Peacekeeping in Rwanda - Genocide and Current Operations
April to July 1994 - members of the Hutu majority in Rwanda murdered 800,000 people
September 1998 - the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda convicted Jean-Paul Akayesu for engaging and overseeing acts of war as mayor of Taba, Rwanda
Currently in Rwanda there are:
Protection:
Education:
Health:
Nutrition:
Water and Sanitation:
Shelter:
Access to Energy:
Community Empowerment and Self-Reliance:
Durable solutions:
Logistics and Supply:
- resulted in 2 million refugees (mainly Hutus) in the Congo and other countries
- genocide was sparked by the shooting down of a plane carrying Habyarimana and Burundi's president, leaving no survivors, within an hour of the crash, the genocide began
- in mid-May the UN Security Council decided to send over 5,000 troops; but by the time they all arrived, the genocide had been over for months
- the Rwandan genocide is known for the failure of the UN to help and prevent the atrocities that occurred
- ignored evidence that a genocide was planned
- refusal to act once it started
- abandoning the people in the midst of genocide
September 1998 - the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda convicted Jean-Paul Akayesu for engaging and overseeing acts of war as mayor of Taba, Rwanda
- this was the first international tribunal since the Nuremburg Trials of 1945-46
- a new constitution adopted in 2003 ensured that citizens could no longer be discriminated against based on ethnicity
- 2008 - three former senior Rwandan military officials were convicted for organizing genocide
Currently in Rwanda there are:
- 70711 Refugees in emergency situation
- 74,283 Refugees in protracted situation
- 1,151 Refugees departed for resettlement in 2015
- 62,191 Rwandans returned since 2009
- Total of 148,000 people of concern
- 148.2 million USD requested for funding → 32.5 million USD received
Protection:
- individual counselling
- advocacy with the government for refugee rights and access to asylum
- prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence
- protection of children
- community initiatives
Education:
- ensures that all refugee children and youth have access to fundamental, basic education
- nearly 33,000 refugees are enrolled in education programs
Health:
- ensure that everyone has access to lifesaving health care, reproductive health care, HIV prevention, treatment, and nutritional well being
Nutrition:
- stopping malnutrition
- systematic nutrition screening
- moderate acue malnutrition management programmes
- emergency responses
- aim to reduce acute malnutrition and anemia among children under 5 years of age
Water and Sanitation:
- provides refugees living in camps with clean drinking water
- systems benefit communities around the camps
Shelter:
- shelter and communal infrastructure
Access to Energy:
- dry food
- firewood
- procurement and distribution of fuel
- tree planting
Community Empowerment and Self-Reliance:
- empowerment and self-sufficiency is supported through various activities
Durable solutions:
- supports the return of refugees only if and when conditions for return can be guaranteed to be voluntary, safe and dignified
Logistics and Supply:
- transportation of refugees from the border to refugee camps
- distribution of core relief items such as blankets, jerry cans, soap, kitchen sets, sleeping mats and mosquito nets