Rwanda: 25 years on, we must keep our promise of ‘never again’
Taking action to prevent atrocities is not a policy option: it is a legal obligation
Three months before the genocide in Rwanda, General Roméo Dallaire, force commander of the United Nations peacekeeping mission, sent his now infamous ‘genocide fax’ to the UN’s headquarters in New York.
Recognising the rapid build-up of arms in the capital Kigali, Dallaire believed that if UN peacekeepers were authorised to conduct raids on the arms stores, they could prevent a potential mass slaughter. Understanding that he was pushing a decision that was not ...
