Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Rwanda – History – Civil War, 1994'

The 20th century has witnessed several wars and genocides worldwide. Notable examples include the Armenian and Jews genocides which took place during World War I and World War II respectively. The Rwandan genocide of 1994 is a more recent example. These wars and genocides have impacted on the socio-economic and demographic transition with resounding crisis. The present study focused on the Rwandan genocide which affected households and families by reducing the fertility rate. Hence the fertility transition in Rwanda was analyzed for the period before, during and after genocide.

Ce travail est consacré au Tribunal Pénal International pour le Rwanda (TPIR), une juridiction ad hoc créée par le Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU le 8 novembre 1994.

Le fil conducteur de la thèse interroge la manière dont le Tribunal produit des archives. Comment une institution en devenir, produit-elle ses sources ?Cette interrogation entraîne deux questionnements :D’une part, comment analyser le devenir ou la constitution d’un Tribunal ?D’autre part, quelles sont, précisément, ces sources ?

Ces deux axes correspondent à la structuration de ce travail.

Dans la première partie, nous avons voulu mettre en exergue les débats et acteurs qui ont accompagné la création du Tribunal. En croisant les sources issues des archives des procès, des États, des organisations internationales ou des ONG, ainsi que par des entretiens, elle propose une entrée en matière concrète de l’histoire du Tribunal. Pourquoi crée-t-on ce Tribunal ?Quels sont les débats qui l’accompagnent ?Quels en sont les acteurs ?Ce retour sur les débats qui ont modelé le TPIR a permis de mettre en lumière un balisage du terrain judiciaire impliquant une grande diversité d’acteurs et de facteurs.

La deuxième partie, « Le procès Akayesu », propose une étude micro-historique du premier procès, débuté en janvier 1997 et clôturé en septembre 1998. Comment le procès a-t-il fonctionné au jour-le-jour ?Qui en sont les acteurs ?Comment s’est opérée la lecture judiciaire des faits qui se sont déroulés dans la commune de Taba, dont le bourgmestre, Jean-Paul Akayesu, était jugé ?Nous proposons dans cette deuxième partie un travail de contextualisation des sources issues du procès en interrogeant le dispositif et le formatage judiciaires qui sont à l’œuvre à tous les stades de la procédure. Par une approche fondée sur les archives judiciaires du procès, l’objectif est de mettre en lumière les différentes narrations et les dynamiques du procès. Si notre démarche a pris comme point focal ce premier procès, nous tentons constamment de le replacer dans un contexte élargi. Ce travail a voulu amorcer une ouverture vers l’étude d’autres procès, en mettant en exergue les ramifications de ce procès avec d’autres affaires. À travers cette contextualisation, nous avons également souhaité interroger, en historienne, la manière dont on peut se servir de ces sources. Nous avons en effet voulu aller au-delà de la critique des sources, afin de mettre en œuvre un essai d’histoire au plus près du terrain et portant sur la commune et la région concernées dans le procès.

Doctorat en Histoire, art et archéologie
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Bachelors
Arts and Sciences
Political Science

Large-scale humanitarian crises in foreign countries raise the question of whether or not other countries have a duty to alleviate that suffering. In extreme cases, humanitarian intervention, that is: military intervention for the purpose of alleviating human suffering, is sometimes advocated as the morally required course of action. This thesis suggests that while the international community has a general moral responsibility to prevent and ameliorate humanitarian crises there is no simple duty of military humanitarian intervention. Hitherto, the question has typically been treated as a matter of either moral or legal principle. This thesis argues that empirical factors, which affect the international community's ability to carry out interventions effectively, have not been given their due weight in the debate. On the basis of evaluations of international responses to crises in Somalia and Rwanda, 1992 - 1994, it is suggested that a range of factors undermine the efficacy of humanitarian interventions. These factors include the impact of state interests, the effects of domestic politics in intervening states and, contrary to expectations, the role of humanitarian considerations in decision making on intervention. By showing the limitations of a simplistic view of a duty of humanitarian intervention the thesis seeks to contribute to reconciling idealism with realism in international crisis-responses. Based on sound moral and political judgment military interventions in humanitarian crises would hopefully be less ambitious and ultimately more effective.

Depuis le début des années quatre-vingt, la petite localité de Kibeho - un hameau particulièrement difficile d’accès situé aux confins d’une région rurale du sud-ouest du Rwanda, à environ deux cents kilomètres de Kigali - s’est muée en une destination de pèlerinage prisée par de nombreux Catholiques rwandais et, désormais, étrangers. L’origine de ce changement de nature du lieu se confond avec les apparitions de la Vierge (mais aussi du Christ et d’autres personnages du « panthéon » catholique) dont ont été favorisées plusieurs jeunes filles scolarisées au collège catholique local au début des années quatre-vingt, puis un certain nombre d’adolescents des environs. De spontanés et irréguliers qu’ils étaient dans les premières années du phénomène, encore liés aux performances publiques des voyants qui bénéficiaient des apparitions à heures fixes sur un podium surélevé, les déplacements d’individus se sont graduellement organisés. Aujourd’hui, à Kibeho, les apparitions publiques ont pris fin. Les pèlerins, qu’ils appartiennent à l’un ou l’autre mouvement d’Action catholique ou à un groupe de prière et de pèlerinage né des apparitions, se regroupent dans différents centres urbains du pays pour rejoindre le sanctuaire de Notre-Dame des Douleurs, érigé suite à la reconnaissance des apparitions par l’Eglise catholique en 2001 et en perpétuelle expansion depuis lors.

En 2001, la déclaration de reconnaissance mentionne, parmi les signes de crédibilité des apparitions, « la journée du 15 août 1982 qui fut marquée notamment, contre toute attente, par des visions effroyables, qui dans la suite se sont avérées prophétiques au vu des drames humains vécus au Rwanda et dans l’ensemble des pays de notre région des Grands Lacs ». Cette lecture officielle qui confère un horizon de sens aux événements, instituant la prophétie en des termes choisis permettant d’y entrevoir le génocide comme l’hécatombe du choléra dans les camps de réfugiés du Congo, est diversement négociée par les acteurs locaux, même si la conviction de la réalisation d’une prophétie est quasi-unanime. Du point de vue des pèlerins, les apparitions demeurent relativement problématiques. Elles exigent de chacun qu’il négocie sa position en fonction d’une représentation de l’orthodoxie constamment réévaluée dans les limites de ce qui est expérimenté et affirmé comme une identité catholique. Cette difficulté est notamment due à la multiplicité des individus qui ont revendiqué ou revendiquent encore des visions ou apparitions, alors que seules trois jeunes filles ont été reconnues par l’Eglise catholique en 2001.

