The Crime of Genocide, Essay Example

Introduction

The crime of genocide has been defined as a crime of intentional annihilation of a national, racial, ethnic, and religious group, in entirety or in part (GPANet, 2010). Rwanda was little known prior to the 100 days genocide that took place between April and July 1994. This genocide is regarded as was one of the most severe killing crusades in human history. It is estimated that approximately 800,000 people were killed at a rate that was speedy than Jewish Holocaust in the WW 2. The differences between the Hutu and Tutsi were fuelled by the German in 1899 and later by the Belgian colonizers by interfering with the already established indigenous leadership structures. This culminated into the Social Revolution of 1959 to 1961 that was sanctioned by the catholic missionaries as well as the colonial powers (GPANet, 2010).

It has been reported that the genocide was state-sponsored. The speed at which the systematic killings began soon after the shooting down of the plane carrying the president suggests an extremely well organized plan. People involved in the planning of the genocide were high ranking government officials, including the ruling party, the army,(Rwandan Armed Forces-FAR) and the Interhamwe militia, as well as leaders from other sectors in Rwanda including the media and the church. The victims were viciously tortured, raped in the most ghastly fashion, and made to watch as their loved ones were raped, tortured and murdered mainly with machetes and hoes.

The cause of the genocide comes from a myriad of factors. For the purposes of this paper, the factors will be condensed into three paradigms that endeavor to shed light on the causes. These three paradigms are: paucity of ecological resources; exploitation by the elite; socio-psychological characteristics of the perpetrators. These three are governed by the macro-level ecological and demographic tendency, macro-level political inclinations, and the macro-level socio-cultural characteristics of the Rwandese society (GPANet, 2010).  However, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) which was Tutsi dominated launched a major attack in April 8, 1994 and subsequently, took power and brought an end to the genocide in July 1994 after taking control of Kigali. The international community has been accused of not taking tangible action during the genocide. However, it came up strongly after the genocide to ensure that the perpetrators of the genocide were brought to justice. This culminated into the inception of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. This was to put to trial the people who bore the greatest responsibility for the genocide. The lesser perpetrators were to stand trial at the Gacaca traditional court systems (GPANet, 2010). High profile cases related to the genocide include the case against the former Prime Minister, Jean Kambanda, who was sentenced to life imprisonment.

International experts have recently come forward to explore means of mitigating genocides. One such organization is The Genocide Prevention Advisory Group (GPANet, 2010). Its members grant risk appraisals and advice to any concerned parties, as well as the UN, regional organizations, individual governments, non-governmental organizations, and several other international political consortium that devises and promotes policies intended to averting and mitigating mass carnage that have or may reach genocidal dimensions (GPANet, 2010). The only way to avert genocides is by establishing strong and independent institutions devoid of political manipulation and embracing a culture of the universal rule of law.

Works cited

GPANet, Prevention & Mitigation of Genocide & Mass Atrocities. Focus on the East &Central Africa and the Islamic World, 2010.