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3 J. Int'l Crim. Just. 837 (2005)
The UN Inadequacies

handle is hein.journals/jicj3 and id is 847 raw text is: The UN Inadequacies Ingvar Carlsson* Abstract The author describes the results of the UN Independent Inquiry on the Genocide in Rwanda, which he headed. The international community's reluctance to commit itself and its resources to the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR or UN Mission), coupled with the inadequacy of UNAMIR's initial mandate, are identified as the crucial reasons for the Mission's failings. These weaknesses led to the failure of the UN forces on the ground to respond effectively to the genocide and inhibited their ability to protect civilians and UN staffers. The author details the failures both of the UN Mission in Rwanda and of the leadership in New York, with unflinching exactitude, drawing important lessons to help ensure that another such breakdown of the UN system during a time of crisis does not happen again. 1. Background and Mandate The Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi flew back from a meeting in Tanzania on 6 April 1994. In Dar es Salaam, they had confirmed that they were prepared to work in accordance with a plan based on the Arusha peace process to solve the political problems in the region. The plan laid out a power-sharing agree- ment between the government of Rwanda (Hutu) and the Rwandese Patriotic Front (Tutsi). The hope was to prevent a civil war. The situation was very unstable; in November and December 1993, 60 people had been killed in Rwanda. When the President's plane was about to land in Kigali - the capital of Rwanda - it was shot down. This was at 8.30 p.m. The plane exploded and everyone on board was killed. Less than an hour later, there were roadblocks set up in Kigali and the killing began. The next morning, the Prime Minister was shot. Not only leading representatives of the Tutsi population, but also moderate Hutus in favour of the peace process were killed or disappeared. Later the same day, 10 Belgian peacekeepers were tortured and murdered by government soldiers. During the following days and weeks, the killing spread * Former Prime Minister of Sweden, Head of the UN Independent Inquiry on Genocide in Rwanda. Journal of International Criminal Justice 3 (2005), 837-846 doi:10.1093/jicj/mqiO57 C Oxford University Press, 2005, All rights reserved. For permissions please email journals.permissions@oupjournals.org

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