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“A season in hell”: The Rwandan genocide and the ICRC's Fundamental Principles

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 September 2024

Cédric Cotter Open the ORCID record for Cédric Cotter [Opens in a new window]  and
Daniel Palmieri
Cédric Cotter*
Affiliation:
Researcher, International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva, Switzerland
Daniel Palmieri
Affiliation:
Historian, International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva, Switzerland
*
*Corresponding author email: [email protected]
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Abstract

How can humanitarians carry out their work during a genocide? Between April and June of 1994, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) faced that very question. After bloodshed broke out in Rwanda, the ICRC was the only remaining humanitarian organization in the country and continued its aid work while surrounded by brutal violence. Based on previously published materials,1 this article examines the strategies that enabled the ICRC to pursue its humanitarian mission in the face of the most basic inhumanity. In particular, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement's Fundamental Principles of neutrality and impartiality were critical to establishing contact with all involved parties: dialogue, including with those perpetrating genocide, was key to ensuring the safety of ICRC staff, and to facilitating the organization's work on behalf of those affected by the violence. Additionally, the ICRC spoke out frequently as the violence was unfolding in Rwanda, and this article addresses the question of public communications, in both principle and practice, during a genocide.

Keywords

historyRwandagenocideICRCFundamental Principlesneutralityimpartialitypublic communication
Type
Research Article
Information
International Review of the Red Cross , Volume 106 , Issue 925: Fundamental Principles , April 2024 , pp. 301 - 323
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of International Committee of the Red Cross

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Footnotes

†

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily correspond to the ICRC's point of view.

The advice, opinions and statements contained in this article are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ICRC. The ICRC does not necessarily represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or other information provided in this article.

1

In accordance with current rules on archive access, the ICRC's records relating to the genocide in Rwanda will not be made available to the public until 2045.

References

2 UNSC Res. 935, 1 July 1994; UNSC Res. 955, 8 November 1994.

3 The ICRC used this expression to refer to the situation in Rwanda contemporaneously. See “Rwanda: Heart of Darkness”, ICRC News, No. 17, 28 April 1994.

4 The ICRC opened its delegation in Rwanda in March 1991. Previously, work in Rwanda had been coordinated by the regional delegation in Kinshasa.

5 Bradol, Jean-Hervé, “Limites et ambiguïtés de l'action humanitaire”, Les Temps Modernes, No. 583, July 1995, p. 128Google Scholar.

6 After leaving Rwanda, the French and Dutch arms of MSF worked with the ICRC in several parts of the country (Gisenyi, Ruhengeri, Gitare and Rilima), operating out of Zaire or Uganda. See Laurence Binet, MSF Speaking Out: Genocide des Rwandais Tutsis, MSF, 1994, pp. 31–32, 62, available at: www.msf.org/sites/default/files/2019-05/MSF%20Speaking%20Out%20Genocide%20des%20Rwandais%20Tutsis%201994_1.pdf (all internet references were accessed in August 2024).

7 J.-H. Bradol, above note 5, p. 129.

8 Caravielhe, René, “Ou tout, ou rien”: Le journal d'un logisticien, Presses de Lunel, Lunel, 2002, p. 102Google Scholar.

9 Philippe Gaillard, “Rwanda 1994: ‘… Kill as Many People as You Want, You Cannot Kill their Memory’”, speech given at the Genocide Prevention Conference, London, January 2003, available at: https://francegenocidetutsi.org/GaillardJanuary2002.pdf.

10 The Fundamental Principles are shared by the Movement as a whole. Aside from neutrality and impartiality, the other Fundamental Principles are humanity, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.

11 ICRC, The Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross: Commentary, ICRC, Geneva, 1979, available at: www.icrc.org/en/our-fundamental-principles.

12 Ibid.

13 This also includes the Rwandan Red Cross's teams.

14 ICRC, “La vendange – Les fantômes du Rwanda”, YouTube, 2019, available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=u60jBQ2mi7M.

15 Ibid.; Melvern, Linda R., A People Betrayed: The Role of the West in Rwanda's Genocide, Saint Martin's Press, London, 2000, p. 144Google Scholar; Gaillard, Philippe, “Surviving Genocide”, in Bergman, Carol (ed.), Another Day in Paradise: Front Line Stories from International Aid Workers, Routledge, London, 2003, p. 67Google Scholar; Philippe Gaillard, La vraie vie est absente (Arthur Rimbaud): Cycle de Conférences les Mardis du Musée, 18 October 1994.