Après avoir soigneusement défini le cadre socio-historique des apparitions rwandaises, en abordant la question depuis le point de vue de voyants non reconnus - dont l’une expatriée en Belgique - et de ceux qui leur sont proches, la thèse propose une analyse des discours par lesquels ceux-ci se définissent et négocient la légitimité de leur pratique religieuse. Une attention particulière a été portée aux outils stéréotypés de la critique (sexualité, politique, vénalité…), mobilisés dans le cadre des tensions et conflits qui opposent différents acteurs individuels et collectifs. Par ailleurs, les mécanismes qui président aux rhétoriques de la construction de soi ont été mis en lumière, notamment par le biais des récits de guerre qui fondent une identité de survivant liée à la conviction d’une intervention mariale. Ce processus se confond souvent avec ceux qui président à la construction du pouvoir de la Vierge, et donc des voyants. Finalement, au travers de l’analyse des représentations touchant notamment à la prophétie du génocide et de la guerre civile, les nouveaux rapports au national se font jour, les violences des années nonante étant intégrées dans un schéma biblique qui opère un basculement significatif :parce que le Rwanda serait touché de plein fouet par la Mal, il a été choisi par Dieu et par la Vierge comme noyau de la Nouvelle Evangélisation. À travers l’analyse du rapport au divin, à l’autorité, aux représentations de la modernité que les mots des acteurs reflètent, c’est le catholicisme vécu qui s’éclaire à l’ombre du sanctuaire et de son appareil médiatique foisonnant, ce catholicisme empirique dont la richesse se renouvelle à chaque « enculturation » comme au passage des générations successives et dont il importe, pour l’anthropologie comme pour l’histoire du christianisme, d’approcher l’infinie variété.

Doctorat en Philosophie
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Orientador: Andrei Koerner
Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciencias Humanas
Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-11T01:52:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marques_IvanContente_M.pdf: 767815 bytes, checksum: 6ec7092e0e762c66283af8c6bcc55128 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008
Resumo: Este trabalho se propõe a estudar os debates acerca das intervenções humanitárias e sua relação com os conceitos de legalidade e legitimidade nas relações internacionais. Para isso, partiremos do início desta discussão que ocorreu antes da formação e da consolidação dos Estados nacionais e o fortalecimento do princípio da soberania, e passaremos pelos impactos causados pela nova ordem jurídica internacional criada pela Organização das Nações Unidas. Isso trará subsídios para a análise da situação do combate às crises humanitárias nos anos 1990 sob a ótica da intervenção. Como exemplo da atuação do Conselho de Segurança das Nações Unidas, investigaremos dois casos emblemáticos de intervenções humanitárias deste período: o genocídio de Ruanda, em 1994, e os ataques da OTAN no Kosovo, em 1999. Dessa forma, levantaremos o entendimento atual sobre o tema, demonstrando o dilema entre o dever moral de salvar vidas em risco e o impedimento legal de fazê-lo dado o sistema jurídico internacional vigente. Por fim, apresentaremos a teoria ¿Responsabilidade de Proteger¿ que tem a pretensão de dar respostas ao problema da aceitação das intervenções humanitárias como prática legítima nas relações internacionais
Abstract: This work proposes to study the debates on humanitarian intervention and its relation with concepts of validity and legitimacy on international relations. For that, it will start from the beginning of this discussion which occurred before the constitution and consolidation of national states and the strengthen of the sovereignty principle, and goes through the impacts caused by the new international legal order created by the United Nations. This will support the analysis of the humanitarian crisis in the 90's under the optic of intervention. As an example of the United Nations Security Council performance, it will investigate two emblematic cases of humanitarian intervention of the period: Rwanda's genocide, in 1994, and NATO¿s air strikes on Kosovo, in 1999. From this perspective, it will rise the present understanding on this issue, bringing up the dilemma between the moral duty of saving lives jeopardized by the scourge of war and the legal bar of doing it considering the international legal system in vigor. At last, it will present the ¿responsibility to protect¿ theory which intends to provide solutions to the problem of acceptance of humanitarian intervention as a legitimate practice on international relations
Mestrado
Instituições, Processos e Atores

This thesis attempts to reconcile the ‘two Rwandas’ which dominate contemporary scholarship, and seem on first glance utterly incommensurable: the inspirational developmental donor darling, and the brutal police state ruled by a shadowy ethnic clique. It argues both sides capture something, but fail to give a fair assessment of the mercurial system of political order constructed by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) following the Genocide of 1994. This system is a durably strong state with exceptionally high levels of societal penetration capable of delivering order and other public goods, with a ruling party in a hegemonic position with a degree of medium-term stability, despite (and because of) its illiberal repressive character. Such a system is only possible because of the extremely unusual sociology of the RPF itself, forged in the refugee camps of Uganda and the Ugandan Bush War, and the structural constraints on rule within Rwanda. With these resources, the RPF has successfully made the transition from guerilla movement to hegemonic civilian political party, created bureaucratic institutions of government which penetrate to the lowest level, and hugely profitable ‘party-statals’ which co-exist alongside functioning competitive markets. Such successes are not disconnected from the violence, repression, and extra-judicial coercion which remain crucial to the regime. Analyses which think the positive aspects of Rwanda’s current ‘miracle’ can be mimicked without the accompanying domination and autocracy are engaging in wishful thinking. Crucially, given how distinctive the enabling conditions for Rwanda’s current political dispensation are, the extent to which Rwanda can be a policy exemplar or ‘best-practice’ for other African states to follow is in any case seriously overstated.

