the United Nations Security Council

The situation in Rwanda had been unstable within the 1990s, when there were intense
ethnic tensions between the Hutu and the Tutsi. Attributed to far-reaching colonial-era
divisions and historical grievances, the political instability eventually led to a devastating
crisis.
The ethnic groups in Rwanda are prominently the Tutsis and the Hutu, accounting for 14%
and 85% of the population, respectively. From the end of World War 1 to 1962, the area of
nowadays Rwanda was ruled by Empire colonial belge. Under the reign of Belgium, the
Tutsis were empowered to administer the national affairs, which caused a rift between these
two ethnic groups. As the Belgian government withdrew from Rwanda, the Hutus revolted
against the rule of the Tutsis, launching the Rwanda Revolution and leading to independence.
The outbreak of conflict between the Armed Forces of the Government of Rwanda and the
Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) happened across the border of Rwanda and Uganda in
October 1990. Despite the Arusha Peace Agreement in August 1993, the Rwanda Crisis still
occurred on 4 April 1994 owing to resentment toward each other from the two sides.
In response to a request for the United Nations Security Council's assistance in the
implementation of the agreement from both sides, the United Nations Assistance Mission for
Rwanda (UNAMIR) was thus established, being responsible for the supervision of
compliance with the ceasefire agreement and ensuring the security in Kigali, the capital of
Rwanda. However, the occurrence of the genocide proved that the failure of this special
mission and its afterward adjustments deviated from the expected results, whereby the
UNAMIR mandate malfunctioned in the settlement of the crisis. In addition, the indifference
of the international community also exacerbated the seriousness of the issue. It is argued that
a profound tragedy could have been averted if global awareness had been raised and troops
had been deployed.