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60-827: In 1995, it became located in Arusha , Tanzania , under Resolution 977 . From 2006, Arusha also became the location of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights . In 1998 the operation of the tribunal was expanded in Resolution 1165 . Through several resolutions, the Security Council called on the tribunal to complete its investigations by end of 2004, complete all trial activities by end of 2008, and complete all work in 2012. The tribunal had jurisdiction over genocide , crimes against humanity , and violations of Common Article Three and Additional Protocol II of

120-470: A "failure". Its most significant contribution was to provide refuge for thousands of Tutsi and moderate Hutu at its headquarters in Amahoro Stadium , as well as other secure UN sites. UNAMIR also assisted with the evacuation of foreign nationals; a group of Belgian soldiers, who had been sheltering 2,000 Rwandans at the École Technique Officielle , were ordered to abandon their station to assist in

180-489: A ceasefire, the government because it was controlled by the génocidaires, and the RPF because it considered it necessary to fight to stop the killings. UNAMIR's Chapter VI mandate rendered it powerless to intervene militarily, and most of its Rwandan staff were killed in the early days of the genocide, severely limiting its ability to operate. UNAMIR was therefore largely reduced to a bystander role, and Dallaire later labelled it

240-905: A final judgment was rendered: two of whom had their charges dismissed by the Tribunal, two of whom had their charges withdrawn by the Prosecutor, and five of whom died. 3°22′04″S 36°41′47″E  /  3.3677°S 36.6965°E  / -3.3677; 36.6965 Arusha Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 261656636 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 11:06:01 GMT United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda The United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda ( UNAMIR )

300-703: A forerunner to the Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines , which was created immediately after the invasion. The first plans for mass murder of Tutsi were also developed toward the end of 1990, mostly in a series of secret meetings in Gisenyi prefecture of the Akazu , a network of associates based around Agathe Habyarimana , the First Lady. A number of ceasefire agreements were signed by

360-704: A humanitarian mission in Somalia the previous year. Finally in July 1994, after the genocide was over, the UN Security Council called for an investigation of the events, and acted to establish an international criminal tribunal to prosecute those individuals most responsible for the genocide. Adopting Resolution 955, the Security Council created the ICTR on 8 November 1994 and the ICTR would also deal with other crimes against international humanitarian law committed on

420-765: A mandate to oversee the implementation of the Arusha Accords. UNAMIR commander Dallaire learned of the Hutu Power movement during the early phase of deployment; in January 1994, a government informant alerted Dallaire to a group who were rapidly arming militias and planning mass extermination of Tutsi, and led UNAMIR to a secret arms cache. Dallaire sent a cable to the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) in New York, requesting permission to raid

480-551: A modicum of self-respect and effectiveness on the ground". Unfortunately, in the face of the mayhem in Rwanda and this diplomatic watering down of UNAMIR's mandate, many UN member states delayed contributing personnel for some time, until the main wave of killings ceased. In July 1994, the RPF swept into Kigali and ended the genocide that had lasted 100 days, and RPF leader Paul Kagame (who became president several years later—and still

540-557: A plane carrying President Habyarimana and President Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi was shot down near Kigali. What followed was the collapse of the unstable peace in Rwanda and the Rwandan genocide , estimated to have claimed between 800,000 and 1,017,100 Tutsi and Hutu victims over 100 days. Among the first targets of the genocide were Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana and ten Belgian members of 2nd Commando Battalion,

600-514: A strong message that rape is no longer a trophy of war." The trial against " hate media " began on 23 October 2000. It was charged with the prosecution of the media which encouraged the genocide of 1994. On 19 August 2003, at the tribunal in Arusha, life sentences were requested for Ferdinand Nahimana , and Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza , persons in charge for the Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines , as well as Hassan Ngeze , director and editor of

660-518: A total of 96 individuals. The proceedings against one individual are suspended before the IRMCT. The ICTR (or the IRMCT as its successor) convicted 61 individuals: 25 of whom are currently serving sentences, 22 of whom have completed their sentences, and 14 of whom died while serving their sentences. The Tribunal acquitted 14 individuals and transferred the cases against 10 individuals to national jurisdictions. Proceedings against nine individuals ended before

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720-518: Is regarded as a major failure. The international response to the Rwandan genocide was poor. For weeks, the major power nations denied that a genocide was taking place in Rwanda. The United States refused to call the incident genocide because using the term would make an obligation for the United States to send troops, which it was reluctant to do after several of its soldiers were killed during

