The Genocide Debate." Foreign Affairs 84.1 (2005): 123-133. Business Source Premier. Web. 5 Oct. 2013.
“History repeats itself”, is a commonly used phrase and it is one that can be found to hold true in many situations. Throughout history there have been many incidents in which mass murder has occurred. A modern day example of mass murder in a conflict that is ongoing is the genocides occurring in Darfur, Sudan. The corrupt government in the country supports a group called the Janjaweed, which is the militia group that is mainly responsible for the large number of Darfur residents that have been murdered, raped, or displaced (1). Although the exact number is not known, most sources estimate around 400,000 people have died and another 2,500,000 have been displaced (1). The conflict started in 2003 and although it is not as severe as it has been in past years the issue still exists and the people of Darfur are still experiencing murder and suffering. The conflict in Darfur has been a topic of discussion for many nations, including the United States. The issue arises of whether or not larger nations, who have more power, should aid in the effort to stop the Darfur genocide. Some believe very strongly that the United States has an obligation to step up and help this country control a largely unethical situation. Others take the opposite argument and have reasons to believe the interests of the United States would be best served elsewhere. The situation is more complex than it initially seems and many factors must be analyzed when considering if the United States is obligated to intervene. At the same time, a conflict of this severity and size cannot be easily contained by a small and struggling nation and sometimes a bigger nation is needed to help with a conflict of this magnitude. Being a world power, the United States has the resour...
...think if people were more aware of the amount of foreign aid being provided they could see how big the impacts really are.
Various schools of thought exist as to why genocide continues at this deplorable rate and what must be done in order to uphold our promise. There are those who believe it is inaction by the international community which allows for massacres and tragedies to occur - equating apathy or neutrality with complicity to evil. Although other nations may play a part in the solution to genocide, the absolute reliance on others is part of the problem. No one nation or group of nations can be given such a respo...
There have been many genocides in history, but none have had more controversial views than Rwanda or ISIS. The United States government did not intervene in Rwanda or in ISIS to the extent that was needed. The death count kept rising while the US turned their backs to what was happening, and what is happening now. The genocides committed both in Rwanda, and by ISIS, have remarkable similarities and differences in the actions taken by the United States government to contain and prevent any further killings, whether directly or indirectly.