Rwandan genocide

In Rwanda, the Hutu and Tutsi labels had a complex history, but colonial rule hardened them into more rigid ethnic categories. After independence in 1962, Tutsi communities experienced discrimination and periodic violence, and many people fled the country. In 1990 the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a movement formed largely by exiles, invaded from Uganda, starting a civil war. The Arusha Accords, signed in August 1993, sought to end the conflict through a power-sharing arrangement. Hutu extremists opposed the agreement, organized armed groups and spread propaganda that portrayed Tutsi civilians as enemies. The United Nations established a peacekeeping mission, UNAMIR, in October 1993 to support the peace process.

On the evening of 6 April 1994, a missile brought down a plane carrying Rwanda's president, Juvénal Habyarimana, and Burundi's president, Cyprien Ntaryamira, as it approached Kigali. The identity of those who fired the missile has not been conclusively established. Extremist leaders used the crisis to begin a planned campaign of mass killing. Tutsi civilians were hunted at roadblocks and murdered in homes, churches, schools and other places of refuge. Moderate Hutu politicians and others who opposed the campaign were also targeted. Soldiers, gendarmes, officials, militia groups and some civilians took part; this does not make Hutu people as a whole responsible for the genocide. Radio propaganda helped incite and coordinate violence. The killings continued for roughly 100 days. Historical estimates differ, but commonly cited accounts report more than 800,000 victims, most of them Tutsi, while some institutional estimates approach one million.

The killings occurred while UNAMIR was deployed in Rwanda, but the mission had a limited mandate and member states did not provide an effective response to the escalating crisis. On 21 April the force was reduced from 2,165 personnel to 270. A later decision to reinforce the mission did not translate into a timely deployment able to stop the main wave of killings. The RPF resumed its military advance and captured Kigali on 4 July. Its subsequent victory brought the genocide to an end later that month. The killings and military advance produced a large refugee crisis, with people fleeing to neighboring states and continuing instability across the region.

The aftermath included national trials, international prosecution and efforts to rebuild social and political life. On 8 November 1994, the United Nations Security Council established the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), based in Arusha, Tanzania, to prosecute people responsible for genocide and other serious crimes committed in 1994. In 1998 the tribunal convicted Jean-Paul Akayesu, a former mayor, in a landmark case: it was the first conviction for genocide by an international court. Rwanda also used national courts and community-based gacaca courts to address the large number of cases. The ICTR completed its work in 2015.