Conflicts Across the World: the Rwanda Genocide

A CASE STUDY OF THE RWANDA GENOCIDE
Student's Name
Code + Course Name
Professor's Name
University Name
City, State
Date
Overview of Conflicts Across the World
Due to the unique nature of human beings and the various features of the world (perspectives, needs, and concerns), conflicts between individuals and societies are inevitable. The clash ensues due to differences in attitudes, opinions, views, thought processes, interests, understanding, needs, and requirements. Conflicts disrupt peace, security instability, and physical and emotional abuse. Additionally, they change relationships as people and states that were once allies can become foes. Other impacts of conflicts are displacement of populations, damage to economies and societies, extensive violence and loss of lives, and the hindrance of humanitarian assistance by military or political constraints. Moreover, conflicts can arise between political parties. When not controlled at the right time, these conflicts may trigger significant rifts and armed war, resulting in civil unrest and disharmony.
Most countries worldwide have undergone a series of interstate and international conflicts with their immediate neighbours. One of the primary examples of conflicts that have taken place across national borders was World War I and II and the Cold War. World War I (1914-1919) emerged after disagreements over the scramble for and partitioning of colonial land. This spiked tension among the superpowers. The conflict led to the formation of the League of Nations, which later failed and led to the Second World War. Both wars resulted in massive loss of lives and attracted the presence of neutral countries and humanitarian aid. An example of internal conflicts is the racial wars in the United States, whose motive was abolishing racial discrimination. During the introduction of the Jim Crow laws, the white supremacists, especially from the North, could not fathom being equals with the Afro-Americans (Fremon, 2014).
The Jim Crow laws allowed the segregation of blacks in both private and public spaces (parks and transportation). The desire to abolish such discriminatory treatments resulted in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s-1960s. For example, the U.S. engaged in an international war with Iraq after the 9-11 bombing (Thomas, 2018). The UK has also had several internal and external conflicts to ascertain its dominance and superiority. It was among the allied nations in World War I and II. An internal conflict ensued in 1916 between the British Army and the Irish Republican Brotherhood. The latter wanted Ireland to be a sovereign country, while the British sought to consolidate it into the United Kingdom (MacLeod, 2012). In the East, Israel and other Arab states (such as Palestine) have also been in a constant conflict forcing the US to interfere and try to normalize.
In Africa, most countries have undergone similar situations where conflict among tribes and with the neighbouring countries has ensued. Examples include the clashes between Rwanda and Burundi, Libya, South Sudan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kenya. The most recent conflict that has attracted the international community is the Russian-Ukraine war that is still underway. Since these conflicts are a critical threat to the safety, security, health, and well-being of individuals, the community, and the country, they are also referred to as humanitarian emergencies. Humanitarian emergencies include armed conflict, natural disasters, and food security. Additionally, they attract the international community's attention as they violate the universal human rights conventions and declarations. For instance, in armed conflict, famine, epidemics, and natural disasters, ordinary civilians are the most vulnerable, and the responsibility, capacity, and mandate extend beyond a single state or nation.
Research Objectives
Since most countries worldwide have had a test of conflicts either from within or external forces, the term is not new. Several case studies of conflicts have been conducted to reveal the core causes of the crises and identify significant lessons to prevent similar events. This study comprehensively explores the Rwanda Genocide by analysing the causes of the conflict, the major events during the crisis, and the resolution processes. Additionally, the international response to the situation and the consequences of the international interference is explained.
Rwanda Genocide
Overview of the Rwandan Revolution and the Civil War
Article II of the United Nations Conventions defines genocide as a "crime committed to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, either in whole or in part." The Oxford dictionary 7th edition defines genocide as the deliberate and systemic destruction or killing of a large number of people from a specific ethnic or religious group to destroy that group or nation. It was declared an international crime in 1946. The term was then codified in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in 1948. The genocide convention was ratified by 149 states and was tried by the International Court of Justice. Apart from killing, other actions that qualify the title genocide include instituting policies that prevent births within a community transferring children from their community to another using force, deliberately inflicting life calculated conditions to physically harm a group of people, and inflicting severe mental and bodily harm to members of a group.