16 ICRC, Reportage à Kigali, 13 April 1994, ICRC Audiovisual Archives, V-S-12600-A-01.

17 L. R. Melvern, above note 15, p. 157.

18 Bradol, Jean-Hervé and Pape, Marc Le, Génocide et crimes de masse: L'expérience Rwandaise de MSF (1982–1997), CNRS Éditions, Paris, 2017, p. 59Google Scholar.

19 R. Caravielhe, above note 8, p. 139.

20 Ibid., p. 52.

21 P. Gaillard, La vraie vie est absente, above note 15. The RPF claimed that it was unaware of the ICRC convoy: see L. R. Melvern, above note 15, p. 201.

22 ICRC, “Rwanda: Two ICRC Employees Killed”, Press Release No. 1777, 26 May 1994

23 Ibid.

24 Élisabeth Lévy, “Les massacres gagnent d'autres régions du Rwanda”, Le Nouveau Quotidien, 12 April 1994.

25 ICRC, above note 16.

26 Nevertheless, delegates always aimed to return to the delegation by 1 pm, early enough that militia members at the checkpoints would not be under the influence of alcohol or other drugs: L. R. Melvern, above note 15, p. 145.

27 J.-H. Bradol and M. Le Pape, above note 18, p. 64.

28 J.-H. Bradol, above note 5, p. 138.

29 Sémelin, Jacques, Purifier et détruire: Usages politiques des massacres et génocides, Éditions Seuil, Paris, 2005CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Thompson, Allan (ed.), The Media and the Rwanda Genocide, Pluto Press, London, 2007Google Scholar.

30 ICRC, above note 16.

31 L. R. Melvern, above note 15, p. 156.

32 Ibid.; É. Lévy, above note 24.

33 É. Lévy, above note 24.

34 J.-H. Bradol and M. Le Pape, above note 18, p. 59; P. Gaillard, “Surviving Genocide”, above note 15, p. 70; ICRC, Annual Report 1994, Geneva, 1994, p. 55; L. R. Melvern, above note 15, pp. 160–161; P. Gaillard, above note 9.

35 P. Gaillard, above note 9.

36 L. R. Melvern, above note 15, pp. 160–161.

37 ICRC, “Rwanda: Six Wounded Killed in a Red Cross Ambulance”, Press Release No. 16/94, 14 April 1994.

38 ICRC, “Human Tragedy in Rwanda”, Press Release No. 1771, 21 April 1994.

39 P. Gaillard, above note 9.

40 R. Caravielhe, above note 8, pp. 73–75.

41 P. Gaillard, above note 9.

42 Linda Melvern gives a different account, claiming that Gaillard was stopped by the Interahamwe but was able to prove that he was Swiss by showing them a picture of his house in the Swiss Alps before going to the RTLM studio to get a correction. L. R. Melvern, above note 15, p. 156.

43 Richard Dowden, “The Media's Failure: A Reflection on the Rwanda Genocide”, in A. Thompson (ed.), above note 29, p. 249.

44 J.-H. Bradol, above note 5, p. 142.

45 See, for example, Mark Doyle, “Reporting the Genocide”, in A. Thompson (ed.), above note 29, p. 157.

46 ICRC, “Rwanda: ICRC Carries Out Emergency Medical Activities”, Press Release No. 13, 8 April 1994.

47 “La situation dramatique des habitants de Kigali”, Radio France, 10 April 1994, available at: www.ina.fr/ina-eclaire-actu/audio/00613972003/la-situation-dramatique-des-habitants-de-kigali.

48 “Philippe Gaillard: ‘L'odeur du sang est telle à Kigali qu'on élimine à peu près tout ce qui bouge’”, TF1, 10 April 1994, available at: https://francegenocidetutsi.org/1994-04-10-13tf1.html.fr.

49 Jean-Philippe Ceppi, “Dans Kigali livrée aux tueurs hutus”, Le Nouveau Quotidien, 11 April 1994.

50 Linda R. Melvern, “Missing the Story: The Media and the Rwanda Genocide”, in A. Thompson (ed.), above note 29, p. 201.

51 Bruno Fanucchi, “C'est un véritable génocide”, Le Parisien, 11 April 1994, cited in Jacques Morel, La France au cœur du génocide des Tutsi, Esprit Frappeur, Paris, 2010, p. 673.