Under det nyligen avslutade kriget i Irak, 2003, har kriget inom den fjärde arenan,informationsoperationer, blivit påtaglig. Vilken kapacitet har Ryssland inom denna arena?Syftet med uppsatsen är att lägga en grund till fördjupad kunskap om ryskainformationsoperationer, dels vad doktrinerna uttrycker men även praktiskt genomförande.Uppsatsen inleds med en analys av det första Tjetjenienkriget 1994 – 1996 och däreftermilitära doktrinen samt doktrinen om informationssäkerhet, båda undertecknade år 2000.Genom en analys av det andra Tjetjenienkriget, 1999 – , redovisas vilken ”Lessons Learned”som har skett mellan de två krigen via doktrinerna. I min påföljande diskussion och syntesredovisas vilken kurs Ryssland har lagt ut för informationsoperationer.I arbetet utnyttjar jag en deskriptiv metod med induktiv slutledning. Beskriven teori,manöverteorin, samt analysverktyg, OODA-loopen, och de där dragna slutsatser kommer attutnyttjas i en diskussion om det resultat som min kvalitativa textanalys ger. I min diskussionsvarar jag på ställda frågor och verifiera eller falsifierar de i utredningen ställda hypoteserna.
During the last war in Iraq, the war of Information Operations has been evident.What capacity does Russia have in this arena?The purpose of this essay is to lay the foundations for deeper knowledge about theRussian information operations, in doctrines as well as in reality. This is donethrough an analysis of the 1st Chechnya War 1994-96. Thereafter, the militarydoctrine and the doctrine of information security are analysed, both signed in2000. Through an analysis of the 2nd Chechnya War, one can clearly see theprogress, lessons learned, from the 1st War to the 2nd based on the doctrines. In thefollowing discussion and synthesis, I account for the policy Russia has takenregarding Information Operations.During my essay, I use a descriptive method with an inductive conclusion.Described theory, manoeuvre theory and a tool of analysis (the OODA-loop) withconclusions will be used in a discussion about the result of my qualitative textualcommentary. The discussion will answer questions asked and verify or falsify thestipulated hypothesis.
Avdelning: ALB - Slutet Mag 3 C-upps.Hylla: Upps. ChP 01-03

Le 22 juin 1994, le Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU vote la résolution 929 autorisantle déploiement d’une force multinationale humanitaire, neutre et impartiale au Rwandaayant pour mission de mettre fin aux massacres. Concrètement, c’est la France, àl’initiative de ce projet, qui va assurer le commandement de la mission dénomméeOpération Turquoise. Celle-ci se heurte à l’opposition des rebelles tutsis du FrontPatriotique Rwandais, aux réserves des organisations humanitaires mais elle reçoit lesoutien appuyé du gouvernement intérimaire rwandais hutu. L’Opération Turquoisesuscite surtout une vague d’accusations dans la presse française, le président FrançoisMitterrand et les militaires français étant accusés de « complicité de génocide », voire de« participation au génocide ». Ces accusations perdurent et reviennent régulièrementdepuis plus de vingt ans, relayées par des journalistes qui disent avoir découvert puisrévélé « l’inavouable » rôle de la France au Rwanda.Cette étude analyse les enquêtes journalistiques menées de 1994 à 2014 et lesconfronte aux documents confidentiels et secret-défense issus des archives américaines,françaises, rwandaises et onusiennes, ainsi qu’à la stratégie militaire mise en oeuvredurant l’Opération Turquoise. Elle permet ainsi d’identifier les sources sur lesquellesreposent ces accusations et d’en évaluer le bien-fondé. Ce faisant, elle met en évidence lafaçon dont la recherche s’est concentrée sur le génocide au détriment de la lutte arméeinitiée par le FPR de 1990 à juillet 1994, laissant de côté des aspects essentiels à lacompréhension de la tragédie rwandaise
On the 22nd June 1994, the UN Security Council passes the resolution 929authorising the deployment of a multinational humanitarian, neutral and impartial force toRwanda having as its mission to put an end to the massacres. In concrete terms, it isFrance, on initiative of this project, who goes to carry out the command of the missionnamed Operation Turquoise. This comes up against the opposition of the Tutsis rebels ofthe Rwandan Patriotic Front, to the reservations of the humanitarian organisations but itreceives the backup support of the acting Rwandan Hutu government. OperationTurquoise incites above all a wave of accusations in the French press, with the PresidentFrançois Mitterand and the French military soldiers being accused of 'complicity ingenocide', even of taking part in the genocide. These accusations have endured and havebeen regularly coming back for more than twenty years, relayed by journalists who claimto have discovered then revealed the shameful role of France in RwandaThis study analyses the journalistic inquiries led from 1994 to 2014 and comparesthem with confidential secret defence documents stemming from American, French,Rwandan and UN records, as well as the military strategy put in place during OperationTurquoise. It also allows identification of the sources on which these accusations lie andevaluation of their validity. In so doing, it brings to the fore the way in which the researchhas focused on the genocide to the detriment of the armed struggle initiated by the RPFfrom 1990 to July 1994, leaving aside essential aspects in the comprehension of theRwandan tragedy

