Rwanda: Genocide Archives Released

Subject: IR

Section: Places in news

Context:

Human Rights Watch announced that it is releasing a series of archives highlighting the extraordinary efforts of human rights defenders in Rwanda and abroad, to warn about the planned 1994 genocide and attempt to stop the killings. The documents painfully illustrate leading international actors’ refusal to acknowledge the slaughter of more than half a million people and act to end it.

About Rwanda genocide:

On April 6, 1994, the assassination of Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira triggered a three-month genocide in Rwanda.
Hutu extremists killed approximately three-quarters of the Tutsi population and moderate Hutus, resulting in over half a million deaths.
The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) ended the genocide in mid-July 1994 but also committed killings, primarily targeting Hutu civilians.
Human Rights Watch and Alison Des Forges documented the genocide and the failure of the international community to intervene.
Despite warnings of a planned genocide, international and UN efforts to prevent or stop the killings were insufficient.

Hutu tribe:

The Hutu also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic or social group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the principal ethnic groups alongside the Tutsi and the Great Lakes Twa.

Tutsi tribe:

The Tutsi, also called Watusi, Watutsi or Abatutsi, are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region.
They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu ethnic group Hutu and the Pygmy group of the Twa).
Historically, the Tutsi were pastoralists and filled the ranks of the warriors’ caste.
Before 1962, they regulated and controlled Rwandan society, which was composed of Tutsi aristocracy and Hutu commoners, utilizing a clientship structure.
They occupied the dominant positions in the sharply stratified society and constituted the ruling class.

Missed opportunities to prevent the genocide:

Human Rights Watch is releasing archives from 1993 to 1994, highlighting advocacy efforts to prevent and stop the genocide.
The archives reveal missed opportunities for international intervention that could have halted the genocide.
The genocide led to the adoption of the “Responsibility to Protect” doctrine in 2005 and continues to influence foreign policy and perceptions of Rwanda.
Most genocide prosecutions have occurred in Rwandan courts, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and under universal jurisdiction in various countries.
The 30th anniversary prompts reflection on the progress in holding perpetrators accountable and the ongoing need for justice for victims.