780-478: Is today —but effectively controlled the country from July 1994 through the present) reaffirmed his commitment to the Arusha Accords. Following the end of the main killings the challenges for UNAMIR (and the many NGOs who arrived in the country) were to maintain the fragile peace, stabilise the government and, most importantly, care for the nearly 4 million displaced people in camps within Rwanda, Zaire, Tanzania, Burundi, and Uganda. The massive camps around Lake Kivu in

840-528: The Arusha Accords , a comprehensive agreement to create a power-sharing government, on the fourth of August. Both the RPF and Rwandan government requested UN assistance in implementing the agreement. In early August, NMOG I was replaced by NMOG II, consisting of about 130 members, in preparation for a UN-led peacekeeping force. UNAMIR mandate was: Its authorised strength was 2,500 personnel, but it took some five months of piecemeal commitments for

900-560: The Carr Center for Human Rights Policy , Harvard University , where he was studying and writing about different forms of conflict resolution. On 25 March 2005, he was appointed a Canadian senator , representing Québec as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada ; he serves on the committee for Human Rights . He also speaks publicly about his experiences relating to genocide , PTSD and suicide. While Dallaire's issues have been

960-484: The Geneva Conventions (which deals with internal conflicts ). The first trial, of Jean-Paul Akayesu , began in 1997. Jean Kambanda , interim Prime Minister, pleaded guilty. According to the ICTR's Completion Strategy, in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1503 , all first-instance cases were to have completed trial by the end of 2008 (this date was later extended to the end of 2009) and all work

1020-607: The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT or Mechanism) which had begun functioning for the ICTR branch on 1 July 2012. The Tribunal was officially closed on 31 December 2016. The tribunal's failure to prosecute war crimes committed by the Rwandan Patriotic Front or try RPF leader Paul Kagame was widely criticized, to the point of being characterized as " victor's justice ". The Rwandan genocide refers to

1080-754: The Kangura newspaper. They were charged with genocide, incitement to genocide , and crimes against humanity, before and during the period of the genocides of 1994. On 3 December 2003, the court found all three defendants guilty and sentenced Nahimana and Ngeze to life imprisonment and Barayagwiza to imprisonment for 35 years. On 28 November 2007, the Appeals Chamber partially allowed appeals against conviction from all three men, reducing their sentences to 30 years' imprisonment for Nahimana, 32 years' imprisonment for Barayagwiza and 35 years' imprisonment for Ngeze. French investigating magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguière

1140-504: The Paracommando Regiment operating as part of UNAMIR. These troops were murdered after handing over their weapons to Rwandan government troops. They were advised to do so by their battalion commander who was unclear on the legal issues with authorising them to defend themselves, even though they had already been under fire for approximately two hours. Following the death of Habyarimana, Dallaire liaised repeatedly with both

1200-459: The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and its invasion from Uganda furthered ethnic hatred. A ceasefire in these hostilities led to negotiations between the government and the RPF in 1992. On April 6, 1994, a plane carrying then-President Juvenal Habyarimana, and Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi was shot down, killing everyone on board. The Hutu held the RPF accountable and immediately began the genocide, targeted at both Tutsis and Hutu moderates. Most of

1260-555: The Ugandan Bush War with significant support from the Rwandan refugees in the country. However, the Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR) was saved by reinforcements from France and Zaire , who backed the government of Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana , who had been in power since 1973. The French intervention of two parachute companies, explained as an attempt to protect its own nationals, actually blocked

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1320-473: The Crisis Committee and the RPF, in an attempt to re-establish peace. He addressed the government forces during the night of 6 April, expressing regret at Habyarimana's death but urging them to restrain the killings that had commenced; he also urged Kagame not to resume the civil war, to avoid escalating the violence and to give UNAMIR a chance to rein in the killings. Neither side was interested in

1380-521: The Hutu, who were primarily agriculturalists. The distinction under colonial powers allowed Tutsis to establish ruling power until a Hutu revolution in 1959 abolished the Tutsi monarchy by 1961. The hostility between the two groups continued, as "additional rounds of ethnic tension and violence flared periodically and led to mass killings of Tutsi in Rwanda, such as in 1963, 1967, and 1973". The establishment of

1440-485: The ICTR, the trial of Jean-Paul Akayesu established the legal precedent that genocidal rape falls within the act of genocide. "...the [Trial] Chamber finds that in most cases, the rapes of Tutsi women in Taba, were accompanied with the intent to kill those women. ... In this respect, it appears clearly to the chamber that the acts of rape and sexual violence, as other acts of serious bodily and mental harm committed against