The aim of this research is to highlight both the conceptual and practical factors that constrain attempts to link humanitarian assistance and development aid in political emergencies in Southern Africa by using the case study of Mozambique in the period between 1975-1995. Extensive use and reference to Norwegian relief and development aid during the above-mentioned period is made. Although cross-reference is made to other donor countries such as the Like-minded Group (comprising of Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland) and UN agencies that supported Mozambique's transition from war to peace, the major focus is on Norway as she has traditionally been the sixth largest bilateral donor by the early 1990's and incorporated long-term development priorities in her programs.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2000.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The end of the Cold War had a profound impact on the qualitative and quantitative nature of the UN's peace and security agenda, representing a shift from traditional peacekeeping to a broader, more ambitious and intrusive notion of peacekeeping. This evolution was marked by an expanded UN engagement in a broad range of intra-state conflicts and characterised by UN undertakings towards aspects of national political and socio-economic reconstruction including the evolution of humanitarian action. Responding to the expanded United Nations agenda for international peace and security and at the request of the UN Security Council (UNSC) Boutros Boutros-Ghali prepared the conceptual foundations of the UN's role in global peace and security in his seminal report, An Agenda for Peace (July, 1992). The Secretary General outlined five inter-connected roles that he projected the UN would play in the fast changing context of post-Cold War international politics, namely: preventive diplomacy, peace enforcement, peacemaking, peacekeeping and post-conflict peacebuilding. The UNSG described the newly defined concept of post-conflict peacebuilding as action organised "(to) foster economic and social co-operation with the purpose of developing the social, political and economic infrastructure to prevent future violence, and laying the foundations for a durable peace." With specific reference to landmines in An Agenda for Peace the UNSG stressed that peacebuilding following civil war and internal strife must address the serious problem of landmines, which remained scattered in present or former combat zones. The UNSG underscored that mine action (demining) should be emphasised in terms of reference of peacekeeping operations which is crucially important in the restoration of activity when peacebuilding is under way. The United Nations involvement in the Mozambican peace process (1992-1995) has been interpreted as the culmination of a major success story in wider peacekeeping in Africa under UN auspices - a category of peace operation, which included peacemaking, peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, peacebuilding and electoral assistance. Mozambique's peace process has subsequently been cited as a model UN peacekeeping operation which could be adapted to post-conflict situation elsewhere. Within the context of landmines as a threat to post-conflict peacebuilding as articulated by the UNSG in An Agenda for Peace, the study focuses on how the United Nations implemented mine action initiatives in operationalising the concept of peacebuilding in Mozambique. In this context, the study reviews the UN operation in Mozambique (ONUMOZ) and its capacity, responsiveness and vision in implementing mine action initiatives, both in terms of the operational requirements of the ONUMOZ peacekeeping mission and the development oflonger-term humanitarian mine action programmes in Mozambique. To this end, the study views the establishment of a sustainable indigenous mine action capacity as a sine que non for post -conflict peacebuilding. From this perspective, the study interprets the 1999 Mine Ban Treaty Prohibiting the Use, Stockpile, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction and the rights and obligations of Mozambique as a State Party to the Treaty as the most appropriate instrument towards the creation of an indigenous Mozambican mine action capacity to address the long-term effects oflandmines on post-conflict peacebuilding. In terms of methodology the approach was historical-analytical and in essence a deductive method of research was followed.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die einde van die Koue Oorlog het diepgaande verandering teweeggebring ten opsigte van die Verenigde Nasies se vredes en sekuriteits regime ter handhawing van internasionale vrede en sekuriteit. Hierdie periode is gekenmerk deur 'n skerp toename in intra-staatlike konflikte en gevolglik in die kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe aard en omvang van Verenigde Nasies vredesoperasies in terme van die VN Handves. Ten einde die verantwoordelikhede van die Verenigde Nasies met betrekking tot die handhawing van vrede en sekuriteit in die snel - veranderende konteks van die post - Koue Oorlog periode aan te spreek, het die Sekretaris - Generaal van die Verenigde Nasies, Boutros Boutros - Gali, in opdrag van die Veiligheidsraad die konseptuele fundering van die VN se rol verwoord in sy pioniersverslag - Agenda vir Vrede (1992). In sy verslag van Julie 1992 identifiseer en omskryf die Sekretaris-Generaal vyf verbandhoudende konsepte wat sou dien as meganismes ter beslegting van internasionale konflik, naamlik voorkomende diplomasie (preventive diplomacy), vredesingryping (peace enforcement), maak van vrede (peacemaking), vredesoperasies (peacekeeping) en post-konflik vredeskonsolidasie (post-conflict peacebuilding). Die Sekretaris-Generaal het post-konflik vredeskonsolidasie omskryf as die "vestiging van sosio-ekonomiese samewerking met die oogmerk om die sosiale, politieke en ekonomiese infrastruktuur te ontwikkel ten einde hernude konflik te voorkom en ter grondlegging van langdurige vrede". Met spesifieke verwysing na die korrelasie tussen landmyne en post-konflik vredeskonsolidasie het die Sekretaris-Generaal benadruk dat landmyne 'n bedreiging inhou vir die konsolidasie van vrede na burgeroorlog en interne konflik, en veral binne die raamwerk van 'n VN vredesoperasie in terme van 'n VN Veiligheidsraad mandaat. Die VN se vredesrol in Mosambiek word allerweë beskou as een van die mees suksesvolle VN vredesoperasies ooit. Die doel van die studie is gevolglik om ondersoek in te stel na die toepassing van die konsep van post-konflik vredeskonsolidasie met spesifieke verwysing na die Mosambiekse vredesproses en die rol van die Verenigde Nasies se Operasie in Mosambiek (ONUMOZ). In die opsig fokus die studie spesifiek op die rol van ONUMOZ (1992-1995) en suksesse en tekortkomings in sy vredesmandaat ten opsigte van die implementering van aksies om die kort-en-langtermyn impak van landmyne in terme van post-konflik vredeskonsolidasie in Mosambiek aan te spreek. Vanuit hierdie konteks, vertolk die studie die Landmyn Verdrag (1999) en die totale verbod op die aanwending, opgaar, produksie en oordrag van landmyne en die vernietiging daarvan as die mees geskikte raamwerk waarbinne Mosambiek 'n inheemse vermoë tot stand kan bring ten einde die langtermyn impak van landmyne op post-konflik vredeskonsolidasie effektief aan te spreek. Vanuit 'n metodologiese oogpunt word in hierdie studie histories analities te werk gegaan en die benadering is beskrywend - verklarend van aard. Verder is die metode van ondersoek in wese deduktief van aard.

In April 1994 Rwanda encountered the most gruesome political conflict, which was widely motivated by decades of ethnic tension, and resulted in the massive participation of ordinary Hutus slaughtering Tutsis, who are a minority along with the so-called moderate Hutus. Large numbers of ordinary Rwandans became killers, some willingly and some by force. About one million Rwandans, mostly Tutsis, lost their lives during the killings. Hence this historic event was declared to be genocide. The post-genocide government of Paul Kagame has been faced with the mission not only to reconcile the nation but also to forge a justice system that will assure Rwandans and those who committed crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity will be punished appropriately. It is outmost important to note that emphasis on justice in cases such as Rwandan genocide might be seen to be most desirable to victims in particular. This idea can be more dangerous particularly if the process takes place in an atmosphere which is characterised by political environment which is oppressive and autocratic. Realising the complexity of the conflict and inability of the conventional justice system to in dealing with the massive cases of people alleged to have participated in the killings or committed crime of genocide. The victims impatiently sought not only justice but answers to what has happened to their loved ones. On the other hand those labeled as perpetrators also wanted to clear their names since some of them believed that they were wrongfully accused and the process was taking too long. The Rwandan government was left with no option and decided to reintroduce the traditional justice system called the Gacaca. The Gacaca system was not only pioneered to render justice to the victims and those wrongfully accused but to reconcile as well as bring peace to the Rwandan society. This study is therefore aimed at providing a comprehensive and compelling explanation of the process and the operations of the Gacaca tribunals. Thus by means of both historical and empirical analysis, the study hopes to determine the challenges confronting the system and the promise it holds, if any, and to recommend the need to adopt and adapt to an approach which is wider and more integrated in dealing with reconciliation in the region. To accomplish this study, data was predominantly sourced from primary sources such as media reports and personal interviews with Rwandan community living in Durban, South Africa. The study revealed that the Rwandan genocide was marked by overwhelming public participation which makes Rwandan conflict even more complex. Killing was seen as work, as well as fulfilling the country's duty. On the other hand not killing was viewed as betrayal especially for thousands of peasants. Almost the entire population took part in the killings. The Gacaca is a unique approach of trying genocide perpetrators adopted in Rwanda. In this thesis I argue that it is through examination of different historical and social factors that the relevance of the Gacaca can be assessed. Furthermore my argument is that Rwanda needs a multi-faceted approach to confront complex problems that it faces politically and socially.
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

