Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
How are human rights being violated in africa
Role of the UN in maintaining world peace in war
The Rwanda genocide international response
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: How are human rights being violated in africa
Former UN Secretary- General Boutros Boutros-Ghali once said, “ We were not realizing that with just a machete, you can do genocide.” The continent of Africa has been continually engaged in civil, tribal, and cross national conflicts from the colonial era up until present day. The Hutus and the Tutsis, two ethnic groups within Rwanda, have been at repeated unrest for the past half a century. During the 100 day massacre of 1994, a murder occurred every two seconds, resulting in half of the Tutsi population being killed. It was the fastest, most efficient killing spree of that era. Nevertheless, in 2004 the film Hotel Rwanda was released and it portrays the consequences that took place. The movie showed how Paul Rusesabagina keeps over 1200 Tutsis refugees in his hotel. The Hotel De Milles Colliness, a five- star resort, became a refugee camp to keep the Tutsis safe. The international community utterly failed to prevent and stop this massacre from happening. The purpose of this paper will be to focus on how Belgium, United States and France, knew that there was genocide underway in Rwanda- therefore, they had a responsibility to prevent and stop the genocide, but lack the political will that could have put a stop to this massacre. Finally, it will be shown that this international letdown had dreadful consequences for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR), which, with neither sufficient resources nor permit, became an eyewitness to the massacre.
As far as peacekeeping methods go, the reputation of the United Nations is very pitiable. This is not only because they have not been doing their job to its fullest extent, but also because the member states on the security council haven’t given the UN the power it need...
... middle of paper ...
... sake of peace and tranquility. Establishing the truth is a necessity under the circumstance, especially in the United Nations and also for all those, wherever they may live, who might vulnerable to something like this happen to them. For example the earthquake in Haiti the UN should have taken over from there to set the country on the right foot, because as we all know Haiti never had a strong government to govern their country.
However, in order for the UN to work every country should be involved in the UN Security Council and be made to sign the charter. Not only would this cure the quarreling problems that some countries have, but also the army will be a lot better organized, so when then the UN is called in to help out, not only will they have the manpower and resources, but they will have the efficiency to be a true force in the world peace keeping process.
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.
"Peacekeeping and Peacemaking." Reading and Remembrance . N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2014. . (tags: none | edit tags)
Peacekeeping has played a significant role in defining and shaping the country that Canada is today. Canada’s role used to be viewed by many as insufficient in the major issues which regarded the traditional powers of the world. Later on Canada began to establish some forms of credibility as they were fighting for a common good of the world’s nations and not just their allies. Recently since the year 1995 the role that Canada plays in the united nations peacekeeping efforts has significantly dropped, a large part of this was as a result of UN military missions through NATO as opposed to strictly just the UN. Due to this the role that this country has played in peacekeeping missions has decreased significantly compared to what it used to be.
The system the UN currently has offers some perspective on the idea of conducting and participating in war. But...
Many innocent lives were taken during the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. Philip Gourevitch’s “We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families,” explains why the genocide that occurred in Rwanda should not be written off in history as just another tribal disagreement. This book entails the stories of Gourevitch and the people he interviewed when he went to Rwanda. These stories express what people went through during the genocide, the loss they saw, the mass killings they tried to hide from, and the history of what led to the Rwandan genocide. Rwanda’s colonial past did influence the development of the genocide in Rwanda. The hatred between the Hutus and the Tutsis had been going on for many years before the genocide.
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 Belgian colonizers entered Rwanda in 1924, they created an ethnic classification between the Hutu and the Tutsi, two tribes who used to live together as one. After independence in 1962, there was a constant power struggle between the two tribes. Former Canadian Prime Minister, Jean-Pierre Chrétien described the situation as “tribalism without tribes.” (Destexhe, 1995) There were many signs leading towards genocide, yet the nations in power chose to ignore them. From April 6, 1994 until mid-July, a time spanning approximately of 100 days, 800,000 people were murdered when the Hutu attacked the Tutsi. No foreign aid came to the rescue until it was too late. Ten years after the genocide the United Nations was still involved in Rwanda, cleaning up the mess that was left behind because of man’s sinful nature. Could the Rwandan Genocide have been prevented, or is it simply a fact of life? Even though the international community is monitoring every country and race, such an event as the Rwandan Genocide could occur again because the European colonizers introduced ethnic classification where it did not exist and the nations in power chose to ignore the blatant signs of genocide.
...by all countries. Disagreements between countries should be handled tactfully so as to avoid wars and resultant occupation. The United Nations should have more powers to enact resolutions passed. The spread of democracy should be encouraged on so that several sovereign governments can deal with problems amicably.
every nation in the world belongs to the United Nations. The United Nations has four purposes: to maintain international peace and security; to develop friendly relations among nations; to cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights; and to be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations.The United Nations is not a world government though,and it does not make laws.
Fifty-eight years after the signing of the Charter, the world has changed dramatically. Its universal character and comprehensiveness make the United Nations a unique and indispensable forum for governments to work together to address global issues. At the same time, there remains a large gap between aspiration and real accomplishment. There have been many successes and many failures. The United Nations is a bureaucracy that struggles – understandably – in its attempt to bring together 191 countries. It must come at no surprise, therefore, that a consensus cannot always be reached with so many different competing voices.
5. The UN can be so ineffective because they do not have the power they would like to have. The United Nations have no power under the current charter to simply waltz into a countries disputes with out any permission being granted. Both countries must invite the UN in, but the Security Council must also agree with this as well. The countries involved in the Security Council must also provide the necessary manpower quickly. This takes time and hinders the UN’s power.
Genocide, destruction, poor infrastructure, Rwanda a recovering country that cannot shed it’s bad reputation. Before Belgium colonized Rwanda there were Hutu’s and Twa’s, later on in the 1300’s the Tutsi’s migrated over. When these ethnic groups met they created a common culture and language, they were equals. However the ethnic divisions perpetuated by Belgium resulted in a Genocide that tarnished Rwanda’s global image. People can note that Belgiums reign created chaos and terror, in addition politic issues regarding government power and the treatment of it’s people shaped modern day Rwanda.
In the short run, UN peacekeepers can immediately and efficiently work to protect civilians as long as there are enough troop members (Joshi). In addition, the presence of UN peacekeepers tends to influence the government to assume a democratic ruling (Joshi). However, peacekeepers do not occupy a country forever, thus there must be a long-term solution for the state set accordingly for long-standing peace. Joshi’s research also shows certain post-civil war rebel groups have difficulty adjusting to democratic governing systems (Joshi). A civil war does not necessitate the need of democratic ruling nor is a democracy always successful in a state. Reliance building leads to political empowerment, hence, whether or not a democratic governing system is best suited for the state, the state is more likely to come to that conclusion themselves instead of being influenced by the peacekeepers. In the long run, preparing local communities for the shock of war and
UN. Department of Public Information (1995). United Nations peace-keeping: Information notes. Update, December 1994. Retrieved from UN website: http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/past/unikom/background.html
Fifty-one countries established the United Nations also known as the UN on October 24, 1945 with the intentions of preserving peace through international cooperation and collective security. Over the years the UN has grown in numbers to include 185 countries, thus making the organization and its family of agencies the largest in an effort to promote world stability. Since 1954 the UN and its organizations have received the Nobel Peace Prize on 5 separate occasions. The first in 1954 awarded to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Geneva, for its assistance to refugees, and finally in 1988 to the United Nations Peace-keeping Forces, for its peace-keeping operations. As you can see, the United Nations efforts have not gone without notice.