1500-539: The RPF advance on the capital Kigali . In contrast, the government of Belgium , the former colonial power, cut all support to the Habyarimana regime, which viewed the action as abandonment. Thwarted by the French, the RPF suffered a humiliating retreat back into the Virunga Mountains along the border. After the demoralising death of Major-General Fred Rwigyema , the collapse of the RPF was prevented through

1560-488: The RPF and government, including one signed on 22 July 1992 in Arusha , Tanzania that resulted in the Organization of African Unity (OAU) establishing a 50-member Neutral Military Observer Group (NMOG I) led by Nigerian General Ekundayo Opaleye . The negotiations for a peace settlement continued in Arusha, interrupted by a massive RPF offensive in early February 1993. Rwanda continued to allege Ugandan support for

1620-407: The RPF invasion, which displaced approximately 600,000 people into crowded internally displaced person camps, also radicalised the Hutu populace. The Tutsi civilians in Rwanda, roughly 14% of the population, were labelled ibyitso ("accomplices") or inyenzi ("cockroaches"), who were accused of secretly aiding the RPF invaders. Anti-Tutsi propaganda was spread through the publication Kangura ,

1680-641: The RPF, which both the RPF and Uganda duly denied, but resulting in both countries sending letters to President of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) requesting that military observers be deployed along the border to verify that military supplies were not crossing. This resulted in the United Nations Observer Mission Uganda–Rwanda (UNOMUR) being approved by the UNSC on 22 June 1993 to deploy along

1740-641: The Tribunal's Rules of Procedure and Evidence, and was the Tribunal's channel of communication. The Registry was headed by the Registrar, who was the Representative of the UN Secretary-General . Bongani Christopher Majola of South Africa was Registrar. after January 2013. After an intense and precisely targeted campaign of a number of international non-governmental organizations, which aimed at raising awareness of gendered violence at

1800-419: The Tutsi, reflected the determination to make Tutsi women suffer and to mutilate them even before killing them, the intent being to destroy the Tutsi group while inflicting acute suffering on its members in the process." Presiding judge Navanethem Pillay said in a statement after the verdict: "From time immemorial, rape has been regarded as spoils of war. Now it will be considered a war crime. We want to send out

1860-531: The Ugandan side of the border. Seven days later, UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali announced that Brigadier-General Dallaire was to be appointed the Chief Military Observer for UNOMUR, which reached its authorised strength of 81 observers by September. NMOG I was deployed inside Rwanda. In the meantime, talks in Arusha had reconvened on 16 March 1993, resulting in the signing of

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1920-468: The administrative head of UNAMIR, Cameroonian Jacques-Roger Booh-Booh; the RPF accused Booh-Booh of partiality towards President Habyarimana and the Hutu elite. UNAMIR operated with very limited resources, and its efforts to install the transitional government were obstructed by President Habyarimana and the hardliners throughout early 1994. By April, the Security Council threatened to terminate UNAMIR's mandate if it did not make progress. On 6 April 1994,

1980-624: The assassinations of two major political leaders and the ambush of a UNAMIR-led convoy of RPF forces led the UNAMIR forces to move to a more defensive footing. UNAMIR thus contributed support to the military and civilian authorities in Rwanda, while the UN continued to place pressure on Habyarimana and the RPF to return to the ideas set forth in the Accords. The United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) had been in Rwanda since October 1993, with

2040-574: The case of a judge being absent. The column denoted by # indicates the order of precedence . The Office of the Prosecutor was divided into various units at the height of its activity, including the Investigations Division and the Prosecution Division: The Registry was responsible for the overall administration and management of the ICTR. It also performed other legal functions assigned to it by

2100-470: The distribution of relief supplies and humanitarian relief operations". The Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) or head of the mission, was Jacques-Roger Booh-Booh of Cameroon . At the beginning of July 1994, Booh-Booh was replaced by Shahryar Khan of Pakistan . The military head and Force Commander was Canadian Brigadier-General (promoted Major-General during

2160-478: The end of the genocide in July, the role of UNAMIR II was largely confined to maintaining security and stability. UNAMIR withdrew from Rwanda in 1996, following the withdrawal of support by the RPF-led government. UNAMIR II and subsequent resolutions were still unclear on the right to use force in stopping the genocide. In one of Dallaire's parting cables, he said that "the [UN] force has been prevented from having

2220-531: The evacuation. After the Belgians left, Hutu militants entered and massacred everyone inside. On 12 April, the Belgian government, which was one of the largest troop contributors to UNAMIR, and had lost ten soldiers protecting Prime Minister Uwilingiliyimana, announced that it was withdrawing. Belgium also favoured a complete withdrawal of UNAMIR, and lobbied for this in the UN. Dallaire protested, arguing that

