Genocide and its Aftermath: Lessons from Rwanda

On April 16, 17 & 19, the Institute for Global Studies, the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the Human Rights Program held a series of events to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 1994 genocide that took the lives of an estimated 500,000-1,000,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The events included a public conference, a student conference, and a K-16 teacher workshop. The objectives of the commemorative events were: promoting public understanding of what happened in Rwanda, discussing the immediate responses of the international community to the violence, and analyzing the long-term consequences that the cataclysmic failure to prevent the genocide had on international policy and action.



The public conference, Genocide and its Aftermath: Lessons from Rwanda, was designed to bring together research and praxis. Academics, activists and diplomats led a public exploration of what we have learned from the genocide in Rwanda and how we have been affected by, and should use, that knowledge to create more effective methods of intervention. Themes of the panels included: representations of atrocity, immediate aftermaths, transitional justice and its impacts, and preventing genocide and mass atrocity.

Watch the conference's opening address by Taylor Krauss, founder of Voices of Rwanda, and the keynote address by Adama Dieng, United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, as well as the three panel discussions, please click here or visit CHGS' youtube channel.

Genocide and its Aftermath: Lessons from Rwanda

On April 16, 17 & 19, the Institute for Global Studies, the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the Human Rights Program held a series of events to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 1994 genocide that took the lives of an estimated 500,000-1,000,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The events included a public conference, a student conference, and a K-16 teacher workshop. The objectives of the commemorative events were: promoting public understanding of what happened in Rwanda, discussing the immediate responses of the international community to the violence, and analyzing the long-term consequences that the cataclysmic failure to prevent the genocide had on international policy and action.



The public conference, Genocide and its Aftermath: Lessons from Rwanda, was designed to bring together research and praxis. Academics, activists and diplomats led a public exploration of what we have learned from the genocide in Rwanda and how we have been affected by, and should use, that knowledge to create more effective methods of intervention. Themes of the panels included: representations of atrocity, immediate aftermaths, transitional justice and its impacts, and preventing genocide and mass atrocity.



Watch the conference's opening address by Taylor Krauss, founder of Voices of Rwanda, and the keynote address by Adama Dieng, United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, as well as the three panel discussions, by clicking here or visiting CHGS' youtube channel.

Spring Educator Workshop: An Overview of Genocide in 1990s and Early 2000s

One of the series of events to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Genocide in Rwanda
An Overview of Genocide in 1990s and Early 2000s and the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda: A Case Study
Instructor: Samuel Totten, Professor Emeritus of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Arkansas
Saturday, April 19
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Conference Room 325 Coffman Union, East Bank of U of MN



In this educator workshop, visiting scholar Samuel Totten will begin by discussing the origins, causes and responses to genocide within the scope of human rights and international law. He will then give an overview and summary of genocides perpetrated in Africa and beyond in 1990s including the Nuba Mountains; Srebrenica; and Darfur before examining in depth, as a case study, the 1994 Genocide of Rwanda. Totten will finish by addressing the latest outbreaks of violence in the world, which crimes against humanity have been perpetuated, and noting where there is a fear of genocide breaking out.

Participants of this workshop will receive resources (including one of Totten's books) and materials to develop curriculum to integrate into their classrooms. This workshop will address the 2011 Minnesota Academic Standards for Social Studies as they relate to human rights, international law, and genocide.

Cost: $25 includes parking, a copy of one of Samuel Totten's books, resources, and lunch
CEUs: 6
Registration deadline: April 5, 2014
To register click here
Cancellation deadline: If you need to cancel, write to Deborah Jane at outreach@umn.edu by April 5, 2014. If you cancel after this date, you will not be eligible for a refund.
The Institute for Global Studies in partnership with The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the Human Rights Program are hosting a series of events to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994. The events will include a public conference, a student conference, and a K-16 teacher workshop. The objectives of the commemorative events are: promoting public understanding of what happened in Rwanda, discussing the immediate responses of the international community to the violence, and analyzing the long-term consequences that the cataclysmic failure to prevent the genocide had on international policy and action.
Sponsorship made possible in part by the Arsham and Charlotte Ohanessian Fund at the Minneapolis Foundation.
For a complete listing of events, participating scholars and sponsors please click here.
Photo: Men with weapons (taken by Totten in Nuba Mountains, January 2013)

