Rwanda Case Study

Basic Information:
• Population Size: 14,603,266
• GDP per capita: $999.65 USD (2024)
• Life expectancy: 67.78 (2023)
• HDI: 0.578- 159th in the world (2023)
• National Poverty Rate: 27.4% 92024 |12.4% (lower than that of 2017)
• Extreme Poverty Rate: 4.4% (2024)
• Total Aid Received: $1,076.82 million (2022)
• Highest Donor: USA- $174 million (2021)
• Income: Agriculture generates 63% of export income

Historical Background:
• 1863: John Hanning Speke, a European explorer, writes the 'Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the
Nile', the first of a pro-Tutsi bias (above Hutu and Twa groups). He had considered them the 'superior race.'
• 1894: Germany colonizes Rwanda- becomes a constituent of a 'Single Administrative Entity' with Burundi-
named 'Ruanda-Urundi.' During this period, Germany indirectly ruled Rwanda by means of the Tutsi
monarchy.
• 1918: Belgium occupies Rwanda- continues to rule by means of the Tutsi monarchy.
• During Belgian rule, Tutsi supremacy was more oppressive than ever in any previous span of time prior to
European colonialization.
• 1933: Belgium takes a census and issues an 'identity card' to everyone that categorizes them as Tutsi, Hutu
or Twa (they did this on the basis of the 'ethnicity' of their fathers.
• The racial composition by then was 85% Hutu, 14% Tutsi and 1% Twa.
• 1945 (end of World War II): More and more colonial administrators and missionaries began to recognize the
righteousness of the Hutu grievances against the Tutsi minority regime.
• Dec 9th, 1948: The UN adopts a resolution that not only explains what constitutes a genocide but states it to
be an international crime.
• Nov 1959: A 'peasant uprising' began, which later evolved into a full political movement with the goal of
overthrowing the monarchy, and transferring absolute political authority into the hands of the Hutus.
• 1960: The first communal elections were conducted
• Jan 1961: Rwanda was declared a republic, and the monarch (King Kigeri V) was driven into exile
• July 1st, 1962: First President of Rwanda (Gregoire Kayibanda) assumes office- he was chairman of the 'Party
of Hutu Emancipation,' which was the vanguard of the revolution.
• Nov 1963- Jan 1964: Tutsi slaughtered by the thousands, 130,000 forced to flee neighboring countries
(Uganda, Burundi, DRC). All other Tutsi politicians assassinated.
• Juvenal Habyarimana (Hutu) overthrows government in Rwanda in a coup.
• 1988: The Rwandan Patriotic Front is formed in Uganda- made up of the grandchildren of the Tutsi refugees.
• 1990: The RPF invades Rwanda for the first time, declaring a state of Civil War.
• Aug 3rd, 1993: The Arusha Accords are signed- granting both Tutsi and Hutu citizens the right to hold
government positions.
Events of the Genocide (1994):
• April 6th: Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana assassinated- a plane he was on carrying Burundian
President Cyprien Ntarymira was shot down.
• April 7th: Genocide officially begins- Roadblocks were set up outside the capital city of Kigali, Tutsi within the
city, and moderate Hutus were subsequently systematically killed.
• April 9th: Gikondo Massacre- hundreds of Tutsi civilians murdered in the town's Catholic Church- the initial
indication of the genocide, as Tutsi were the sole victims.
• April 15th-16th: Nyarubuye Massacre- again in a Catholic church, thousands of Tutsis murdered by Hutu
armed with guns, using grenades, guns, machetes and clubs.
• April 18th: The Kibuye Massacres- 12,000 estimated Tutsis are killed after having escaped to the stadium at
Gatwaro, Gitesi. A further 50,000 are slaughtered in the hospital and church of the town.
• May 23rd: The RPF seize the presidential palace.
• In the 100 days of genocide, approximately 800,000 people were massacred. There was mass rape and killing
by militias, government soldiers, and civilians during these days.
• UN peacekeepers were still unable to stop the violence, and thus the genocide iululkl;iljljkl: The end of the
genocide- the RPF (Rwanda Patriotic Front) captured Kigali and assumed leadership of Rwanda.
• July 5th: The French create a 'safe zone' in the south-west of Rwanda.
• July 13th: Almost 1 million Hutu move across the border into the DRC.