2280-465: The failure of UNAMIR in its main mission, its humanitarian services during the 1994 genocide are recognised to this day as having saved the lives of thousands or tens of thousands of Rwandan Tutsi and Hutu moderates who would have otherwise been killed. However, the actions of the UN in Rwanda (and particularly the Head of Peacekeeping Operations at the time, Kofi Annan ) have been used by some as examples of

2340-559: The force should be strengthened and given a new mandate to protect the thousands of refugees it was protecting, but the UN Security Council refused, telling Dallaire that UNAMIR would be effectively withdrawn unless the belligerents agreed to a ceasefire by early May. According to Philip Gourevitch , the United States, having recently suffered losses in the UN mission in Somalia , was particularly keen to "get out of Rwanda" and "leave it to its fate". New Zealand , which held

2400-607: The genocide was carried out almost entirely by hand, usually with the utilization of machetes and clubs. Various atrocities committed include the rape of thousands of Tutsi women, as well as the dismemberment and disfigurement of victims. Frequently the killers were people the victims knew personally—neighbors, workmates, former friends, sometimes even relatives through marriage. At least 500,000 Tutsis were killed, and approximately 2 million refugees (mostly Hutus) left for refugee camps of neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and former Zaire. The United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda

2460-492: The immediate insertion of approximately 5,000 troops, but his request was denied. For the next six weeks, approximately, UNAMIR coordinated peace talks between the Hutu government and the RPF to little avail. Eventually, on 17 May 1994, the UN agreed to reinforcement, that would deliver nearly 5,500 troops and much needed personnel carriers and other equipment to UNAMIR, which would be henceforth known as UNAMIR II. The new soldiers did not start arriving until June, and following

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2520-538: The killing during the Rwandan genocide was carried out by the radical Hutu groups known as the Interahamwe and the Impuzamugambi. Radio broadcasts also were an integral part of the genocide, which further fueled the genocide by encouraging Hutu civilians to kill their Tutsi neighbours, labeled as "cockroaches" in need of extermination. Despite its colossal scale, particularly within such a short period of time,

2580-415: The leadership of Paul Kagame . The RPF thus managed to retain control of a sliver of land in the north, from which it continued to launch raids. Comparing the RPF and FAR as he saw them in 1993, Canadian Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire noted that the rebels "had won all recent contests because of their superior leadership, training, experience, frugality, mobility, discipline and morale." However,

2640-555: The limitations of its rules of engagement , to prevent the Rwandan genocide and outbreak of fighting. Its mandate extended past the RPF overthrow of the government and into the Great Lakes refugee crisis . The mission is thus regarded as a major failure. In October 1990 the Rwandan Civil War began when the Rwandan Patriotic Front rebel group invaded across Uganda 's southern border into northern Rwanda. The RPF

2700-400: The mass slaughter of more than 800,000 ethnic Tutsi and politically moderate Hutu by government-directed gangs of Hutu extremist soldiers and police in Rwanda. The duration of the 1994 genocide is usually described as 100 days, beginning on April 6 and ending in mid-July. The tension between the majority Hutu and the minority Tutsi had developed over time but was particularly emphasized late in

2760-544: The mission to reach this level. On 5 April 1994, the UN voted to extend the mandate of UNAMIR to 29 July 1994, after expressing "deep concern at the delay in the establishment of the broad-based transitional Government and the Transitional National Assembly" and "concern at the deterioration in security in the country, particularly in Kigali." On 21 April 1994, the Security Council voted to reduce

2820-482: The mission) Roméo Dallaire . In August 1994, Dallaire, suffering from severe stress, was replaced as Force Commander by Major-General Guy Tousignant , also from Canada. In December 1995, Tousignant was replaced by Brigadier General Shiva Kumar from India. The Deputy Force Commander was Brigadier-General (promoted Major-General after the mission) Henry Kwami Anyidoho from Ghana. Troop contributing countries were Belgium, Bangladesh, Ghana, and Tunisia. Around 400 of

2880-535: The mission. The genocide and the spectre of mission failure had a profound effect on Dallaire. On his return to Canada he was diagnosed with acute posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); he became suicidal . He was eventually released from the Canadian army service on medical grounds. Dallaire received the Aegis Trust Award (the first) for his acts of bravery. In 2004–2005, he was awarded a fellowship at