Genocide and its Aftermaths: Lessons from Rwanda

A Series of Events to Commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Genocide in Rwanda
April 16, 17, 19, 2014



The Institute for Global Studies in partnership with The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the Human Rights Program are hosting a series of events to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994. The events will include a public conference, a student conference, and a K-16 teacher workshop. The objectives of the commemorative events are: promoting public understanding of what happened in Rwanda, discussing the immediate responses of the international community to the violence, and analyzing the long-term consequences that the cataclysmic failure to prevent the genocide had on international policy and action.

Sponsorship made possible in part by the Arsham and Charlotte Ohanessian Fund at the Minneapolis Foundation.

The Public Conference
Wednesday, April 16
Cowles Auditorium, Humphrey School of Public Affairs
The public conference is designed to bring together research and praxis. Academics, activists and diplomats will lead a public exploration of what we have learned from the Rwandan genocide and how we have been affected by, and should use, that knowledge to create more effective methods of intervention. Themes of the panels include: representations of atrocity, immediate aftermaths, transitional justice and its impacts, and preventing genocide and mass atrocity. This event will be free and open to the public.
Featured Speaker: Adama Dieng, UN Special Advisor on Genocide Prevention
Other Speakers Include:
Eric Schwartz, Dean, Humphrey School, former National Security Adviser to President Clinton
Curt Goering, Executive Director, Center for Victims of Torture and former Chief Operating Officer at Amnesty International USA
Alejandro Baer, Director of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota
Gregory Gordon, Director of the University of North Dakota (UND) Center for Human Rights & Genocide Studies and Former Legal Officer, at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
Barbara Frey, Director of Human Rights Program at the University of Minnesota
Samuel Totten, Ed.D, Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Arkansas
Leigh Payne, Professor at Oxford and Senior Research Fellow for the Institute for Global Studies
The Student Conference
Thursday, April 17th
Coffman Union
The students' conference will bring together undergraduate students throughout the Midwest, from different disciplines, who are working on the genocide in Rwanda or other episodes of genocide and mass violence. Those interested in more information or submitting work should see the Call for Papers for more details and contact Wahutu j. Siguru at siguru@umn.edu by the 28th of February 2014.
The K-16 Teacher Workshop: Featuring Professor Samuel Totten
Saturday, April 19
Coffman Union
9:00a.m. to 3:00p.m.
Samuel Totten is one of the foremost scholars of curriculum on Holocaust and genocide education and has published several texts to aid educators integrate this curriculum in their classrooms.
CEU's are available.
Class will be limited to 25. For more information, contact Deborah Jane at djane@umn.edu.
Please check back for further details and updates in the coming weeks. Contact Kaela McConnon at mccon117@umn.edu with any questions or concerns.
Event Co-sponsors: The Center for Victims of Torture, The Advocates for Human Rights, Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, St. Cloud State Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education, World Without Genocide, Department of History, Department of French and Italian, the Institute of Diversity, Equality and Advocacy, the Program in Human Rights and Health and the Human Rights Center of the University of Minnesota
Artwork: "Valentina's Nightmare (Face/Hand Rough)" by Peter Driessen, 1997.

Call for Papers:Genocide and its Aftermaths: Lessons from Rwanda

Undergraduate Students Conference
April 17, 2014

The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, the Human Rights Program and the Institute for Global Studies are hosting three days of events to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994. The events will include a public conference (April 16th), a student conference (April 17th) and a K-12 teacher workshop (April 19th). The objectives of the commemorative events are to promote public understanding of what happened in Rwanda, analyze the immediate responses by the international community, and discuss the long-term implications for international policy and actions to prevent and respond to genocide.

