The Genocide Of The United Nations - 1856 Words

Despite obvious warning signs, the early to mid-1990’s was filled with two of the most horrific genocides in human history. Both genocides: the hutu and tutsi massacre in Rwanda, and the Bosnian genocide were done under the nose of the United Nations. The first saw the Hutu’s of Rwanda kill around eight hundred thousand Tutsi people and sympathizers in 1994. Just a year later, the second genocide of this decade occurred when Bosnian Serb forces attempted to gain territory in what is now Bosnia-Herzegovina and mounted an attack in Srebrenica. This attack on Srebrenica saw nearly eight thousand Muslim Bosnians massacred and emptied into mass graves. As previously mentioned, both massacres were done with the presence of United Nations Peacekeeping Forces, yet in both instances they failed to be involved. The reasons for this failure are quite clear in both instances, yet the interesting thing lies in the accountability assigned in both cases. Both massacres are considered failures by humanitarian standards, and in a general assembly in 1999, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated, If humanitarian intervention is, indeed, an unacceptable assault on sovereignty, how should we respond to a Rwanda, to a Srebrenica - to gross and systematic violations of human rights that affect every precept of our common humanity? â€Å"In the years following said massacres, only one nation was held responsible for events that transpired. This nation, the Netherlands, was tried by its own court,Show MoreRelatedGenocide The United Nations Security Council Essay2135 Words   |  9 Pages Acts of genocide have occurred for centuries even though the term genocide did not appear until the twentieth century. In 1948 the United Nations General Assembly passed a law that legally defined genocide and ruled it as an illegal act. According to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG) Article II the definition of genocide is â€Å"any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious groupRead MoreRwanda Genocide: Who Is to Blame?1488 Words   |  6 PagesThe Genocide in Rwanda: Who is to Blame? By Maria Chiara Billones Lucatello February 3, 2010 International Relations Mr. Conzemius â€Å"A small boy of 11 years, was curled up in a ball of fresh flesh and blood, in his eyes was a glance of lost hope, abandonment, and defeat. He was without vision; A little girl at nine years of age, was pinned up against a tree†¦her legs apart, and she was covered in things even hell can’t imagine; excrement, urine and blood . . . in her mouth was cold fresh meat, cutRead MoreThe Ten Stages of Genocide by Gregory H. Stanton931 Words   |  4 Pages Did you know that today there are still acts of genocide happening around the world? â€Å"The Ten Stages of Genocide† is an article written by Gregory H. Stanton, the president of Genocide Watch, an organization that is fighting to end genocide. In this article, Stanton lists ten stages that will occur in a genocide, starting with the stage of classification and ending with the stage of denial. In Burma, a sovereign state, also known as Myanmar, a minority ethnic group named the Rohingya is being discriminatedRea d MoreThe Rwandan Genocide899 Words   |  4 Pageshold within them the lessons and wisdom that should be used to prevent similar disasters. The 1994 Rwandan genocide resulted in over 800, 000 deaths of the Tutsi people, at the hands of the Hutu; the genocide, and the international response to it, is a lesson about the humanitarian responsibilities, successes, and shortcomings of the United Nations. The events leading up to the Rwandan genocide began decades earlier. There has been a long history of â€Å"ethnic† tensions, though it is really a matter ofRead MoreRwanda Genocide : The First Conviction1264 Words   |  6 Pages Rwanda Genocide: The First Conviction Kaylee Schmit Ms. Sandbulte Advanced Composition January 11, 2016 Kaylee Schmit Ms. Sandbulte Advanced Composition January 11, 2016 Rwanda Genocide: The First Conviction Rwanda is a small country in Africa, made up of three ethnic groups: the Hutus, who held the majority of the population; the Tutsis were only a small portion of the population; and there were also very few Twa. All three groups spoke Kinyarwanda. There were differences in theRead MoreModern Genocide in Africa Essay928 Words   |  4 Pageshave been two instances of genocide: the 1972 mass killings of Hutus by the Tutsi-dominated government, and the 1993 mass killings of the Tutsis by the Hutu populace. Both of these events in Burundi received different levels of attention by the international community and the western media due to a lack of foreign governmental interest, political distraction, and an unwillingness to acknowledge the severity of these atrocities in Burundi. Interestingly, events of genocide occurring at times withoutRead MoreU.s. Foreign Policy : The Game Of Plausible Deniability1625 Words   |  7 PagesAmerica’s Response) The United States found itself is a precarious position. The U.S. did not want to send troops to another battle in Africa, especially after Americans were sickened seeing the naked mutilated bodies of U.S. troops being dragged through the streets of Somalia. But, the U.S. had a moral duty to act against human rights atrocities since the U.S. had adopted the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights Doctrine. The United Nations could apply pressure to the United States to act if theRead MoreHumanitarian Intervention: Calling on the United Nations for Help1065 Words   |  5 PagesHumanitarian Intervention: Calling on the United Nations for Help The United Nations is an international organization that fights for world peace, and strives to control international law, international security, economic development, social progress, and human rights. In the United Nation’s preamble, it states the organization is â€Å"determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"†¦to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.† However, the U.NRead MoreInternational Community Is Culpable For The Rwandan Genocide1376 Words   |  6 PagesApril to June 1994, in a mere 100 days, approximately 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu were murdered during the Rwandan genocide (Destexhe, 1994). The international community failed to prevent or stop this slaughter. Considering the horrific nature of this genocide and the vast number of victims, there is a question whether the international community is culpable for the Rwandan genocide; specifically, the role of its ke y players, the US, the UN, France and Belgium. I will argue that the internationalRead MoreAfter the Holocaust, Vows of Never Again are Broken Again and Again749 Words   |  3 Pagesextermination of an entire people. It was a promise brimming with resolve and unanimity, but a promise which would go on to be broken again and again. In December 1948, the then members of the United Nations General Assembly, without contention, passed the Convention on Genocide. It defined what the crime of genocide entailed and that it was an act to be prevented and its perpetrators punished. It has been 66 years since then and we have not been able to fulfill this promise - shattering its very principles