The humanitarian tragedy of Uganda

“It is a genocide that has been committed! More than 200,000 have been killed – and the international community is still deciding what ought to be done! I begged them [the Security Council] to send troops…Unfortunately, let me say with great humility, I failed. It is a scandal! I am the first one to say it, and I am ready to repeat it. It is a failure not only for the United Nations, it is a failure for the entire international community!”

Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former Secretary General of the UN

Regrettable events, like genocides and mass killings of innocent people are the outcome of the structure of the Security Council. An eloquent example is what in happened in Rwanda between 1993 and 1994. In late 1993 the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) noticed that an extremist group of Hutus, one of the country’s main tribes, was preparing itself to attack the Tutsis, another ethnic group. In spite of these warnings, the Security Council did nothing to prevent the Hutus’ preparations for a general offensive. The members of the Security Council considered the country’s situation a minor affair. The genocide began on April 6, 1994. The first reaction of countries like Belgium was to evacuate its troops that were part from the UNAMIR from the country. After that the Security Council itself ordered the departure of most of the UNAMIR, leaving Rwanda helpless and lawless. Before the genocide started, there were 2,500 UNAMIR troops in Uganda; The number of troops after the bloodshed had ended was of 500.