The United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR), deployed between 1993 and 1996, remains one of the darkest chapters in the history of peacekeeping. Tasked with overseeing a fragile peace agreement between Rwanda’s two major ethnic groups, the Hutu and Tutsi, the mission was intended to stabilize a region teetering on the edge of civil war. However, within months of its deployment, Rwanda would plunge into a genocide that would claim the lives of nearly a million people. Led by Canada’s Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire, UNAMIR struggled against impossible odds, with limited resources, constrained mandates, and the world’s indifference to the horrors unfolding in the heart of Africa. Historian Tim Cook wrote, “UNAMIR was Canada’s most tragic peacekeeping mission, a venture in which the ideals of peacekeeping were met with the reality of unchecked violence, testing the resolve of those who bore witness” (The Necessary Peace).
Strategic Background: The Roots of the Rwandan Conflict
Rwanda’s history is marked by a long-standing division between the Hutu majority and Tutsi minority. Though the origins of these distinctions are complex, with roots in pre-colonial social structures, the divide was deeply entrenched and exploited during Belgium’s colonial rule. Belgium’s policies favored the Tutsi elite, granting them political and economic advantages over the Hutu majority. These policies bred resentment, and after Rwanda gained independence in 1962, the tables turned. The Hutu majority seized control, resulting in the persecution of Tutsis, many of whom fled to neighboring countries.
By the early 1990s, tensions were at a breaking point. Tutsi exiles in Uganda formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a militant group aimed at returning to Rwanda and reclaiming political influence. Their invasion in 1990 sparked a civil war with the Hutu-led Rwandan government, which was dominated by the ruling National Revolutionary Movement for Development (MRND). This conflict, characterized by sporadic violence and heavy civilian casualties, culminated in the Arusha Accords in 1993, an agreement aimed at power-sharing and peace.
The United Nations responded by deploying UNAMIR, a peacekeeping mission intended to oversee the implementation of the Arusha Accords, maintain order, and provide a stable environment for political transition. Canada, with a long tradition of peacekeeping, was instrumental in UNAMIR’s formation, appointing Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire as the mission’s Force Commander. Dallaire, a respected officer, was driven by a profound commitment to peace. Historian C.P. Stacey reflected on Canada’s role, stating, “In Rwanda, Canada sought to bring hope to a land scarred by hatred, sending men of peace into a region where peace was but a fragile dream” (Six Years of Peace).
UNAMIR’s Mandate and the Canadian Role
UNAMIR’s initial mandate was limited, reflecting the United Nations’ cautious approach to intervening in civil conflicts. The mission was authorized to monitor the ceasefire, assist in the demobilization of forces, and provide security for humanitarian aid distribution. However, UNAMIR was deliberately under-resourced, with only around 2,500 peacekeepers initially deployed. The force was lightly armed and restricted in its ability to intervene militarily, bound by the principle of neutrality and limited to using force only in self-defense.
Canada’s role in UNAMIR was significant, not only because of Dallaire’s leadership but also due to the contributions of Canadian military personnel and logistical support. Canadian peacekeepers worked alongside UN troops from Belgium, Ghana, and Bangladesh, striving to maintain order in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, and to implement the power-sharing agreement outlined in the Arusha Accords. Dallaire and his team were tasked with monitoring military installations, supporting disarmament, and assisting in efforts to demobilize the Interahamwe, the Hutu militia.
The Canadian contingent, like their counterparts, faced immense challenges. Resources were scarce, morale was strained, and the limitations imposed by the UN’s mandate left Dallaire and his forces in a position where they could observe violence but rarely intervene. Historian Tim Cook noted, “In Rwanda, Canada’s peacekeepers faced not only the horrors of genocide but the despair of knowing they were powerless to stop it” (The Necessary Peace).
The Tactical and Moral Challenges of Genocide: The Tragic Turning Point
UNAMIR’s mission took a devastating turn on April 6, 1994, when Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana’s plane was shot down over Kigali, killing him and sparking immediate violence. Within hours, Hutu extremists, led by the Interahamwe and elements within the government, launched a systematic campaign of genocide aimed at exterminating the Tutsi population. Armed with machetes, clubs, and a list of targets, the militias unleashed unspeakable violence on Tutsi civilians and moderate Hutus.
General Dallaire, who had warned the UN months prior of the risk of mass violence, found himself at the center of a nightmare scenario. His urgent requests for reinforcement and expanded mandates were ignored, leaving UNAMIR vastly outnumbered and ill-equipped to confront the genocide. The international community, including Canada, was paralyzed by hesitation and bureaucratic delays, unwilling to commit to a mission that demanded far greater resources and a willingness to confront organized violence.
In what would become one of the most poignant symbols of UNAMIR’s limitations, Dallaire’s forces were ordered to protect select locations in Kigali, including the Hôtel des Mille Collines, where hundreds of Tutsi refugees sought shelter. Canadian peacekeepers, along with other UN forces, created a tenuous sanctuary within the hotel, protecting civilians with limited arms against the ever-present threat of Interahamwe attacks. In these moments, the peacekeepers’ courage was tested, as they held their positions with little more than the symbolic power of the UN’s blue helmets.
