The United Nations is an international organization established in 1945 whose purpose is to maintain international peace and security. However, in extreme cases of global disarray, such as the Rwandan Genocide in 1994 and the ongoing Genocide in Darfur, it seems as if the UN did the complete opposite. By comparing both the military and humanitarian aid provided by the UN during these events, we will determine just how successful and/or adequate their efforts were. In addition to aid provided, we will look into the aftermath of these genocides to prove that the UN’s efforts were more successful in Rwanda versus Darfur.
The Rwandan Genocide was an “ethnic cleansing” involving the Hutu majority and Tutsi minority tribes that spanned from April …show more content…
It is safe to say that after such tragedy in Rwanda, the UN would be better equipped to resolve this issue, however that was not the case. In Genocide in Darfur: Investigating the Atrocities in the Sudan, an academic source form Samuel Totten, a chronological timeline of the Darfur Crisis is given that shows that in Early to Mid February of 2004, internally displaced persons (IDPs) were reporting to the UN that the humanitarian aid being provided to them (eg. food, water, etc) was being regularly stolen from them by the rebels or “Janjaweed”. Surprisingly, even after reports reached UN, the timeline shows that this issue was still occurring in May and that the number of IDPs has significantly increased yet the resources are dramatically decreasing. Additionally, In an eyewitness testimony featured in a 2013 report by ForeignPolicy.com, “[The peacekeepers] made no visible effort to prevent the abduction of IDP [internally displaced persons]...They just stood watching as the gunmen drove away [from] the buses carrying the IDPs” This statement is in reference to the events of March 24, 2013, in which a convoy of United Nations peacekeepers and displaced residents of Darfur were captured by rebels and the peacekeepers didn’t intercede. Yet this attitude taken the UN in response to the crisis in Darfur has been ongoing since the start of it. In a 2006 political cartoon by Patrick Chappatte of Int’l Herald Tribune which depicts a UN worker claiming “Peacekeepers will come when there’s peace”, in response to a victim’s claim of “Peace will come when there are peacekeepers” illustrates that the UN is avoiding the problem and doesn’t plan on intervening. Ultimately, the crisis in Darfur is ongoing and has yet to cease even after 14 years, meaning proper actions aren’t being taken to end
The Rwandan Genocide was an “ethnic cleansing” involving the Hutu majority and Tutsi minority tribes that spanned from April …show more content…
It is safe to say that after such tragedy in Rwanda, the UN would be better equipped to resolve this issue, however that was not the case. In Genocide in Darfur: Investigating the Atrocities in the Sudan, an academic source form Samuel Totten, a chronological timeline of the Darfur Crisis is given that shows that in Early to Mid February of 2004, internally displaced persons (IDPs) were reporting to the UN that the humanitarian aid being provided to them (eg. food, water, etc) was being regularly stolen from them by the rebels or “Janjaweed”. Surprisingly, even after reports reached UN, the timeline shows that this issue was still occurring in May and that the number of IDPs has significantly increased yet the resources are dramatically decreasing. Additionally, In an eyewitness testimony featured in a 2013 report by ForeignPolicy.com, “[The peacekeepers] made no visible effort to prevent the abduction of IDP [internally displaced persons]...They just stood watching as the gunmen drove away [from] the buses carrying the IDPs” This statement is in reference to the events of March 24, 2013, in which a convoy of United Nations peacekeepers and displaced residents of Darfur were captured by rebels and the peacekeepers didn’t intercede. Yet this attitude taken the UN in response to the crisis in Darfur has been ongoing since the start of it. In a 2006 political cartoon by Patrick Chappatte of Int’l Herald Tribune which depicts a UN worker claiming “Peacekeepers will come when there’s peace”, in response to a victim’s claim of “Peace will come when there are peacekeepers” illustrates that the UN is avoiding the problem and doesn’t plan on intervening. Ultimately, the crisis in Darfur is ongoing and has yet to cease even after 14 years, meaning proper actions aren’t being taken to end