Candor American-Global Relations | Page 42

rom April to July in 1994, a mass Genocide took place in Rwanda, which is an east-central African nation. Members of the Hutu minority had murdered approximately 800,000 people of the Tutsi minority. America and the UN were aware of these acts of genocide but chose to limit their involvement. This left many questioning why America hesitated to take the lead role when intervening and why the UN failed to protect them. Isn’t protecting and enforcing human rights a part of America and the UN’s job?

What Caused the Genocide?

After WW1 when the Treaty of Versailles was signed, Rwanda was taken away from Germany’s power. There were two types of minorities in Rwanda called Tutsis and Hutus. The Belgians kept with

Tragedy in rwanda

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by madison kurtz

THE MURDER OF OVER 800,000 tUTSI PEOPLE

The Belgians kept with the system the Germans had previously imposed, which further separated the two minorities. The Belgians favored the Tutsis over the Hutus because they portrayed more Caucasian-like features and greater wealth. This was seen as superior through the Belgians eyes, and because of this, the Hutus were denied privileges that the Tutsis were granted. This caused confusion, anger, and jealousy for the Hutus. Later in 1959, the Hutus finally overthrew the Tutsis, causing the Tutsis to flee into neighboring countries such as Uganda. This resulted into a group of Tutsis forming a group called the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). They again invaded Rwanda in 1990. Continuous fighting took place until 1993 when a peace treaty was signed between both minorities.

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