WHO HAS THE ��RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT��

WHO HAS THE ��RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT��?

Joyce Apsel (New York University)

On Thursday 5 April 2006 a Roundtable entitled ��Responsibility to Protect�� Twelve years after the killings in Rwanda, the question remains: who is responsible for protecting civilians at risk? was held at United Nations headquarters in New York City sponsored by the Department of Public Information and non-Governmental Organizations (DPI-NGO). The speakers included individuals from Kigali and Darfur as well as experts and officials.

The session began with an excerpt from, ��Shooting Dogs��(BBC Films), a film depiction of the April 1994 experiences of a UN peacekeeping contingent in Rwanda who follow orders to abandon a school where 2500 Rwandans are seeking UN protection and subsequently the Rwandans are murdered. Issues raised by the film which were referred to throughout the Roundtable include the inadequate mandate and failure of the UN peacekeepers to protect Rwandans, racism, media coverage, the planned nature of the genocide, and the courage of a few individuals.

Eugenie Mukeshimana lived in Kigali during the Rwanda Genocide. She recalled that she did not realize the extent of the threat immediately. Two days after the killings began, she said, neighbors informed us how widespread the killing was and that all Tutsi were being killed. She described how she escaped from her house and went to a friend who was Hutu who turned her away and then she went from house to house. Who did you look for protection, she was asked? She recalled that we thought that the Belgians and UN were there to protect us; however, it turned out they were there for others (meaning Europeans and other foreigners).

Suad Mansour is a woman from Darfur who worked for Oxfam there. Most of her family is currently living in an internally displaced persons camp (IDP) in Darfur. She described going back to visit her family first to Chad and then entering into Sudan without the authorities being aware of it six months ago. She described how the Janjaweed burned the village where her family lived, took away their property and possessions, and killed her 28 year old pregnant sister in law. On her last visit she was able to sit in informal gatherings in IDP camps and talk to people. She described the difficult life conditions and insufficient food in the camp. She told of a group of women who left the IDP camp in order to collect firewood and disappeared. All nine women were finally found being abused in a Sudanese military camp. Suad asked, ��Who is responsible for protecting us from the government?��

Throughout the discussion, Suad emphasized the need to let the people have a say in whatever talks were going on and not to hold talks with the government alone which in fact further legitimizes and empowers Khartoum. She emphasized that the Sudan government takes advantage of this situation and people in the IDP camps feel hopeless and powerless.

Alison des Forges, special adviser to Human Rights Watch for the Great Lakes Region

and author of Leave None to Tell the Story (Human Rights Watch, 1999), was asked: ��Have we moved anywhere in terms of genocide since 1994?�� She responded that just as in the film, there were and are individuals who take individual action based on their moral conscience and then others follow or acquiesce and this is an important model. In responding to a question about who decides to intervene, Des Forges pointed out a number of factors to weigh in taking effective action. Often times, it is not clear what is the view from inside. Is a faction manipulating the view for their own advantage? Prevention is the preferable course. Assessing which of the grave violations of human rights around the world has the potential for genocide is difficult. Further, the question of how to mobilize political and social will remains a challenge. Des Forges also pointed out the necessity to demand better press coverage in contrast to the amount of misinformation and mislabeling. She recalled the press practice of labeling the ongoing genocide in Rwanda in 1994 as tribal rivalry or ethnic conflict.

Juan Mendez, the first UN special adviser on Genocide, responded to questions about his office and the current Darfur crisis. Mendez pointed out that his office has a difficult task to perform and that he has been to the Darfur region twice. However, just as the film showed, the African Union troops are not able to protect civilians unless violence is in front of them. Mendez stressed that there was not enough police protection and that the Sudanese government does not provide protection in the IDP camps and this generates further insecurity. At this point, he said, it appears that some of the Janjaweed have become part of the militias but the situation remains unclear. He emphasized that there were insufficient observers, police and other protective forces to protect the 1.7 million people in IDP camps.The African Union does not have the troop capacity and is 200 million dollars short of requested funds. Mendez encouraged regional organizations and emphasized the need for multilateralism.

Gregory Stanton, vice-president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars

and President of Genocide Watch followed up on questions of how to prevent genocide and work with governments. Stanton began by asking: Where do governments get their legitimacy from? From their own people. Therefore, if they fail or violate their people, they are illegitimate. He emphasized the need for the UN and others to recognize that there are legitimate and illegitimate governments. He pointed out that if the UN is paralyzed as it was in 1994, then it is important to go to regional organizations such as NATO, African Union and to individual states to take initiative.

Stanton pointed out that there were amazing parallels between the mistakes in Rwanda and what we are seeing unfold in Darfur. Stanton��s comments generated debate among panelists about issues of hegemonic states, viability of regional intervention, whether illegitimate governments can realistically be ignored, and disputes about the effectiveness of past individual state actions.

Stanton also pointed to the significance of the establishment of the ICC and the office of UN special adviser on genocide. For example, Juan Mendez intervened with the Cote D��Ivoire to stop promoting hate radio. Mendez reminded the gathering that (under the statutes of the International Criminal Court) governments can be prosecuted for hate radio.

Pierre Prosper, former US Ambassador at Large for war crimes, stated that part of the problem is looking to the Security Council to solve the problems. Prosper emphasized that the Security Council involves a slow process inherently. He stated it is advisable to look to neighbors and regional organizations for a more ��bottoms up�� approach. He stressed that for prevention there is a need to look ahead of time for a regional approach.

In conclusion, the questions remain: Who should take responsibility now to address the gross human rights violations and genocide in Darfur, the Democratic Republic of Congo and other places? As Suad Mansour from Darfur and Eugenie Mukeshimana from Rwanda kept asking, ��Who is going to help us?�� When I am the victim, who do I go to?��