Post on 24-Jan-2015
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Armed conflict and Peacebuilding in Rwanda
By: Evans Korang Adjei , Faizan Khan, Jenny Jonsson, Jessica
Bragd, Mohammed Arif, Mussie Tomziegi, Nina Ström, Tsegay Tikue
Location of Rwanda
The hourglass model:
History of the Rwanda's crisis
• Ethnic and politically instigated crisis (between the Tutsis And the Hutus)
• There had been always been disagreements between the Hutus (majority, 85%), Tutsis (minority, 12%) and Twa, 3%
• The two ethnic groups are actually very similar (they speak the same language, inhabit the same areas and follow the same traditions).
• But the animosity grew substantially during the colonial periods (Issuance of identity cards classifying people according to their ethnicity in1931 by the Belgians).
EK/FK
History cont’d• The Belgians considered the Tutsis to be
superior to the Hutus (because of the believe that the Tutsis had Caucasian ancestry).
• The Tutsis enjoyed better jobs and educational opportunities than the Hutus until 1962 (when Rwanda gained independence).
• Hutus then became presidents (Gregoire Kayibanda, 1961-1973 and Juvenal Habyarimana 1973-1994)
• Resentment among the Hutus gradually built up, culminating in series of riots killing more than 20,000 Tutsis (Many more Tutsis fled to the neighbouring countries of Burundi, Tanzania , DR Congo and Uganda)
History cont’d
• In 1991, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) invaded the country starting the Rwandan Civil War ( they signed to the Arusha accord in1993)
• The genocide was ignited by the death of the Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana (when his plane was shot down above Kigali airport on 6 April 1994)
• Presidential guards immediately initiated a campaign of vengeance (i.e. radio propaganda)
• Between April and June 1994, an estimation of over 800,000 Rwandans were killed in the space of 100 days.
History cont’d • Most of the dead were Tutsis and moderate
Hutus (most of those who perpetrated the crime were Hutus)
• Incentives were given to people who partook in the crime (such as money or food, and also appropriate the land of the Tutsis they killed).
• The Rwandans were largely left alone by the International Community (upon numerous attempts by UN to negotiate ceasefire failed and also UN troops withdrew
after the murder of 10 soldiers). • RPF took over Kigali and call for ceasefire ,
(As soon as it became apparent that the RPF was victorious, an estimated two million Hutus fled to DR Congo).
Peacebuilding in Rwanda
Rwanda made good progress toward
• Resettlement• National reconciliation• Demobilization• Reintegration of ex-combatants• The role of women in rebuilding trust &
reconciling former enemies• International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) • Institute of Research and Dialogue for Peace
(IRDP) and the international organization Interpeace
• United Nation peacebuilding commission (PBC)
TT/MT
Reconstruction in Rwanda Rwanda achieved impressive progress since the 1994
• Rehabilitate devastated infrastructure and restore social norms
• Ambitious development strategy seeking to transform the country from a low-income, agriculture based economy to a knowledge-based service economy by 2020
• Successful reform efforts resulted in double-digit growth rates
• Structural reforms for Development (Extensive economic and governance reforms 1995up to 2008) rebuilding institutions
• Remarkable progress in human wellbeing and service (Primary school, health care, access to pour water…)
• Government of National Unity (GNU) put ensure women play active role
Efforts to stop the war and rebuild the society in Rwanda • The role of the international community– Appling Lusaka’s cease-fire agreement
disarming the ex.FAR/interahamwe– encouraging Rwandan refugees to
return home• Lusaka cease-fire agreement and the
creation of Joint Military Commission (JMC)
• A multifaceted approach of luring refugees and combatants back to Rwanda adopting different strategies
• The Arusha Agreement
Actors who play the role in Rwanda
• The Government of Rwanda• United Nation (UN)• African Union (AU)• International Development Association
(IDA)• World Bank’s,• Department for International
Development (DFID)• Joint Military Commission (JMC)
Constitution of Rwanda
• 2003
• A democratic constitution
• Stresses the democratic rights and freedoms of people
• Decentralization
JB/JJ
Organs of government
Legislative– Parliament, which consists of two chambers:
the chamber of deputies and the Senate
Executive – President and Cabinet
Judicial – Special interest: Gacaca Courts – Changes in the constitution
Characteristics
• Created to hinder a new genocide and hatred between people
• Unity- no groups, everyone is Rwandan
• No political organizations originating from one specific group/sex/religion/etc is allowed
• Gender- at least one third of the parliament shall be women
• Different commissions
Strengths and Weaknesses
• Strengths: Democratic rights, Strong legislation against hatred, Women are involved
• Weaknesses: Are women involved? To strong legislation- hinder democratization?
Challenges
• Reconciliation process not working sufficiently enough
• Rapid economic growth, but high level of relative poverty
• Democratic deficit
NS/MA
What can be done?
• More inclusive peacebuilding and strengthen civil society
• Mainstreaming gender in the long-term peacebuilding project
• Cooperatives as a strategy to address both economic situation and reconciliation issues as well as strengthening civil society
Goals to be Achieved
• Construction of the nation and its social capital
• Development of a credible State effectively governed by the rule of law
• Development of human resources so that Rwanda may prosper economically based on knowledge and know-how
• • Development and entrepreneurship of the private sector;
• Development of basic infrastructure including urban planning;
• Modernization of agriculture and livestock sectors.
Challenges Faced by Outsiders
• Donors may and do radically differ in their assessments of the situation at hand, and hence of the way to move forward.
• Donor objectives and principles, no matter how laudable individually, may conflict, formal justice, economic efficiency and political imperative, short-term security and human rights etc…..
Cont’d
• Donors need to prioritize their scarce resources
• Given the difficulty of understanding post-conflict dynamics errors are very likely and the cost of error is extremely high and entirely borne by locals
• Donors only control the form, but not the substance, of the institutions they help build.
Thank you!http://www.history.com/topics/rwandan-genocide/videos#rwanda-the-world-reacts
Questions
Where in the hourglass is Rwanda today?Is democracy a process or end?