Genocide, or the systematic destruction of a race or tribe is an all too common phenomenon in our planet’s history and even more so in Africa. Genocide and war share many common causes such as desperation brought on by a declining economy. Experts on the Central African Republic believe that current events point to a possible repeat of the Rwandan genocide of 1994, in which over one million people were killed. Many think that U.N. involvement is necessary to stop the escalating violence in the Central African Republic; others believe that the dismal track record of the U.N. in similar situations makes it unlikely that they could be effective in the current crisis. Regardless, an already bad human rights situation is likely to worsen.
One of the world’s poorest countries, the Central African Republic lies at the very heart of Africa. This region is a land of adversity. It stretches from the edge of a desert in the north, across open grasslands, and into Africa’s rain forest. Its people, likewise, are full of contrast. As many as eighty ethnic groups call the nation home. While most of the population is rural, there are also ten cities with over thirty thousand people. The two largest cities are the capital Bangui, and Bimbo having 542,000 and 129,000 respectively. The Central Republic of Africa is composed of the densely populated hill countries of Rwanda and Burundi which have populations of very similar composition. In both there is a large majority group of Hutu who are predominantly Christian.
The people of the Central Republic of Africa have a long history and recently tragic history. With no written record, little is known of the region’s earliest peoples. Great stone monuments hint at an advanced civilization more than twen...
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...an rights council. While the U.N. may be the best hope for the citizens of the Central Republic of Africa, their participation would by no means guarantee safety from the current regime.
Since the citizens of the Central Republic of Africa have no means of protecting themselves from the Seleka Rebels, their only hope of stopping this inevitable genocide is the U.N. For a long time the people of the Central Republic of Africa have not had civil rights because of a Totalitarianism government that has controlled everything and suppressed any uprising. There have been numerous genocides in history because of these reasons and it has caused the people who are victims of this treachery to live in fear and without rights. Even if it was to preserve the little freedom the citizens of the Central Republic already have, the U.N. could make an effort to maintain an acceptabl
The analysis of the genocides that took place both in Rwanda and Sudan’s Darfur region exhibit some similarities as well as differences. The character of violence was similar in both cases, but in Rwanda the violence was more intense, participatory, and extraordinary. The violence in these two places took place in an environment that had experienced civil wars. It was a period of political transition which was further aggravated by ethnic nationalism and a conflict of ethnic populations that were living in close proximity. However, in the Rwandan genocide, the state is more centralized, compact, and effective. This is what explains the intensity and variation. The international response to these genocides through observers emphasized on using the genocide label to create domestic constituencies especially in the Rwandan case.
Genocide is a pressing issue with a multitude of questions and debates surrounding it. It is the opinion of many people that the United Nations should not get involved with or try to stop ongoing genocide because of costs or impositions on the rights of a country, but what about the rights of an individual? The UN should get involved in human rights crimes that may lead to genocide to prevent millions of deaths, save money on humanitarian aid and clean up, and fulfill their responsibilities to stop such crimes. It is preferable to stop genocide before it occurs through diplomacy, but if necessary, military force may be used as a last resort. Navi Pillay, Human Rights High Commissioner, stated, “Concerted efforts by the international community at critical moments in time could prevent the escalation of violence into genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity or ethnic cleansing.”
Former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali once said, "We were not realizing that with just a machete, you can do a genocide." To be candid, nobody anticipated the Rwandan Genocide that occurred in 1994. The genocide in Rwanda was an infamous blood-red blur in modern history where almost a million innocent people were murdered in cold blood. Members of the Tutsi tribe were systematically hacked or beaten to death by members of the Interahamwe, a militia made up of Hutu tribe members. In just 100 days, from April 6, 1994 to mid-July, 20% of Rwanda's population was killed; about 10,000 people a day. Bodies literally were strewn over city streets. Genocide obviously violates almost all articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; however, the article I find most important is Article 3 - the right to life, liberty, and personal security. In just 100 days, one million people were denied the most basic privilege granted to every human – the right to live, simply because they were born to the wrong tribe.
The genocides of the 20th century which occurred in Rwanda and Germany had striking similarities, something that should have alerted the world to stop them. At the core of these two massacres, patterns existed that outlined how similar thinking and reasoning could lead to something as horrible as these two events. One can see how both groups used their command of knowledge as a way to control the people, how the rest of the world refused to step up to stop the killings, and how the people were thought of as less than humans to provide a just cause for such terrible acts.
"United Human Rights Council." United Human Rights Council. N.p., 16 Mar. 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. .
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, a.k.a. the DRC, or more commonly “the Congo”, has experienced an endless nightmare of violence, poverty, famine, sickness, and murder for the past 16 years. The constant bloodshed between the national and armed forces has led to countless civilian deaths, or the genocide in the Congo. Before I go on any further, I must explain what a genocide is. A genocide is the attempted destruction of an entire group of people. The most famous example is the Holocaust in which 6 million Jews were murdered during World War II. It is tragic to say that history has repeated itself and over 5 to 7 million Congolese civilians have lost their lives since 1996. In order to truly understand the events that are transpiring at this very moment, we must look back in the past to the root of this problem, see what is going on at this moment, and try to do something to help stop these atrocities.
