Shake hands with the devil
From Never Again
Responsibility to Protect
Accepting Responsibility - Dallaire Book Review
Lessons for humanity from the depths of destruction
Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda by Romeo Dallaire.
As the man powerless to stop the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, Romeo Dallaire is well placed to prick our consciences, particularly in the lead-up to a crucial UN meeting in New York, which could see world leaders committing to better protect us from crimes against humanity.
Despite repeated pleas to the UN, Dallaire was not given the mandate to intervene as the genocide began in 1994. Instead of sending reinforcements, there were calls to withdraw peacekeepers as the relentless slaughter of nearly one million Rwandans took place. He left Kigali in August of 1994 and, after trying to continue his military career, suffered post traumatic stress disorder and was discharged in 1999. Out of his experience, he has now written Shake Hands with the Devil: the failure of humanity in Rwanda, a title that refers to his meetings with the Genocidaire. Writing the book meant it was necessary for Dallaire to relive the whole experience and face his own guilt about the Rwandan victims as well as those under his command that were killed.
Speaking at Foyles bookshop in London last week, he talked about his renewed faith in humanity following his several suicide attempts. 'When I decided to carry on living,' he said, 'it was with an optimistic view. Every human being seeks serenity and I believe one day we will not have conflicts because of our differences.'
Asked whether there had been any changes since 1994, Dallaire said there had been changes in tactics and at an operational level, but the strategic framework and particularly the Security Council was the same as in 1994. Referring to the upcoming UN Millennium Summit, he said: 'We now have the possibility of holding countries accountable.' UN reforms could bring in a 'Responsibility to Protect', in which the international community has a duty to act if the state fails to protect its own citizens and crimes against humanity are taking place. However, this structural switch is now under threat and, if US ambassador John Bolton gets his way, Responsibility to Protect will be left out of the outcome document of the meeting. This will mean that the Security Council, which has demonstrably failed to stop crimes against humanity in the past, will retain control and responses will still be inconsistent and based on national interest. As Dallaire said: 'Genocide as a term is useless for making countries take action. It is only useful for tribunals afterwards.'
For the last two years, genocide has, according to many experts, been going on in Darfur. Dallaire, who agrees it is genocide but said the situation was 'stabilising', warned that 3.2 million people are still at risk. As well as ongoing violence, the rainy season is in full force, causing floods which have attracted no attention compared to New Orleans. Asked what should be done now in Darfur, Dallaire urged the European Union to produce the 93 million euros it promised to the African Union in support of the peace process, but over which it is now 'balking' because of accounting concerns. 'They need food, shelter and around 6,000 troops for security and they need it now,' he said. As Britain quietly continues its presidency of the EU, this is something that UK MPs and MEPs can be pushed on.
Dallaire's survival and his renewed faith in humanity should galvanise all of us into action. The book is harrowing and difficult but should be required reading for us but especially for the men in suits making decisions in New York later this month. They have a responsibility to improve the protection of all humans and, with evidence like this book and many others, there are no excuses for genocide to happen again.