The students' conference seeks to bring together undergraduate students (preferably advanced undergraduates) from different disciplines that are working on the Rwandan Genocide or other episodes of genocide and mass violence. To this end, we are seeking a broad range of papers that examine but are not limited to the following topics:


The Rwandan Genocide: Historical and socio-political paths leading to the genocide; the role of the international community, including the ICTR; the gacaca courts; testimonials of survivors; public memory; etc.

Genocide and the international community: Intervention or lack thereof in genocides and large-scale political violence; potential responses to genocide and mass violence; the role of neighboring countries, the UN and other countries.

Genocide and the media: International and local media coverage of genocide; hate media and genocide incitement; representations of mass violence and its (cognitive and ethical) limits.

Rape as genocide: Rape and other forms of gendered victimization during or in the aftermath of mass violence; women-headed households; medical care; children of rape.

Justice and politics of reconciliation after genocide: The role and effectiveness of judicial processes and transitional justice mechanisms such as the ICTR, truth commissions and reparations.

Genocide and public memory: Memorials, museums and commemoration days/weeks; the politics of commemoration; the use of human remains in memorials and related issues.

Genocide and education. Teaching about genocide and mass atrocities; the representation of genocide in history and other textbooks.

Abstracts not exceeding 250 words and a 2 page CV should be sent to Wahutu j. Siguru Siguru@umn.edu by the 28th of February 2014. For more information, please visit the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies Symposia & Conference page.

The organizers will provide supporting funds to defray the costs of the participants whose paper are accepted for presentation. Out of state student presenters will be awarded up to $500 and in state student presenters will be awarded up to $200.

The conference was made possible by funding from the Ohanessian Endowment Fund for Justice and Peace Studies at The Minneapolis Foundation and is sponsored by The Institute for Global Studies, Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and the Human Rights Program at the University of Minnesota.

UN-backed court acquits former Rwanda general, major on appeal

Genocide tribunal acquits former Rwanda general, major on appeal
02-11-2014

Violence in Central Africa: Is the Central African Republic on the Road to Genocide?

By Wahutu Siguru



Something insidious, but sadly not unexpected, is happening in the Central African Republic (CAR)-over the past twelve months mass killings have been taking place in the CAR, a former French colony in a very rough neighborhood (it borders the Sudan's to the East, Chad to the North, and DRC to the South). Things came to a head in March when the former president Francois Bozizé was deposed by a group of Muslim militants (Séléka) whom instigated sectarian killings and human rights abuses against the largely Christian populace. This has resulted in the formation of self-defense groups (Anti-balaka meaning 'sword/machete' in the Sango language) formed to protect the victims. This conflict is complicated by the fact that there are claims of the Séléka getting support from mercenaries in Sudan and Chad.

On the 5th of December, the UN voted to allow the French to send 400 troops into the CAR who would augment the already present AU battalion of 3600. The French intend on increasing this number to 1200 troops in the coming days following a sudden outbreak of killings within the last fortnight of women and children by Séléka forces (meaning 'union' in the Sango language) that has resulted in 500 deaths and 189,000 fleeing their homes in Bangui. Fears of retaliatory attacks have become more pronounced leading both Burundi and Rwanda to pledge to send troops to the country. While the number of deaths might seem deceptively low for a nation of about 4.6 million, it only accounts for Bangui since correspondents have not been able to venture outside that area.