International Reaction:
• The UN peacekeeping troops had already been deployed in Rwanda through oct 1993, but the very moment
genocide started, they were pulled out by the UN and Belgium
• It had troops since 1993 because of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (4000 exiles) who arrived from Uganda into
Rwanda and initiated a civil war. The Arusha Accords were signed in 1993, and the United Nations Assistance
Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) arrived to monitor the peace treaty
• Several warnings were issued to the UN
o 11 jan 1994 = UNAMIR commander General Romeo Dallaire faxed his 'genocide fax' to headquarters
o Fax reported that Dallaire was calling an informant, Kassim Turatsinze, in the MRND Interhmwe-
armed militia
o Turatsinze said that the militia group ordered the counting of every Tutsi in Kigali, and believed a
genocide was being planned
o Dallaire issued 5 warnings to the UN, which were dismissed by senior officials
o Michael Barnett, who was a senior official at the UN at that time, explained in an interview that this
was because they didn't want to involve themselves in possibly dangerous missions, as 18 UN troops
had recently been killed in Somalia
UN
•the UN Secretariat, the DPKO, and the Security Council had restricted the mandate of the peacekeepers to
prevent any conflict between Rwandan forces and the peacekeepers
• 7 April = 10 Belgian peacekeepers who were killed after they had surrendered their weapons to the Rwandan
government forces. They had been instructed to do so by their battalion commander, who was uncertain
about the legal aspects of authorizing them to protect themselves
• New York, USA officials were stressing impartiality
• Thus the majority of UN peacekeepers did not use weapons to protect civilians since they were not certain
whether they were required to do so or not
• In 5 days, General Dallaire understood that Hutu extremists were conducting an ethnic cleansing and called
for the UN to send UNAMIR in immediately, requesting 5000 soldiers and a mandate that would allow
peacekeepers to act to prevent killing of civilians
• UN did nothing
• 12 April = Belgians said they were withdrawing their troops
• 21 April = UN Security Council reduced UNAMIR troops to 2500 to 250
• 17 May 1994 = deployment of 5500 soldiers to UNAMIR, but soldiers didn't begin arriving until June
Belgium
• Following the April assassination of 10 Belgian peacekeepers, Belgium concluded that the UNAMIR would
have to be strengthened or they would withdraw their troops
• Following a realization that the security council would not be in the process of debating the militarization of
UNAMIR, Belgium asked for the 1520 Belgians in Rwanda to be evacuated, and withdrew their troops
Canada
• When UNAMIR II was sent Canadian forces were deployed to assist Rwanda in an effort to assist the peace
process
• Canada's task was to act under the UN Charter if it was fitting in order to prevent the genocide
France
• France used Operation Amaryllis on 8 April 1994, 2 days after Habyarimana was assassinated, to repatriate
1500 citizens, most of whom were westerners
• France also repatriated most government members of Habyarimana
• Operation Amaryllis was closed in the 14 April
• France was awarded UN aid Opération Turquoise between 22 June and 22 August, 1994, to safeguard
individuals at risk from the genocide and violence
New Zealand
• New Zealand assisted in Operation Reforge during July 1994, whose aim was to drop food and supplies to the
people of Rwanda
• The RNZAF crew who assisted in the operation were two complete aircrews, loadmasters, maintenance staff,
RNZAF Police, medical staff, communications personnel, and an administration team
• RNZAF crew returned to New Zealand 2 months later after discharging 3.5 million pounds of cargo which
carried mixed aid, food, water and 250 refugees
USA
• USA did not agree with the intervention of UN as 8 soldiers were killed in an attack in Somalia one year ago in
1993
• US delegate to the UN, Madeline Albright and President Bill Clinton refused to act
• Leaks published under the Freedom of Information act mention that the US government was informed of a
planned "final solution to kill all Tutsis" before the massacre hit its peak
The ICTR role
• international criminal tribunal for Rwanda
• an international court that held judgments against the individuals who had been guilty of committing
genocide
• was the first organization to acknowledge rape as a method of committing genocide
• there were 93 individuals indicted by the ICTR
o 62 convicted
o 14 acquitted
o 10 referred to national courts to be tried
o 3 fugitives referred to the MICT
o 2 deaths before judgement
o 2 indictments withdrawn prior to trial
o Was created to "prosecute those guilty of genocide and other serious breaches of international
humanitarian law in Rwanda's territory and in adjacent States, between 1 January 1994 and 31
December 1994". – from the UN website
Positives of the ICTR:
• Development of international criminal law
o the first institution to acknowledge rape as a weapon used to perpetrate genocide
o the first institution to give definition to the term 'genocide' in the 1948 Geneva Convention
o first international court to hold members of the media accountable for broadcasts aimed at inciting
members of the public to commit genocide
• Removed and demilitarised high level Hutu perpetrators
o prevented them from returning to Rwanda and enabled a transition of government and power to occur
o enabled peace and stability in Rwanda on the short term
Negatives of the ICTR:
• No Tutsi rebels and the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) were ever prosecuted for their crimes, and some
people now occupy high positions in government
o RPF led a campaign of systematic and widespread killings against Hutu civilians as it sought to gain
control of the country
o Human Rights Watch (HRW) has repeatedly criticised the ICTR, publicly calling on the Prosecutor to
indict members of the RPF
o high level people in the RPF were never prosecuted including Paul Kagame, current president of
Rwanda
• Extremely expensive for criminal proceedings
o about $ 2 billion spent on ICTR
• Criticised for being ineffective
o in over 20 years there have been less than 70 convictions
Aftermath of the Genocide & Rise of Paul Kagame
• July 1994: The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), led by Paul Kagame, captured Kigali and ended the genocide.
• Kagame became Vice President and Minister of Defence (1994–2000), then President of Rwanda in 2000,
after President Pasteur Bizimungu resigned.
• Under Kagame’s leadership, Rwanda has seen:
o Significant improvements in infrastructure, healthcare, and education.
o A sharp decline in poverty and child mortality.
o Promotion of national unity through the banning of ethnic labels in politics and ID cards.

Criticisms of Kagame
• Authoritarian rule:
o Kagame has been accused of cracking down on political opposition, free press, and civil society.
o Multiple opposition politicians, journalists, and critics have been imprisoned, harassed, or in some
cases, mysteriously died or disappeared.
• Extended power:
o In 2015, Kagame held a referendum that allowed him to run for a third term. He won the 2017 election
with 98.8% of the vote — raising concerns about electoral fairness.
• Involvement in the DRC:
o Rwanda has been linked to ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
o UN and Human Rights Watch reports accuse Kagame’s government of:
▪ Supporting M23 rebels, a militia group accused of war crimes.
▪ Exploiting mineral resources in eastern Congo.
▪ Contributing to regional instability and violence.