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?