In a letter by Medecins Sans Frontieres to the UN humanitarian system, MSF has accused the UN of indifference to the plight of the victims. It states that in the year that this atrocity has unfolded UN aid officials have done nothing but collect data that is related to the fighting and not provided assistance to the displaced people sheltering on the same compound as the officials.
It is important to note that this is not "another Rwanda" as has been suggested by some. This is a power grab by a cabal of rebels that seeks to control the vast minerals that are present in CAR. It is not an attempt to rid CAR of its Christian population but rather an attempt to instill fear and submission by a belligerent group. While there may be what some UN officials have called the seeds of genocide this does not ipso facto mean that "another Rwanda" is at hand. It is however, an atrocity that is fast degenerating and a humanitarian catastrophe that is getting worse. The international community finds itself at a crossroads like it has on several occasions (Syria and Mali being the most recent). The French and the AU have taken a proactive role in trying to mitigate the situation but more is needed. The UN humanitarian system also has to step up and rise to the challenge.
This weekend the first signs of hope appeared. Michel Djotodja, the current president and former leader of the Séléka leader said that he is willing to negotiate with Anti-balaka forces. The only problem is that he barely has control of the capital city and some of his former fighters have gone their own way. This is coupled by the fact that no one is sure how much control the faction of Anti-balaka that is willing to negotiate is representative of the movement itself. All of this is compounded by the fact that Anti-balaka has no recognizable structure further throwing into doubt who the president is actually going to negotiate with. Is it simple? No. Is it hopeless? No. It will require some rolling up of sleeves by the UN, AU, France and possibly the UNSC. This development is, however, a small but positive step that has to be fostered and natured by the international community, the sooner the better
Wahutu Siguru is the 2013 Badzin Fellow in Holocaust and Genocide Studies and PhD candidate in the Sociology department at the University of Minnesota. Siguru's research interests are in the Sociology of Media, Genocide, Mass Violence and Atrocities (specifically on issues of representation of conflicts in Africa such as Darfur and Rwanda), Collective Memory, and perhaps somewhat tangentially Democracy and Development in Africa.

2013 Badzin Fellowship winner and PhD Sociology candidate Wahutu Siguru to present at the next HGMV workshop

"The Politics of Representation: Genocide, Mass Violence and Atrocities in the Media."
Wahutu Siguru
Holocaust Genocide & Mass Violence Studies Workshop (HGMV)
Thursday, October 31
3:00 p.m.
Room 710 Social Sciences Building

Wahutu Siguru's project takes a constructivist perspective on knowledge production in an attempt to explicate how knowledge about instances of mass violence, atrocities and genocide is produced and disseminated by the media. It begins from the understanding that representations are based on particular memory, social and knowledge structures leveraging multiple theories to investigate the effects of these on representations. This particular project is the first step towards a larger project that investigates differences and similarities in narratives about Rwanda and Darfur by the media in multiple countries within and outside of Africa.

Siguru's research interests are in the Sociology of Media, Genocide, Mass Violence and Atrocities (specifically on issues of representation of conflicts in Africa such as Darfur and Rwanda), Collective Memory, and perhaps somewhat tangentially Democracy and Development in Africa.

The workshop was founded in 2012 to foster interdisciplinary conversations on the subject areas of Holocaust studies, genocide and memory, peace and conflict studies, human rights, nationalism and ethnic violence, representations of violence and trauma, conflict resolution, transitional justice, historical consciousness and collective memory.

For more information about participation in the workshop please email Wahutau Siguru at siguru@umn.edu.

Perpetrator in Rwanda Genocide convicted in US Federal Courthouse.

Feds seek decade for NH woman over Rwanda genocide
June 29, 2013

CHGS Announces Symposium on Representation of Genocide

Representing Genocide: Media, Law and Scholarship
April 5 & 6, 2013
Mondale Hall -The Law School
Friday, April 5, 9:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m. Room 20
Saturday, April 6, 9:00 a.m. -3:30 p.m. Room 50
Free and open to the public. Registration closed. Walk ins welcome, space is limited. Registration on Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 9:30.




The symposium will address journalistic, judicial and social scientific depictions of atrocities with a focus on cases of the Holocaust, Darfur, and Rwanda. It seeks to explore the intersections between these different discursive fields and case studies to shed light on the increasing tension between the local and global representations and memories of mass murder.

The particular ways in which current genocides are represented have critical consequences for the responses and interventions offered by the rest of the world. This has been evident in both Darfur and Rwanda, where the framing of the events and the labels and definitions used by the media and scholarship to describe them (such as "tribal violence") had a detachment effect and did not favor any sort of intervention to halt the atrocities. Reversely, references to the Holocaust in the representation of contemporary mass atrocities--so-called "metaphorical bridging"--can also crucially impact the process of intervention, as the case of Bosnia has demonstrated.