In 1994, almost a million Tutsi and some Hutu were massacred in Rwanda during the 100 day genocide. Between 1995 and 1998, nearly the same number of Hutu and some Tutsi died, while in flight, primarily in the former Zaire. In the years following genocide, hundreds of thousands of Rwandans have been accused of genocide related crimes. There is not a person in Rwanda who is not directly affected by past violence and the country is in a process of healing and reconciliation. Much of the violence in Rwanda can be traced to perceptions of history and identity. This thesis seeks to unearth narratives of history and identity as a way of exploring possibilities for healing and reconciliation. Through an in-depth examination of four life stories, interviews with leaders in the field of reconciliation in Rwanda and informal interviews with a broad spectrum of Rwandans, this research sheds light on the challenges and opportunities in terms of healing. It finds that through critical engagement with our own and broader socio-political narratives we can expand the possibilities of our own narratives, allowing scope for personal healing as well as leading to a deeper understanding of the other. This can form the basis for sustainable reconciliation.
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

World history has been punctuuted by cycles of violence, regardless of time, region or race. Genocide. which is the worst form of violence has always led to horrible impacts of a social, economic and environmental nature. The last decade of the 20th Century was the most turbulent Rwanda has ever seen. The country was ravaged by civil war,genocide, mass migration. economic crisis. diseases, return of refugees and deforestation. Almost all Rwandan families were affected wherever they were and at multiple levels, by outcomes such as death, disease, disability, poverty, loss of dignity and imprisonment. Fortunately, the people of Rwanda have chosen the path of peace. but arc still faced with a huge task of dealiing with the impacts or the genocide and prior conflicts in the region. This dissertation attempts to investigate the socio-economic impacts of the genocide on current development in Rwanda using primClry and secondary data obtained from fieldwork undertaken in Cyangugu and Rutare Towns. The conceptual basis for the study was the Geography of Conflict, The general conclusion reached was that the causes and consequences of the Rwandan genocide are multidimensional. The Rwandan genocide did not originate from the "ancient hatred" between Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups, but from the manipulation of history and bad leadership. Also. the main impacts of genocide in Rwanda are the destruction of human resources. social and cultural structures in the country, especially the relationship between the Hutus and Tutsis ethnic groups. In the same way the genocide resulted in destruction of infrastructure. development facilities and natural resources, However. the effort for reconstruction and development undertaken after the genocide shows that rcconciliation is possible in long term despite what happened. The lasting solution for Rwanda is definitely national reconciliation and its success will depend mainly on good governance, human resource development and poverty alleviation.
Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2008.

This Thesis is an analytical investigation of the i mpact of the 1994 Rwandan genocide in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. It focuses on the vio lent conflicts and instability that marked the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), particularl y the eastern DRC region since 1996- 2006. The DRC hosted about 1.25 million Rwandan Hut u refugees (including the ex-Forces Armeés Rwandaises and Hutu militiamen) following the hundred atrocio us days of the 1994 genocide under Hutu-led government in Rwanda. This study assesses rigorously the role of the 1994 Rwandan Hutu refugees in the eastern DRC c onflicts. The theoretical framework of this research is the E rvin Staub’s Basic Needs perspective. This theoretical model provides an analytical tool to ex amine a myriad of factors underlying mass violence and genocide. Factors such as difficult li fe conditions, group cultural history, social psychological factors and context create an enhance d potential for movement along a path of violent conflicts with hallmarks including moral ex clusion, stigmatization, dehumanization and impunity. The tool of qualitative textual analy sis of relevant scholarly and non-scholarly documents in the subject area is used. A whole rang e of issues comprising the conflicts in Rwanda, Burundi and DRC before and after the 1994 R wanda genocide is assessed: ethnicity, ideologies, refugees, rebel groups in DRC conflicts , socio-economical contexts. In analyzing the data I have employed content analysis. The results of this study point out that, factors s uch as difficult life conditions, ideologies of hatred, economical and political crises that marked the Great Lakes Region of Africa have created a climate conducive to conflicts. Furthermo re, the research shows that the 1994 Rwandan Hutu refugees, particularly the ex-FAR and Hutu militiamen, contributed in the escalation of violent conflicts in eastern DRC. Thi s corroborates the scholars finding that refugees are not only the unfortunate victims of co nflict and the by-product of war; they are also important political actors who can play an act ive role in conflict dynamics and instability (Salehyan 2007: 127; Collier in Furley 2006:2). The study ends with recommendations for peace and sustainable stability and development in the Great Lakes Region of Africa: comprehending and addressing thoroughly the roots c auses of conflicts, promoting and implementing policies and mechanisms for good gover nance, economic development, respect of human rights and justice, addressing effectively the issue of refugees and reconciliation.
Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

This thesis analyses the policy and traditional practice of umuganda, which is a Rwandan word for community work. Many authors have looked at umuganda, mainly focusing on the period from 1973 until the 1994 genocide - something which has fostered a lot of negativity regarding the essence and practice of umuganda. Rather than discussing umuganda for a specific period, a wide look at its origins until the present day is more informative. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on the nature and the evolution of umuganda in Rwanda, thereby deepening the discussion about its future prospects. The main purpose of the thesis is to investigate how to enhance the efficiency of the policy and practice of umuganda in fostering development and peace in Rwanda. The study focuses on how the practice of umuganda has been understood and implemented throughout the historical period of Rwanda, namely, the pre-colonial, colonial, post-colonial periods until the genocide and then the post-genocide period. The discussion leads to a more detailed empirical study of how the policy is understood and practised in two geographical settings: one urban, in Kigali City, and the other rural, in Western Province. This thesis identifies the major transformation of the philosophy, organisation and purpose of umuganda throughout the four historical periods. It specifically highlights that despite the decentralisation of political and administration structures, the management of umuganda has remained hierarchical. This has resulted in the government takeover of umuganda while local people distance themselves from its practice. The thesis notes that, even though umuganda practice is regarded as beneficial for public and political interest, little benefit is seen for individuals in their communities. This thesis attempts to shed more light on how umuganda could be in harmony with the principles of participation, development and community development. It argues that, even though cultural practises are sometimes seen as backward, transforming umuganda to be managed by local communities could contribute to either a traditional sense of socio-economic well-being or even to modern development strategies. The thesis investigates the potential for the policy and practice of umuganda to empower the poor in the community, thereby helping national development. The recommendation is that umuganda be regarded as a local community initiative. Its practice should be organised in a way that responds to the immediate need of the people, its initial philosophy. This in turn would help the government to address the causes of poverty, division and other kind of harm to society. With efficient implementation and regulation of umuganda, a substantial part of service delivery to the community could be provided by the people themselves, while the government could intervene only in difficult situations.
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