2940-452: The nineteenth century and early in the twentieth century as a result of German and Belgian colonialism over Rwanda. The ethnic categorization of the two was an imposed and an arbitrary construct based more on physical characteristics than ethnic background. However, the social differences between the Hutu and the Tutsi have traditionally allowed the Tutsi, with a strong pastoralist tradition, to gain social, economic, and political ascendancy over

3000-441: The northwest of Rwanda were holding about 1.2 million people and this was creating enormous security, health, and ecological problems. After the late arrival of the much-needed troop support, UNAMIR continued to carry out its mandate to the best of its abilities. In 1996, however, with assertion from the new Rwandese government that UNAMIR had failed in its priority mission, the UN withdrew the UNAMIR mandate on 8 March 1996. Despite

3060-476: The number of troops from 2,500 to 270 personnel in Resolution 912 . On 17 May 1994, the Security Council passed Resolution 918 , which expanded UNAMIR’s mandate to include the following additional responsibilities: "(a) To contribute to the security and protection of displaced persons , refugees and civilians at risk in Rwanda, including through the establishment and maintenance, where feasible, of secure humanitarian areas; (b) To provide security and support for

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3120-702: The over-bureaucratic and dithering approach of the UN. (General Dallaire was particularly critical of Annan's performance.) Countries that contributed troops to UNAMIR throughout its existence were: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chad, Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, Germany, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, India, Jordan, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Twenty-seven members of UNAMIR – 22 soldiers, three military observers, one civilian police and one local staff – lost their lives during

3180-437: The rotating presidency of the UN Security Council, was the lone voice supporting reinforcement, and in late April, persuaded the council to postpone UNAMIR's withdrawal, despite continuing reluctance from the United States and United Kingdom. Though understaffed and abandoned, members of the UNAMIR forces did manage to save the lives of thousands of Tutsis in and around Kigali and the few areas of UN control. Dallaire requested

3240-412: The territory of Rwanda and neighboring states between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 1994. The tribunal consisted of 16 judges in four "chambers" – three to hear trials, and one to hear appeals. In addition, there were 9 ad litem judges, making 25 in all. All 9 ad litem judges were assigned to Chambers II and III. There was an additional pool of 9 further ad literim judges who would be called on in

3300-458: The troops in this early part of the mission were Belgian soldiers, despite the fact that Rwanda had been a Belgian colony, and normally the UN bans the former colonial power from serving in such peace-keeping roles. Squabbling between interested parties delayed the UNAMIR goal of assisting the formation of the transitional government following the inauguration of President Habyarimana on 5 January 1994. The violent clashes that followed, including

3360-514: The weapons caches; the UN refused Dallaire's request to raid the arms, and rebuked him for exceeding his mandate. Dallaire's cable also informed the DPKO of the information concerning the genocide; it said: "Since UNAMIR mandate [the informant] has been ordered to register all Tutsi in Kigali. He suspects it is for their extermination. Example he gave was that in 20 minutes his personnel could kill up to 1000 Tutsis." Dallaire received little support from

3420-431: Was also pursuing a case against the current President, Paul Kagame , and other members of his administration, for the assassination of his predecessor. This case was under the regular jurisdiction of the French courts because French citizens were also killed in the plane crash. The majority of genocide cases were handled by the so-called gacaca courts , a modernized customary dispute resolution mechanism. The ICTR indicted

3480-466: Was composed of over 4,000 soldiers, mostly the children of Tutsi refugees who had fled anti-Tutsi purges in Rwanda between 1959 and 1963. It portrayed itself as a democratic, multi-ethnic movement and demanded an end to ethnic discrimination, to economic looting of the country by government elites and a stop to the security situation that continued to generate refugees. It was supported by the Ugandan government of Yoweri Museveni , who had come to power in

3540-628: Was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 872 on 5 October 1993. It was intended to assist in the implementation of the Arusha Accords , signed on 4 August 1993, which was meant to end the Rwandan Civil War . The mission lasted from October 1993 to March 1996. Its activities were meant to aid the peace process between the Hutu -dominated Rwandese government and the Tutsi -dominated rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). The UNAMIR has received much attention for its role in failing, due to

3600-505: Was to be completed by 2010. As of 2009, the tribunal had finished 50 trials and convicted 29 accused persons, and another 11 trials were in progress and 14 individuals were awaiting trial in detention; but the prosecutor intended to transfer 5 to national jurisdiction for trial. 13 others were still at large, some suspected to be dead. The United Nations Security Council called upon the tribunal to finish its work by 31 December 2014 to prepare for its closure and transfer of its responsibilities to

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