52 J.-P. Ceppi, above note 49; J. Morel, above note 51.

53 L. R. Melvern, above note 15, p. 201. This is also stated in a report by the Research Commission on the French Archives related to Rwanda and the Tutsi Genocide (Duclert Commission): “Having collected a great deal of information from all over the country, the member of the International Committee of the Red Cross shared his belief that a genocide had begun.” Duclert Commission, La France, le Rwanda et le génocide des Tutsi (1990–1994): Rapport remis au Président de la République le 26 Mars 2021, Paris, 2021, p. 387, available at: https://medias.vie-publique.fr/data_storage_s3/rapport/pdf/279186.pdf.

54 “25 ans après le Génocide, le Rwanda commémore par un deuil de 100 jours”, RTS, 11 April 2019, available at: www.rts.ch/info/monde/10347478-25-ans-apres-le-genocide-le-rwanda-commemore-par-un-deuil-de-100-jours.html.

55 “Reprise des massacres à Kigali”, Radio France, 16 April 1994, available at: www.ina.fr/ina-eclaire-actu/audio/00614473004/reprise-des-massacres-a-kigali.

56 ICRC, “Human Tragedy in Rwanda”, Press Release No. 1772, 21 April 1994.

57 J. Morel, above note 51, p. 672.

58 ICRC delegate Roland Siedler said, “People are being cut, chopped up, mutilated. Corpses litter the ground. You can see some that are still twitching in the streets because they haven't been completely finished off. But it's butchery. It's simply a slaughterhouse.” “Rwanda: Le génocide dans les archives sonores de RFI”, RFI, 7 April 2019, available at: www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20190407-rwanda-genocide-archives-rfi-radio-sons; see also ICRC, “Update No. 7 on ICRC Activities in Rwanda”, 26 April 1994, available at: https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB472/pdf/un1351.pdf.

59 P. Gaillard, above note 9.

60 Duclert Commission, above note 53, p. 400.

61 Ibid.

62 The ICRC asserted that killings such as those that took place in the Gisenyi cathedral on 1 May 1994 “were carried out with a view to eliminating the Tutsis” (ibid.).

63 Kellenberger, Jakob, “Speaking Out or Remaining Silent in Humanitarian Work”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 86, No. 855, 2004, p. 602Google Scholar; Melvern, Linda R., “The UK Government and the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda”, Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2007CrossRefGoogle Scholar, available at: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1194&context=gsp; P. Gaillard, above note 9.

64 Letter from the President of the ICRC to the Secretary-General of the UN, 2 May 1994, available at: https://francegenocidetutsi.org/SommarugaBoutrosGhali2mai1994.pdf.

65 Duclert Commission, above note 53, p. 401.

66 Ibid.

67 Ibid.

68 ICRC, “The Bloodshed Continues”, ICRC News, No. 19, 11 May 1994.

69 ICRC, “Rwanda: Saving the Survivors”, Press Release No. 1776, 20 May 1994.

70 ICRC, “Rwanda: Hundreds of Thousands Displaced”, ICRC News, No. 22, 1 June 1994.

71 Jean-Francois Alesandrini, quoted in L. Binet, above note 6, p. 21.

72 “Le Rwanda: Des mots et des morts”, Radio France, recorded on 13 May 1994 and broadcast on 28 May 1994, available at: www.ina.fr/ina-eclaire-actu/audio/00660567/le-rwanda-des-mots-et-des-morts.

73 ICRC, above note 34, p. 54.

74 ICRC, “Unabated Suffering”, ICRC News, No. 18, 5 May 1994.

75 ICRC, “Violent Clashes in Kigali”, ICRC News, No. 21, 25 May 1994.

76 ICRC, above note 34, p. 54.

77 P. Gaillard, above note 9.

78 R. Caravielhe, above note 8, p. 145.

79 ICRC, “A New Threat: Shortage of Drinking Water”, ICRC News, No. 20, 18 May 1994.

80 ICRC, above note 34, p. 60.

81 ICRC, above note 68.

82 ICRC, “Displaced People in Desperate Need”, ICRC News, No. 26, 29 June 1994; ICRC, above note 34, p. 54. A thousand children were cared for at the nutrition centre.

