Position Paper by the
Delegate of
The United States of America
Agenda – The Rwandan Genocide
Before the
United Nations Security Council
MasterMUN 2018
Country Name: United States of America
Committee Name: United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
Agenda: The Rwandan Genocide
The 20th century has been a time of chaos. It has seen blood flowing in the name of
the First World War, then the Second World War and now, the latest potential
addition to that list, would be this Rwandan crisis. The Rwandan crisis turns out to
be just like every other civil war where frictions between two parties, in this case,
the Hutus and the Tutsis have resulted in the outbreak of a civil war in the streets of
Rwanda. The assassination of the Rwandan President, Juvénal Habyarimana and his
Burundian counterpart, Cyprien Ntaryamira on the evening of 6 April 1994 was the
catalyst for the Rwandan Genocide. The airplane carrying the Rwandan and the
Burundian president was shot down as it prepared to land in Kigali, Rwanda.
Sceneries of bloody atrocities have started hours right after the news of the
dismissal of the president. However, before the murder of the Rwandan president,
he tried to end the civil war by signing the Arusha Accords in Arusha, Tanzania on
August 4, 1993, which were a UN-sponsored agreement between the Rwandan
Patriotic Front (RPF), a predominantly Tutsi rebel group, and the Government of
Rwanda. Rwanda is the only country in the world that has a United Nations
Peacekeeping Mission dedicated particularly just for its own domestic crisis named
the “United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda (UNAMIR)” which was established
in 5 October, 1993. This goes on to show how this sudden outbreak of people with
machetes in their hands, due to the assassination of their president was something
that could’ve and should’ve been avoided with the help of the International
Community.
The United States of America, being one of the most integral and prominent actors
in this issue from the very beginning, wishes to solve this crisis as soon as possible
in order to reduce the amount of casualty caused as there are evident signs of a
genocide appearing in the near future. We believe that there are certain actions that
need to be taken as of right now to bring this potential massacre to a halt:
 The US, along with other leaders of the free world, feels the urge to provide
the resources necessary for the implementation of its expanded mandate of
the UNAMIR.
 A larger number of UN peacekeepers should be deployed immediately in order
to take control of the current killing spree.
 We believe in the dedicated need for a ceasefire in Rwanda which needs to be
enforced with the help of the international community as planned in the
Arusha Accords.
 We also realise the need to put the rest of the clauses of the Arusha Accords
into effect, even if it calls for the need to threaten the Rwandan government
of putting an economic sanction against them from the free world.
The United States of America thinks that with the co-operation of the Rwandan
government and the assistance of the international community, even days as bad
as the 6th of April can be overcome.
Bibliography:
http://peacemaker.un.org/rwandapeaceagreementrpf93
http://www.gov.rw/THEARUSHAPEACE-AGREEMENT?lang=en