Scholarship on youth in Africa has mostly focused on unemployed young people, portraying them as a lost generation and exploring how states have failed them. Literature on young employed Africans has been conspicuously absent. This research portrays how a group of young professional Rwandans who define themselves as “diaspora” living in post-genocide Kigali, are redefining national belonging in economic terms. Many young professionals have moved from the diaspora to Rwanda because the state offers them a platform where they can find employment or start their own business: an entrepreneurial citizenship. The city of Kigali is experiencing physical and social transformation, and these young professionals are driving such change. The young people in this study see Rwanda as a place where they can belong by being cosmopolitan, and especially by becoming entrepreneurs. They feel that in Rwanda they are able to be global citizens more easily than in the Diaspora. This feeling of global citizenship is, ironically, what inspires in them a sense of national identity. This research explores the youth in the broader sense of economic activity and time and their sense of belonging in everyday life, in the capital city of Kigali.

This study aims to interrogate the representations of forgiveness in post genocide Rwandan fiction. The novels analysed are Inyenzi: A story of Love and Genocide (2007), Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust (2006) and God Sleeps in Rwanda: A Journey of Transformation (2009). Inyenzi: A story of Love and Genocide represents romantic love as the possible beginning of reconciliation between the Tutsi and the Hutus after and the devastations of the genocide. Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust reveals that the individualistic portrayal of forgiveness is important to create communication between antagonistic ethnic groups. God Sleeps in Rwanda: A Journey of Transformation demonstrates that forgiveness and reconciliation have the possibilities of being attainable on a national level through political reforms. The narratives succeed in portraying the representations of forgiveness but due to the subjectivities of the authors, the historicity of the genocide is undermined thereby compromising the foundations for forgiveness. This study suggests that future research on post genocide Rwandan could analyse creative works on forgiveness but focussing on the issue of restorative justice
English Studies
M. A. (English Studies)

This study is an evaluation of the Rwandan unity and reconciliation process and was undertaken to assess whether it possesses the potential for building sustainable peace in the country. The study used an analytical method to measure the key activities of the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission, the national body that oversees the efforts aimed at promoting unity and reconciliation among Rwandans. Before properly analysing the process, the study outlined a number of conditions that are necessary for true reconciliation and sustainable peace to be achieved. The analysis allowed a comparison of these conditions to the context in which the unity and reconciliation process is being conducted in Rwanda. This required the exploration of the entire situation at political, economic and social levels. Particular attention has been paid to the situation after the 1994 genocide to examine developments from then until to the present. It became evident during the study that decisive structural changes have been undertaken to prepare a supportive environment for unity, reconciliation and peace. Appropriate structures' reform occurs in the domains of good governance, economic planning and justice. It also became evident, however, that some important obstacles to unity and peace persist, specifically poverty, reluctance to cooperate with 'Gacaca' traditional courts, corruption and opportunistic political leaders. Appropriate measures have to be taken in addressing these issues for sustainable peace to be a new way of life for all Rwandans. Generally, the study showed that the process of unity and reconciliation in Rwanda has the potential to succeed since high governing leaders are engaged to restore unity and reconciliation in the country. Political will, the study revea led, is an essential ingredient for sustainable peace. The study also listed a number of encouraging results of the process and proposed some measures to strengthen unity, reconciliation and peace.
Thesis (M. Com.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

M.A. (French)
This thesis investigates the collective literary Project entitled Rwanda: écrire par devoir de mémoire, written by nine Francophone, African intellectuals in response to the genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda. Six of them are fictional novels or travel diaries by non- Rwandans, based on the stories and adaptations of the stories of survivors. There is one poetry anthology and two texts by Rwandans: a survivor’s testimony and an essay by a Tutsi who was in exile during the genocide. A comparison of the literary strategies, used by the authors to respond both individually and collectively to the difficulty of writing the ‘inexpressible’, forms the basis of this analysis. It explores trauma theory and its application to literature and fiction, focusing on how signs of traumatic memory are made visible in the texts. Based on Ricoeur’s notion of triple mimesis, it considers the interaction between victim, writer/text and reader/listener which re-establishes the communication interrupted by the trauma of genocide. The thesis considers the initiation, aims and challenges of the Project. It provides an overview of the origins and consequences of the genocide as observed by the writers. A literary analysis of each of the nine texts separately allows the reader to appreciate the variety of approaches: collective/individual; witness-survivor/indirect witness; fact/fiction, and the blending of these opposites. A synthesis of the recurring motifs, lieux de mémoire and emblematic characters foregrounds tensions that emerge in the postgenocide society between memory and forgetting, identity and alterity, survivors and exiles, forgiveness and justice, survival and the death experience. These elements create an intertextual, fictional world that is nevertheless anchored in the reality of genocide, a polyphonic narrative which contributes to a deeper understanding of the collective horror of the genocide.

