Rwanda Genocide Research Paper

The Rwandan genocide slid under the radar causing thousands of Tutsi to be slaughtered. To start, the term genocide will be defined, the origin will be explained, along with the eight generic stages. In Rwanda, the genocide inflicted immense division of the country and the world. The actions took by the Hutu classified these killings as a genocide, according the these following stages. The Rwandan Genocide didn’t come to a conclusion until the relief came to the Tutsi civilization. The Rwandan genocide which was initiated by the Hutu government, was because of the distrust of the Hutu towards the Tutsi, believing they were out setting a uprising to gain power over the Hutu. The definitions of genocide explained from different viewpoints.

Any genocide can be started by a states government, military, international organizations, or terrorists, making the crime applicable to everyone (Rummel). Genocide is an international crime, where people may be indicted, tried and have punishments put on by the international court (Rummel). In order to be considered the crime, it has to be formatted, planned, and executed by the individuals or government (Rummel). To be descriptive, genocide can come from forcing children into a different group, whether that is religious or judicial (Rummel). Lemkin was the initial person that was able to coin the term

During the genocidal period, the population of Rwanda was 85% Hutu, 14% Tutsi, and 1% Twa (Kressel 79). There is also a difference in appearance between the two people; the Hutu on average is 5 feet 5 inches and weights 131 pounds, while the average Tutsi is 5 feet 9 inches and only weighs 126 pounds (Kressel 79). Culture is also different between the two people because anyone who had owned at least 10 head of cattle were considered Tutsi (Klinghoffer 6). To the surprise of the world the French sent support to the Tutsi when the genocide came to form (Prunier 177). The Tutsi is clearly a major minority, which leads to an easier target to take