stood against their racist anti-Tutsi ideology .
For those who fought so hard to liberate their country from the genocidal forces twenty-eight years ago , the letters sent to the General Assembly by the US and UK were horribly reminiscent of the attitudes on display in the Security Council as the crime progressed in 1994 . In the Council , these two permanent members had fixated on the civil war taking place simultaneously with the genocide of the Tutsi and their only action had been to call for a ceasefire . As one of the non-permanent members told the Council at the time , this was like wanting Hitler to reach a ceasefire with the Jews of Europe who were being exterminated in vast concentrated camps .
The continuing refusal of the US and UK to officially recognise the designation agreed by all other UN members states is an example of how powerful states profess to abide by human rights treaties , but in reality , ignore them for reasons known only to themselves .
We should never forget that the facts that they challenge are capable of immediate verification . There is overwhelming evidence the extermination of the Tutsi had been premeditated and planned well in advance and that this was a clear and incontrovertible case of genocide . It is time the UK and US governments recognised that fact .
Linda Melven is an investigative journalist and author .
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The US and UK- the folly of designating “ others ”
Lonzen Rugira
During the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly in April 2020 , the US and UK were the only two countries to object to the resolution ( 74 / 273 ) designating 7th April as the International Day of Remembrance of the Genocide Against the Tutsi . The objections of the two countries had to do with the terminology “ Genocide against the Tutsi ”, arguing that the designation wasn ’ t inclusive enough since “ others ” were also killed in the genocide in 1994 . They argued that this exclusion would undermine reconciliation . This thinking is fallacious – and denialist . Here ’ s why .
For one thing , the list of other groups killed in Rwanda in April 1994 is long : Hutu civilians , Rwanda Patriotic Army ( RPA ), government forces ( FAR ), Belgian and Senegalese UN Soldiers ( Blue Helmets ), etc . Since what is at issue is the reconciliation amongst Rwandans , I limit the scope of this analysis to
Rwandans who died in April 1994 . In this exercise , RPA and FAR soldiers can also be excluded since they were armed combatants . It is unlikely that the US and UK are referring to RPA and FAR soldiers when they talk about the “ others ” who should be included among the victims of genocide .
This leaves Hutu civilians who were killed in April 1994 as the “ others .” These civilians fall into three main categories :
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