This study aimed to highlight factors used by the Belgian authorities to divide Rwandans during the Colonial Reform Process between 1926 and 1931. More specially, it is aimed at identifying how they mobilised Hutu, Tutsi and Twa social classes and transformed the ethnic identities. To achieve this goal, unstructured interviews and a questionnaire were used. In addition, several data analyses were also used to measure and decipher the attitudes of both the interview and survey's respondents. The results indicated the conflict started when the Belgian colonisers implemented indirect rules that highlighted a selected elite from the Tutsi Tribe. This group benefited from social and economic advantages which totally excluded the Hutu and Twa tribes. With the reform, the previous traditional structure was destroyed, and with the new administration only Tutsi chiefs remained whereas Hutu and Twa chiefs were rendered obsolete. Tutsi were seen as born chiefs. On the contrary, they judged the Hutu good for manual work and exploited them as a labour force. For a deep acceptance of this new order, colonisers reinforced ethnic policies with ideological assumptions which defined Tutsi as the superior race. In this regard, several ethnologists and anthropologists attempted to prove the Hamitic origin of the Tutsi, allowing Belgians to use the "Hamitic Myth", which assumed that the Tutsi was the only group able to understand development and to command at the request of the colonial state. In addition, Belgians decided to issue identity cards which clearly stated the bearer's tribal origin. This undoubtedly influenced people to develop ethnic feelings and disposed the most fiercely rival groups (Hutu and Tutsi) to ethnic competition that led to outbreaks of violence in 1959 when Belgians shifted their allegiance from Tutsi to Hutu as the fomer was asking for independence. The scarcity of environmental resources increased the desire to monopolise control of the country as this was continually perceived as only means of access to resources. This led Rwandan politicians to use ethnicity as a way to secure power. Consequently, a culture of ethnic violence became entrenched. This culminated in genocide from April to July 1994.
Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

In the decades after attaining independence from its colonial masters, Rwanda’s two principal ethnic groups, the Hutus and the Tutsis, suffered worsening tensions which often resulted in the perpetration of atrocities. Peace agreements brokered by the international community did not ease these ethnic tensions. In April 1994, the ethnic crisis took a different dimension following the assassination of the Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi. A full-blown genocide was committed by the Hutus who targeted their Tutsi and Hutu-moderates victims because of their ethnic identity and tolerant political views respectively. In a hundred days, about a million Tutsis and Hutu-moderates were massacred. Gross violations of human rights had been committed. The planning, preparation and execution of these atrocities were done by almost everyone within the Hutu majority: the leadership (both civilian and military), business men, the clergy, artists, professors, journalists, militias, the commoners, and other civil society actors. The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) under the leadership of General Paul Kagame overthrew the Rwandan Armed Forces (RAF) and brought the genocide to an end. In an effort to build a government of national unity, the Government of Rwanda under the leadership of President Paul Kagame requested the United Nations Security Council to establish a tribunal for the trial of persons who bear responsibility for the atrocities committed in Rwanda. In response to this request, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 955 (8 November 1994) creating the second United Nations’ ad hoc international criminal tribunal, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Annexed to Resolution 955 was the Statute of the ICTR. The Statute gave the Tribunal jurisdiction over three crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions and of Additional Protocol II. Amongst other things, it also defined on which individuals it would impose criminal responsibility. The definition of genocide and the punishable acts as contained in the Statute of the ICTR (Article 2) were simply imported from the United Nations’ Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, 1948 (Article III). One of these punishable acts is direct and public incitement to commit genocide (Article 2(3)(c) of the Statute of the ICTR). As seen in Article 6(1) of the Statute of the ICTR, there are five different modes of participation that would lead to the imposition of criminal responsibility: planning, instigating, ordering, committing or otherwise aiding and abetting. Instigation is one of these modes of participation. An examination of the jurisprudence of both the Trial and Appeal Chambers of the ICTR reveals that there is an overlap between direct and public incitement to commit genocide under Article 2(3)(c) and instigation as a mode of participation under Article 6(1). The Trial and Appeal Chambers have contributed enormously to the development of the jurisprudence of direct and public incitement to commit genocide under Article 2(3)(c). Now settled as an inchoate crime in international criminal law, criminal responsibility is imposed irrespective of whether the direct and public incitement successfully results in the commission of genocide. On the other hand, instigation is one of the modes of participation which would lead to the imposition of criminal responsibility. Participation under Article 6(1) is not limited to any particular crime, but extends to all the crimes over which the ICTR has jurisdiction – genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions and of Additional Protocol II. The jurisprudence of the Trial and Appeal Chambers on Article 6(1) states that criminal responsibility can only be imposed where it is proved that the accused’s mode of participation substantially contributed to the commission of the crime. Therefore, instigation, which is one of the modes of participation, must be shown to have substantially contributed to the commission of the crime for criminal responsibility to be imposed. In my opinion, this requirement of substantial contribution for the imposition of criminal responsibility is wrong. It emanates from a poor understanding of Article 6(1) and the construction of the words therein. It is a judicial invention which does not square with established principles of criminal responsibility in general and inchoate crimes in particular. This thesis critiques the jurisprudence of the ICTR on instigation as a mode of participation under Article 6(1). Instigation is a recognised mode of participation in international crimes. Under the common law system, it is also an inchoate crime. International instruments and the jurisprudence of the Trial and Appeal Chambers have recognised the inchoate nature of incitement. However, in the construction of Article 6(1) wherein instigation features as a mode of participation, the Trial and Appeal Chambers erred. I illustrate in this thesis that a correct construction and understanding of Article 6(1) shows its inchoate and bifurcated character: first, any of the modes of participation must lead to any of the stages of any of the crimes (planning, preparation or execution). These modes of participation are not limited to any particular crime. Therefore, if instigation leads to the planning or preparation of any of the crimes, that renders it inchoate (which is understood to mean a criminal activity that is incomplete, still at its initial stage). Second, the imposition of criminal responsibility is bifurcated. In other words, it must go through two stages: first, there must be a mode of participation, and second, it must lead to any of the stages of the crimes. Third, the substantial contribution requirement does not square with a strict construction of Article 6(1). In articulating the different stages that a mode of participation must lead to, it states ‘planning, preparation or execution’ of any of the crimes. The use of a disjunctive word ‘or’ rather than a conjunctive word ‘and’ suggests that any of the modes of participation that leads to any of these stages (planning, preparation or execution) of any of these crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity, violations of Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions and of Additional Protocol II) would suffice. Therefore, to require that there must be a substantial contribution to commission of a crime before criminal responsibility can be imposed under Article 6(1) is a clear limitation to the last stage of the crime, which is execution (or commission). As evidenced by the cases tried at the Tribunal, Article 2(3)(c) which addresses the inchoate crime of direct and public incitement to commit genocide and Article 6(1) which deals with the imposition of criminal responsibility, do overlap. In other words, incitement that qualifies as direct and public incitement to commit genocide under Article 2(3)(c) may as well qualify as instigation to any of the crimes over which the ICTR has jurisdiction under Article 6(1). From the delivery of its first judgment in the case of The Prosecutor v Jean-Paul Akayesu,1 the Trial Chambers did not recognise the confluence 1 Judgment, Case No. ICTR-96-4. T. Ch. I, 2 September 1998. between these two Articles. However, in the case of The Prosecutor v Callixte Kalimanzira,2 the Trial Chambers made this observation, and outlined a set of guidelines on how to resolve cases of overlap. Though a colossal step in fixing this problem, the guidelines are faulted because they repeat the same mistakes made by previous Trial Chambers: first, they limit instigation only to genocide even under Article 6(1); second, they still hold that criminal responsibility can be imposed under Article 6(1) only when it is proved that the mode of participation substantially contributed to the commission of the crime. While it resonates with conventional wisdom today that incitement, synonymous with instigation, is limited to the crime of genocide, this thesis critiques the jurisprudence of both the Trial and Appeal Chambers of the ICTR and argues that instigation is a mode of participation in crimes against humanity following a strict construction of Article 6(1). Furthermore, incitement that qualifies as ‘direct and public incitement’ to commit genocide under Article 2(3)(c) may also qualify as instigation to commit genocide, crimes against humanity, or both under Article 6(1). Third, ‘direct and public incitement’ to commit genocide under Article 2(3)(c) is limited to the crime of genocide, and must fulfil the caveats of ‘direct’ and ‘public’. Meanwhile, instigation under Article 6(1) does not need to meet any requirement as long as it leads to the ‘planning, preparation or execution’ of any of the crimes over which the ICTR has jurisdiction. The poor construction of Article 6(1) has resulted in huge controversies about instigation as a mode of participation in crimes over which the ICTR has jurisdiction under Article 6(1). More specifically, instigation, which is one of the modes, overlaps with the wording of Article 2(3)(c) which deals with the inchoate crime of direct and public incitement to commit genocide. The substantial contribution requirement is a judicial invention which does not align squarely with established principles of criminal responsibility for inchoate crimes. It is the unfortunate outcome of a poor construction of Article 6(1) and has orchestrated a confused understanding of instigation as a mode of participation. It has blurred and obfuscated instigation as a mode of participation in crimes against humanity; stagnated the evolution of the jurisprudence on instigation to 2 Judgment, Case No. ICTR-05-88-T, T. Ch. III, 22 June 2009. commit crimes against humanity; and above all, propelled international criminal law on an ambitious and controversial mission from which it must retreat