Few attempts have been made to specifically highlight the connection between representations of past mass atrocities and their actual impact on unfolding events of mass violence. An examination of this urgent question is an essential component of global progress towards human rights goals and the prevention or reduction of future political violence. Moreover, while there is an important body of work on Holocaust memory as such, the symposium will explore when and how promoting public awareness and memory of mass atrocities through distinct institutions (the media, the judiciary and academic scholarship) can lead to effective anti-genocide policies.
Conference Organizers:
Alejandro Baer, Director and Stephen C. Feinstein Chair Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, University of Minnesota
Joachim Savelsberg, Professor of Sociology, University of Minnesota
Participating Scholars:
Fredrico Finchelstein, Associate Professor of History at the New School for Social Research and Eugene Lang College
John Hagan, John D. MacArthur Professor, Northwestern University
Jens Meierhenrich, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE/ Princeton University
Bella Mody, James de Castro Chair in Global Media Studies, Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Colorado
Mark Osiel, Aliber Family Chair in Law, University of Iowa
Devin Pendas, Associate Professor History, Boston College
Natan Sznaider, Professor of Sociology, Academic College of Tel-Aviv-Yaffo
Allan Thompson, Assistant Professor Journalism and Communication, Carleton University
Schedule: Schedule_Symposium Representing Genocide (1).pdf
The Symposium is made possible by the Wexler Special Events fund for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.
Sponsored by: Center for Austrian Studies, Center for German and European Studies, European Studies Consortium, the Human Rights Program, Institute for Global Studies, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law, Human Rights Center at the Law School, Department of Sociology, Department of German Scandinavian & Dutch, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Center for Jewish Studies, Department of History.

Norwegian court convicts Rwandan for role in 1994 Genocide

Norway: Rwandan Convicted for His Role in 1994 Genocide
2-14-2013

Sociology Ph.D. Candidate Hollie Nyseth Brehm to Present at CHGS Workshop

Interdisciplinary Workshop for Graduate Students and Faculty Holocaust, Genocide and Mass Violence Studies
Friday, January 25, 2013
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Room 710 Social Sciences Building

Hollie Nyseth Brehm will focus on two concurrent projects that she is pursuing, including her dissertation and a collaborative effort with Dr. Chris Uggen (Sociology). Both projects seek to better understand aspects of genocide. On Friday she will focus on the case of Rwanda and explore why certain regions in Rwanda saw more killings as well as why violence started comparatively earlier in some regions.

Read Hollie Nyseth Brehm's article The Crime of Genocide as seen in the CHGS December newsletter, posted on the Society Pages by clicking here.

If you are interested in participating in the workshop please contact Shannon Golden .

Updated schedule: CHGS Workshop schedule 1-21-2013.pdf

Preventing Mass Violence: The Expansion of R2P and the Challenge of Statebuilding

Jon Western, Associate Professor of International Relations at Mount Holyoke College

Thursday, March 29
3:30 p.m.
1314 Social Sciences


This talk will feature results from a research project that is situated in the literature on emerging norms and examines how and why the United States and the international community moved from failures to protect civilians from genocide and mass atrocities in Rwanda and Bosnia (prior to Srebrenica) to embark on ambitious liberal statebuilding efforts in Bosnia, Kosovo, East Timor, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and elsewhere. More broadly, the project examines how the doctrine of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) emerged in concept and expanded in scope to include a focus on capacity building and governance.
Theoretically, it presents an analysis of the various pathways in which new norms emerge and are applied to policy decisions. It also explores how those norms are contested and can regress amid policy setbacks, domestic politics, and changing claims of legitimacy.
Jon Western is Associate Professor of International Relations at Mount Holyoke College. His teaching and research focuses on U.S. foreign policy, military intervention, human rights and humanitarian affairs. His book, Selling Intervention and War: The Presidency, the Media, and the American Public, was published in 2005 by the Johns Hopkins University Press and his articles, book reviews, and essays have been published by journals including International Security, Harvard International Review, Global Dialogue, International Affairs, and Political Science Quarterly.
Western has served as a peace scholar-in-residence and the coordinator of the Dayton Upgrade Project at the United States Institute of Peace. He has also taught at Columbia University and George Washington University and served as a Balkans and East European specialist at the U.S. Department of State.
Presented by: The Department of Political Science, Department of Sociology, Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies.