The Rwanda genocide took place in 1994 between the dominant Tutsis and the majority Hutus in Rwanda. The conflict resulted in the deaths of over 500,000 civilians hence the name massacre or genocide (Balorda, 2021). Rwanda comprises two major groups, the Hutus and the Tutsis, who have been at constant war since the 18th century (Reyntjens, 2018). Since the 18th century, Rwanda had been ruled by the Tutsi monarch with entrenched anti-Hutu and pro-Tutsi policies. The Rwanda genocide is attributed to constant and historical civil wars between the two ethnic groups (Cohen, 2007). During the Berlin conference of 1884-1885, Rwanda was assigned to Germany. Upon the entry of Rwanda by Germany in 1894, Germany's representative, Gustav Adolf von Gotzen, discovered that King Leopold II of Congo had claimed the fertile regions around Lake Kivu. To regain the land, Adolf began ruling via the Tutsi monarch, which had a similar motive. In the 1919 League of Nations, Rwanda and its neighbour Burundi were given to Belgium.
The policies of the Belgians further strained the relationship between the Hutus and the Tutsis (Reyntjens, 2018). Unlike the indirect rule imposed by the Germans in Rwanda, Belgium opted for direct rule. The three-chieftain system (which consisted of both Hutus and Tutsis) was replaced with one Tutsi chief. Additionally, the Hutus were recruited for forced labor in the Tutsi establishments. Moreover, the land reforms between the Belgians and the Tutsis forcibly acquired the lands traditionally controlled by the Hutus with minimal compensation. In the late 1920s, the popularity of the Catholic Church grew in Rwanda, and their colonial masters modernised it by introducing education, agricultural, and health projects. 1n 1935, the identity card system was introduced where each individual had to carry a board indicating their tribe. With time an elite group of the Hutus emerged and sought equality as they were still disenfranchised even after Rwanda's major developments.
The identity board system further ended the social mobility that the elite Hutus had acquired. The Hutu Revolution began in November 1959 after the alleged attack of Mbonyumutwa, who was among the few remaining Hutu sub-chiefs, and the support of the Catholic church, which empathised with the situation of the Hutus. The revolution began as peaceful protests, which later escalated to riots where the Hutu gangs attacked the Tutsi homes. The Hutu gangs looted and burnt the Tutsis' properties. The Tutsis who were killed were those who fought back. In 1960, Rwanda gained its independence from Belgium with a Hutu president. By this time, the influence of the Tutsis had dwindled, and an estimate of 336,000 Tutsis had fled to neighbouring Tanzania, Uganda, Congo, and Burundi as refugees. The refugee status did not sit well with the once-proud Tutsis (Van der Meeren, 1996). Eventually, the Tutsis formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) to fight the Rwandan Armed Forces in the Rwandan Civil War of 1990-1994 (Szabó, 2021).
The civil war began when Uganda invaded Rwanda through RFP led by Fred Rwigyema. At that time, Paul Kagame was in the US. The battle started on 1st October 1990. The RPF aimed to reclaim the government from the Hutu government. On the second day of the war, Rwigyema died, and the rebel party retreated to Uganda. The Rwandan Armed Forces captured many Tutsis. The civil war continued and became a severe threat to the citizens of Rwanda. When the civil war was at its peak, the Hutu army began to train its youth in combat and weapons (especially machetes) as a means of self-defence against the rebel threat. A few years later, these same weapons were used in the genocide. Additionally, the Hutu army increased from 10,000 to an estimated 30,000 soldiers and acquired more firearms from counties such as Egypt.
The newly recruited Hutu youths were used as an auxiliary police force. Since these recruits were often undisciplined, a rift began between the elite presidential escort and the other soldiers. In 1993, the former compiled a traitors' list, and that of president Habyarimana was among them. A new radio station was founded by the Hutu extremists and was used as a recruitment platform for the group. Moreover, machetes (more than what was needed for agriculture) were imported. Based on these preparations, most studies imply that the Rwanda genocide was premeditated (Guichaoua, 2015). The ongoing protests influenced president Habyarimana to begin peace negations with the Tutsi-led army. The opponents of peace negotiations were motivated by the desire to reclaim the glory of the Tutsis in Rwanda. On the other hand, the Hutus saw it as an opportunity to eliminate the Tutsis (Sullivan, 2020).
Peace negotiations were concluded in 1994 by the signing of the Arusha Accords. One of the latter’s policies entailed the immediate ceasefire between the two armies (Beloff and Lakin, 2019). However, the forethought of peace did not last long, and the country was back in chaos and crisis, one more dangerous than before (Thomson, 2018).
Case Study of the Rwanda Genocide
On 6th April 1994, “a plane carrying Rwandan President Habyarimana, the chief of staff of the Rwandan Government forces,” the president o...