Africa has been an interesting location of conflicts. From the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea to the revolutionary conflict in Libya and Egypt, one of the greatest conflicts is the Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide included two tribes in Rwanda: Tutsis and Hutus. Upon revenge, the Hutus massacred many Tutsis and other Hutus that supported the Tutsis. This gruesome war lasted for a 100 days. Up to this date, there have been many devastating effects on Rwanda and the global community. In addition, many people have not had many acknowledgements for the genocide but from this genocide many lessons have been learned around the world.
When the Belgian colonizers entered Rwanda in 1924, they created an ethnic classification between the Hutu and the Tutsi, two tribes who used to live together as one. After independence in 1962, there was a constant power struggle between the two tribes. Former Canadian Prime Minister, Jean-Pierre Chrétien described the situation as “tribalism without tribes.” (Destexhe, 1995) There were many signs leading towards genocide, yet the nations in power chose to ignore them. From April 6, 1994 until mid-July, a time spanning approximately of 100 days, 800,000 people were murdered when the Hutu attacked the Tutsi. No foreign aid came to the rescue until it was too late. Ten years after the genocide the United Nations was still involved in Rwanda, cleaning up the mess that was left behind because of man’s sinful nature. Could the Rwandan Genocide have been prevented, or is it simply a fact of life? Even though the international community is monitoring every country and race, such an event as the Rwandan Genocide could occur again because the European colonizers introduced ethnic classification where it did not exist and the nations in power chose to ignore the blatant signs of genocide.
It is sad to see how the second largest country of Africa is a risk for genocide but we need
The Rwandan genocide was one of the most monstrous crimes against humanity. Driven by political issues, hunger for power and ethnic differences. The genocide is now over but remnants remain, showing the pain and suffering that
This essay will argue that the genocide convention is not a meaningless document, but rather weak in dealing with genocide as evidenced in the case of Darfur 2003, because of limitations in definition which need to be addressed. The convention is characterized as being problematic due to the following grounds, its definition of genocide and its furtherance’s as well as lack of enforceability and its failure to prevent genocide. Even though the statement contains an element of truth, it is too subjective and unfairly undermines the legal significance of the Convention. This paper will consider this claim paying particular attention to the legal definition of genocide, which is described by Martin Shaw as vague and incomplete. First, this essay will examine the origins and define the concept of genocide in accordance with the GC; second, it will address the case of non intervention during genocide using the realist and liberal paradigms, third, It will address the case study and examine whether or not the genocide convention is indeed a meaningless document then conclude by arguing that it is not meaningless but is in need of reform.
“History repeats itself”, is a commonly used phrase and it is one that can be found to hold true in many situations. Throughout history there have been many incidents in which mass murder has occurred. A modern day example of mass murder in a conflict that is ongoing is the genocides occurring in Darfur, Sudan. The corrupt government in the country supports a group called the Janjaweed, which is the militia group that is mainly responsible for the large number of Darfur residents that have been murdered, raped, or displaced (1). Although the exact number is not known, most sources estimate around 400,000 people have died and another 2,500,000 have been displaced (1). The conflict started in 2003 and although it is not as severe as it has been in past years the issue still exists and the people of Darfur are still experiencing murder and suffering. The conflict in Darfur has been a topic of discussion for many nations, including the United States. The issue arises of whether or not larger nations, who have more power, should aid in the effort to stop the Darfur genocide. Some believe very strongly that the United States has an obligation to step up and help this country control a largely unethical situation. Others take the opposite argument and have reasons to believe the interests of the United States would be best served elsewhere. The situation is more complex than it initially seems and many factors must be analyzed when considering if the United States is obligated to intervene. At the same time, a conflict of this severity and size cannot be easily contained by a small and struggling nation and sometimes a bigger nation is needed to help with a conflict of this magnitude. Being a world power, the United States has the resour...
...ge (ed.), The Cambridge History of Africa, 2: From c. 500 B.C. toA.D. 1050. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978.
Various schools of thought exist as to why genocide continues at this deplorable rate and what must be done in order to uphold our promise. There are those who believe it is inaction by the international community which allows for massacres and tragedies to occur - equating apathy or neutrality with complicity to evil. Although other nations may play a part in the solution to genocide, the absolute reliance on others is part of the problem. No one nation or group of nations can be given such a respo...
U.S. should take into action the many possible moves or ideas into consideration. (Santon, 2000) America can use these tactics to stop future genocide by preventing them early and understanding the circumstances that will involve other people perspectives. Trying to look in their shoes and trying to think what would people do to not make people angry or rebel. Back up plans or ideas also can improve on making the right choice.