Meet Eric Irivuzumugabe, author and Rwandan genocide survivor

Friday, October 28, 4:00 p.m.
University of Minnesota Bookstore in Coffman Memorial Union.

Eric Irivuzumugabe, author and founder of Humura Ministries, will discuss his book My Father, Maker of The Trees: How I Survived the Rwandan Genocide, on Friday, October 28 at 4:00 p.m. at the University of Minnesota Bookstore in Coffman Memorial Union.
About the book: My Father, Maker of The Trees is Irivuzumugabe's story of physical survival and spiritual rebirth as he recounts his experiences during the 1994 Tutsi genocide in Rwanda. Forced to spend fifteen days hiding in a cypress tree with little food or water to survive the worst of the attacks. Irivuzumugabe emerged determined to start a new life for himself and his two surviving brothers.
Irivuzumugabe is the founder of Humura Ministries, an organization that supports the orphans of genocide, through which he ministers to hundreds of fatherless children in need of hope.
Irivuzumugabe will sign copies of his book following the discussion.

Conference My Letter to the World: Narrating Human Rights Featuring a Lecture by Philip Gourevitch

Monday, October 10, 2011
Coffman Theater, Coffman Memorial Union

Conference 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Esther Freier Lecture by Philip Gourevitch 7:30 p.m.



"My Letter to the World: Narrating Human Rights" will be held on Monday, October 10, 2011, at the University of Minnesota to bring together a diverse group of writers, scholars, journalists, field workers, psychologists and others concerned with telling the stories of human rights abuses, genocide and atrocity across a historical and contemporary range of cultures and circumstances. In broad terms, the conference links literary work (specifically, memoir and the first person voice) with human rights testimony, scholarship and field work.
Co-hosted by the Human Rights Program, and the Creative Writing Program of the University of Minnesota.
"Salvage: Writing About Aftermaths from Rwanda to Abu Ghraib and Beyond"
Philip Gourevitch's harrowing nonfiction account of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families, won the 1998 National Book Critics' Circle Award. The long-time staff writer for The New Yorker has also published The Ballad of Abu Ghraib (2008) and A Cold Case (2001). Gourevitch edited The Paris Review from 2005 to 2010.
Free & open to the public. Sponsored by the Esther Freier Endowed Lectures in Literature and the one-day conference "My Letter to the World: Narrating Human Rights."
Sponsored by the Human rights Program and the Department of English
Co-sponsored by the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
For more information and the complete schedule please click here.

Watch free online world premiere of Raindrops Over Rwanda

Monday, July 18, 2011
SnagFilms

The genocide against Tutsi, during which more than one million people were killed in three months, happened less than a generation ago. The country still struggles to come to grips with the legacy of ethnic cleansing as both victims and perpetrators work towards unity and reconciliation.
Please contribute to these heroic efforts by watching the FREE online world premiere of RAINDROPS OVER RWANDA, a short film about the genocide and work of the Kigali Memorial Centre in Rwanda. Help RAINDROPS OVER RWANDA get 50,000 views on July 18, 2011 and Explore.org will donate up to $50,000 to the Kigali Memorial Centre to fund crucial education programs.
Watch the film by clicking here.