83 ICRC, “Displaced People in Desperate Need”, above note 82.

84 ICRC, above note 74.

85 ICRC, above note 68.

86 ICRC, above note 75.

87 ICRC, above note 70.

88 Ibid.; ICRC, “New ICRC Budget for Rwanda over 100 Million Swiss Francs”, Press Release No. 94/24, 2 June 1994.

89 ICRC, above note 88; ICRC, “Displaced People in Desperate Need”, above note 82.

90 ICRC, above note 88.

91 ICRC, above note 34, p. 55.

92 ICRC, Massacres au Rwanda, July 1994, ICRC Audiovisual Archives, V-S-12616-A-01.

93 ICRC, above note 34, p. 56.

94 J.-H. Bradol, above note 5, pp. 130–134.

95 UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs, Rwanda Civil Disturbance, DHA-Geneva Daily Information Report No 1, April 1994; R. Caravielhe, above note 8, p. 54.

96 J.-H. Bradol, above note 5, pp. 135–136.

97 ICRC, above note 34, p. 58; J.-H. Bradol, above note 5, p. 129; AFP wire, 13 April 1994; L. Binet, above note 6, pp. 19–20.

98 J.-H. Bradol, above note 5, p. 120; L. Binet, above note 6, p. 20.

99 MSF staff received cards identifying them as ICRC delegates: see R. Caravielhe, above note 8, p. 101.

100 “MSF International Secretariat Sitrep”, 12 April 1994, in L. Binet, above note 6, p. 18.

101 5 or 12 May; sources disagree as to the exact date.

102 ICRC, above note 74; ICRC, above note 34, p. 58.

103 ICRC, “Rwanda: ICRC Hospitals Overwhelmed”, ICRC News, No. 24, 15 June 1994.

104 ICRC, “Displaced People in Desperate Need”, above note 82; ICRC, “Over 1,200 Operations at ICRC Hospital in Kigali”, ICRC News, No. 17, 6 July 1994.

105 ICRC, “Rwanda: Violent Clashes in Kabgayi”, ICRC News, No. 25, 22 June 1994.

106 L. R. Melvern, above note 15, p. 215; ICRC, “Over 1,200 Operations”, above note 104.

107 Bradol, Jean-Hervé and Guibert, Anne, “Le temps des assassins et l'espace humanitaire, Rwanda, Kivu, 1994–1997”, Hérodote: Revue de Géographie et de Géopolitique, No. 86–87, 1997, p. 122Google Scholar.

108 Ibid.

109 L. Binet, above note 6, p. 33.

110 Anne-Hélène Mahé, “Qu'est-ce que la ‘protection’ au CICR?”, ICRC, Geneva, 2021, available at: https://blogs.icrc.org/hdtse/2021/09/28/qu-est-ce-que-la-protection-au-cicr/.

111 L. R. Melvern, above note 15, p. 187.

112 ICRC, above note 58.

113 J.-H. Bradol and M. Le Pape, above note 18, p. 228.

114 L. Binet, above note 6, p. 60.

115 Ibid.

116 R. Caravielhe, above note 8, p. 40.

117 J.-H. Bradol, above note 5, p. 137.

118 Ibid., p. 139.

119 For more, see the account of René Caravielhe, who worked on ensuring the delegation's water supply: R. Caravielhe, above note 8.

120 J.-H. Bradol and M. Le Pape, above note 18, p. 62.

121 R. Caravielhe, above note 8, p. 52. Colonel François Munyengango was the Rwandan armed forces’ liaison officer to the ICRC.

122 ICRC, “Rwanda: 350 Orphans Evacuated to Zaire”, Press Release No. 21, 4 May 1994.

123 Ibid.

124 ICRC, “Over 1,200 Operations”, above note 104.

125 ICRC, above note 68.

126 P. Gaillard, La vraie vie est absente, above note 15.

127 P. Gaillard, “Surviving Genocide”, above note 15, p. 74.

128 L. R. Melvern, above note 15, p. 215.

129 ICRC, above note 92.

130 J.-H. Bradol and M. Le Pape, above note 18, p. 64.

131 ICRC, above note 92.

132 P. Gaillard, above note 9.

133 Ibid.

134 J.-H. Bradol and M. Le Pape, above note 18, p. 64.

135 P. Gaillard, La vraie vie est absente, above note 15; J.-H. Bradol and M. Le Pape, above note 18, pp. 64, 242.

136 P. Gaillard, “Surviving Genocide”, above note 15, pp. 79–80.

137 P. Gaillard, above note 9.

138 P. Gaillard, “Surviving Genocide”, above note 15, p. 71.