Utilizing my background knowledge on the escalation of the Rwandan conflict into genocide, I was appalled by the UN’s inaction even after receiving Dallaire’s fax. Dallaire’s fax outlines some very important and specific details regarding the situation in Rwanda that explicitly showed that genocide was approaching, including: * Since UNAMIR mandate [the informant] has been ordered to register all Tutsi in Kigali. He suspects it is for their extermination.Example he gave is that in twenty minutes his personnel could kill up to a thousand Tutsis.
* Informant states he disagrees with anti-Tutsi extermination. He supports opposition to RPF but cannot support killing of innocent persons. He also stated that he believes the President does not have full control over all elements of his old Party/Faction. * Informant is prepared to provide location of major weapons cache with at least a hundred thirty-five weapons.
. . . He was ready to go to the arms cache tonight--if we gave him the following guarantee.He requests that he and his family (his wife and four children) be placed under our protection. These three excerpts from the fax indicate that through his informant Dallaire had gained sufficient information to indicate that a genocide was in the making and was soon to occur.
It detailed that a large weapons cache was to be flown in to the RDF, and that the weapons were to be used to exterminate the Tutsis. The UN did not allow Dallaire to raid the weapons cache, which could’ve potentially saved thousands of lives.I do not know why the UN did not allow Dallaire to raid the cache; he had significant information to know that the weapons were to be used in genocide against the Tutsis. Even though Dallaire’s mission was to ensure the implementation of the Ashura Accords, which was a peace agreement between the RPF and the Rwandan government.
However, since the shipment and usage of the weapons cache in itself violates the peace between the 2 parties, wouldn’t the UN have to of had Dallaire raid the cache in order to complete his original mission?Therefore, the UN ironically prevented the completion of its own peacekeeping missions. Also, if the international community knew about the intentions of the RDF and how the conflict escalated to genocide before it was implemented, the governments of the world could’ve been pressured by human rights groups to intervene and stop it before it occurred. It just seems so pointless for the UN to not approve of an action that would’ve saved thousands and potentially averted the genocide, when the entire of purpose of the organization is peace keeping.In regards to Dallaire’s book To Shake Hands with the Devil, there are certain points of the novel that stuck to me even after I finished reading: * The fact that, despite the fact that the Interhamwe leaders not only gave the orders to implement the genocide, but themselves participated in it and yet they were STILL thought of as diplomats by the UN who would respond to peaceful and civilized negotiation. * Dallaire’s request of 5,000 troops in order to stop the deaths of 1,000,000 people was denied.
What better things did the UN Peacekeepers have to do?Genocide prevention should have been their main concern, considering that one of the reasons the UN formed was in response to the horrors of the Holocaust. * The fact that Dallaire had to remove the ammo from his pistol in case the urge to shoot the Interhamwe leaders was too overwhelming. I myself do not know what I would’ve done in that situation, considering whether killing the Interhamwe leaders would’ve ended the genocide or not. All in all, reading these documents made my opinion of the effectiveness of the UN lower significantly due to their inaction and lack of ethically-based decisions.