News from Africa

Rwanda: Dutch Court Sentences Genocide Suspect to Life
Article about Joseph Mpambara's sentencing, All Africa.com

South Sudan, the Newest Nation, Is Full of Hope and Problems
Article about South Sudan's independence, New York Times

Holocaust and Genocide News

News for Monday, December 13, 2010

Rwandan Genocide Finds Release In Photos

Ethnic strife can touch off unimaginable horrors. Rwanda is proof of that. A wave of genocidal murder there in 1994 left more than a million dead. Eight hundred thousand people were slaughtered in just 100 days.

Read full article

Appeals court reverses itself over Armenian suit

A federal appeals court on Friday reversed itself and now says the heirs of Armenians killed in the Turkish Ottoman Empire can seek payment from companies that sold their relatives life insurance.

Read full article

The past is present

A Boston University researcher stumbles upon a remarkable Holocaust artifact - and discovers that one of its creators lives just a few blocks away from him in Brookline.

Read full article

Rwanda: Former Businessman Sentenced to 30 Years By UN Genocide Tribunal

A former businessman accused of supervising the massacre of some 2,000 Rwandan Tutsi civilians taking shelter in a church was today convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison by the United Nations tribunal set up to deal with the 1994 genocide.

Gaspard Kanyarukiga, who was arrested in South Africa in July 2004, was found guilty of genocide and extermination as a crime against humanity, according to a press release by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).


Handing down the sentence, the court's Trial Chamber II announced it was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Mr. Kanyarukiga was criminally responsible for planning thAt least 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were murdered in the 1994 violencee killing of the Tutsis who took refuge in the Nyange Church.
According to the indictment presented to the Arusha-based court, which in 2008 decided not to turn over Mr. Kanyarukiga's case to Rwanda, in 1994 he transported police and members of the notorious Interahamwe militia to the church, in western Rwanda.
The police and militia poured fuel through the church's roof, set it on fire and then used guns and grenades to kill those seeking shelter inside. The defendant was accused of having supervised these events and then ordered the corpses to be removed and the church destroyed.
The indictment further alleged that the businessman held several meetings with local political and religious leaders where they discussed how to kill Tutsis.
Having found Mr. Kanyarukiga guilty of genocide, the Chamber dismissed the alternative charge of complicity in genocide.
At least 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were murdered in the 1994 violence in the tiny east African country.
allafrica.com

Rwanda: The Country Welcomes War Crimes Suspect's Arrest

by Alexandra Brangeon
13 October 2010
Allafrica.com

Rwanda has welcomed France's arrest of rebel leader Callixte Mbarushimana who is charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rwanda's Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama told RFI on Wednesday that it was a "step in the right direction". Survivors of the genocide said that this should not mean that his role in Rwandan genocide should be forgotten.


"We would have wished that he had been arrested under the warrant of arrest issued by the Rwandan government to face charges of genocide committed in Rwanda in 1994. This has not happened," says Karugarama.
"The French judicial authorities have arrested Callixte Mbarushimana under the basis of a warrant of arrest issued by the ICC [International Criminal Court]," which refer to alleged crimes committed in the Kivus, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Karugarama says this was not Rwanda's preferred option although he ruled out requesting an extradition order following his arrest.
Q&A - Rwanda's Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama
As long as there is some form of justice going on, I think we have to live with that
"I think once one process is going on it is important to give that process time to take its course and make appropriate decisions."
Survivors of the 1994 genocide have welcomed Mbarushimana's arrest, but said his part in the massacre should not be forgotten.
"His arrest in itself is good news, but it shouldn't mask his role in the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994," Theodore Simburudali, the head of Ibuka, the genocide survivors' association, told the AFP news agency.
The United States also hailed Mbarushimana's arrest. State Department spokesperson Philip Crowley said it "sends an important signal".
"The international community will not tolerate the FDLR's [Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda] continuing efforts to destabilize the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo," Crowley said in a statement.
Mbarushimana, who is a former United Nations employee, was arrested in Paris on Monday and faces five charges of crimes against humanity and six war crime charges for murders, rapes, torture and destruction of property in eastern DRC in 2009.
He is not on the list of genocide suspects sought by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.