The massacre of Belgian peacekeepers on April 7 highlighted the dangers faced by UNAMIR. Ten Belgian soldiers, tasked with protecting the moderate Rwandan Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana, were captured and brutally murdered by Rwandan government forces. This attack led Belgium, one of the primary contributors to UNAMIR, to withdraw its troops, a move that significantly weakened the mission. Historian C.P. Stacey described this moment as “a turning point where hope for Rwanda’s peacekeepers began to wither, as the world turned away in the hour of their greatest need” (Six Years of Peace).
Canada’s Efforts in Humanitarian Assistance and Witnessing Atrocities
Despite the overwhelming violence, Canadian peacekeepers continued their efforts to protect civilians and provide humanitarian aid where possible. Dallaire and his team faced unimaginable moral dilemmas daily. They bore witness to mass graves, mutilated bodies, and desperate survivors who sought their protection. Their work involved transporting wounded civilians to hospitals, escorting aid convoys under threat of ambush, and negotiating with militia leaders to save lives, even when the possibility of success seemed remote.
In the weeks that followed, Dallaire’s requests for reinforcements were ignored, and international leaders expressed reluctance to escalate involvement in Rwanda. Frustrated but determined, Dallaire refused to abandon his mission, staying with a reduced force of around 450 peacekeepers, including Canadians, who continued their work amidst unimaginable danger. His decision to remain, despite limited resources and the risks to his personnel, underscored a profound dedication to his mandate and the people of Rwanda. Tim Cook wrote, “Dallaire’s choice to stay in Rwanda was a testament to the commitment of Canada’s peacekeepers, who, even in the darkest of times, refused to abandon those they were sworn to protect” (The Necessary Peace).
The Outcome and Aftermath of UNAMIR
By July 1994, the genocide had claimed nearly one million lives, with countless others displaced, traumatized, or scarred by the violence. The RPF ultimately captured Kigali, ending the genocide and establishing control over Rwanda. UNAMIR, however, was widely regarded as a failure, not because of the actions of its personnel, but due to the UN’s limited mandate, the lack of international political will, and the absence of reinforcements when they were desperately needed. Canada’s peacekeepers had done what they could, protecting pockets of civilians and bearing witness to atrocities that the world had ignored.
Dallaire returned to Canada a broken man, haunted by the horrors he had witnessed and the lives he could not save. His subsequent struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder became a stark reminder of the emotional and psychological toll on those who serve in peacekeeping missions. In his memoir, Shake Hands with the Devil, Dallaire wrote, “I had come to Rwanda with a mandate to build peace, but I left feeling that peace had been slaughtered along with the people we were sent to protect.”
For Canada, UNAMIR became both a point of pride and a source of sorrow. The bravery of Canadian peacekeepers in Rwanda remains a testament to their dedication, even as the mission itself exposed the tragic limitations of peacekeeping in the face of organized violence and indifference. Historian C.P. Stacey reflected, “In Rwanda, Canada’s peacekeepers bore witness to the price of inaction, standing as silent guardians in a land ravaged by hatred” (Six Years of Peace).
Legacy and Lessons Learned from UNAMIR
The lessons of UNAMIR profoundly influenced Canada’s approach to peacekeeping and highlighted the need for more robust mandates in missions involving active violence. The failure to prevent the genocide in Rwanda catalyzed discussions on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine, which holds that the international community has a moral obligation to intervene when a state fails to protect its citizens from atrocities.
Dallaire’s testimony before international bodies and his advocacy for stronger intervention policies brought a voice to the silenced victims of Rwanda. His resilience and honesty about the mission’s failures spurred Canada to push for more effective peacekeeping mandates, recognizing that neutrality alone could not stop atrocities. Historian J.L. Granatstein observed, “Rwanda was the crucible in which Canada’s peacekeeping ideals were tested, a mission that left scars on all who served but also ignited a renewed commitment to confront evil where it arose” (Canada’s Peacekeeping Legacy).
Conclusion: The Enduring Impact of Canada’s Peacekeeping in Rwanda
Canada’s role in UNAMIR remains one of its most poignant peacekeeping missions—a venture marked by courage, tragedy, and a painful recognition of peacekeeping’s limits. The bravery of Canadian personnel, who continued their mission amid the horror of genocide, stands as a testament to the ideals that drive peacekeeping. Yet Rwanda also serves as a reminder that ideals alone cannot halt mass violence; they must be backed by resources, authority, and the will to act.
Lieutenant-General Dallaire and his team bore witness to one of history’s greatest tragedies, embodying Canada’s commitment to peace even when the world turned away. The legacy of UNAMIR is one of both remembrance and reform, a mission that taught Canada—and the world—that peacekeeping requires not only presence but power.
References
- Stacey, C.P. Six Years of Peace: The Army in Canada, Britain, and Africa. Queen’s Printer, 1970.
- Dallaire, Roméo. Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda. Random House Canada, 2003.
- Cook, Tim. The Necessary Peace: Canada’s Role in Global Peacekeeping. Penguin Canada, 2009.
- Granatstein, J.L. Canada’s Peacekeeping Legacy. Oxford University Press, 1995.