Rwanda experienced genocide from April to July 1994 during which over 800,000 people were murdered. Among the far-reaching changes that followed this event among individuals and in society overall, the Rwandan Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) showed that contraceptive prevalence declined from 13% in 1992 to 4% in 2000 among married women of reproductive age. This dissertation has two hypotheses concerning Rwandan women's fertility preferences and behavior following the genocide. It is hypothesized that, first, high levels of conflict reduced women's desire for a child or for additional children and second, that women who experienced relatively high levels of conflict were more likely to act on their wish to not have a child or another child by using modern contraceptives than were women who experienced relatively low levels of conflict. The study's logistic regression dependent (outcome) variables were desire for a or another child and the use of modern contraceptives; the source for these data was the 2000 DHS. Three groups of independent variables were included: socio-demographic variables, also from the 2000 DHS, included age, number of living children, education level, urban/rural residence and socio-economic status; availability of family planning services, assessed using women's perception of distance as a barrier to obtaining health care for themselves, from the 2000 DHS, and quality of health services, assessed with data from the 2001 Service Provision Assessment; and experience of conflict, measured as the percentage of the 1994 commune populations that resided in refugee camps in 1995. Communes were considered `high migration' if 10 percent or more of their populations migrated to camps and `low migration' if less than 10 percent of their populations migrated to camps. Women who lived in high migration communes were considered to have relatively high experience of conflict and those who lived in low migration communes were consider dot have relatively low experience of conflict. Analysis showed that residents of high migration communes were significantly less likely to want a or another child as compared to residents of low migration communes (OR = .74); it appeared that the social environment of high migration had a dampening effect on desire for children. The analysis also showed that residents of high migration communes were significantly less likely to use a modern contraceptive method than were those of low migration communes (OR = .57), even though they were less likely to want a or another child and even when family planning services were reasonably available. The reasons for these results are unclear, and many factors may contribute. The generalized trauma experienced by the population may have had a numbing effect, in which taking action in any domain was difficult. Women may have felt pressured by society to have children as the society emerged from war, despite their own preferences. The population may also have distrusted government health facilities - the only source of services for most - in light of the interactions with officials during and after the genocide. However, another set of reasons specific to women and women's health may also have influenced the findings. There is a pervasive social stigma around reproductive health; these services have generally lagged behind other primary health care components. Moreover, rape was used as a weapon of war in the genocide; these experiences may have reduced women's willingness to seek reproductive health services specifically. Finally, the Rwandan genocide and its preparation were decidedly misogynistic; this pervasive dehumanization may have made it particularly difficult for women to seek care for their sexual and reproductive health needs and desires. This complex personal, social, physical and political context may explain why Rwandan women who may not have wanted a child or additional children nonetheless did not consistently act on their desires in the years following the 1994 genocide. The dissertation includes a series of essays providing the author's personal perspective on working in Rwanda in the 1980s and 1990s and being present in the country at the start of the genocide in April 1994.

This study investigates the situation of Rwandan youth ex-combatants in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Specifically, the study examines how and why young people become involved in conflicts as fighters, how the conflict impacts upon them, and how the Disarmament, Demobilization, Rehabilitation and Reintegration programs set up by international aid agencies attempted to address the youth's special needs as they relate to reintegration in their home communities. By employing qualitative semi-structured interviews and group discussions with demobilized ex-combatant youth and other stakeholders in northern Rwanda, the study examines how the Western model and assumption of childhood and child soldiering has so far dictated the approaches of international aid agencies in response to the needs of young people in armed conflicts. The study challenges some of the assumptions and argues for a more representative and focussed approach that emphasizes on the socio-cultural context of the ex-combatants. The research shows how and why some youth voluntarily join armed groups. It also highlights the resilience of the youth in the midst of conflict and their ability to rebuild their lives. The findings of the research have some implications for the way the international aid agencies conceptualize and provide assistance to the young people affected by armed conflicts. It challenges the assumption held by the aid agencies regarding the exclusive emphases on victimization and trauma counselling, and refocuses on the need to rebuild the youth's resilience and coping strategies.
Sociology
MA (Sociology)