Waging Peace:  Rwanda

Following the Rwandan genocide of 1994, the presidents of Uganda and Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) asked President Carter to facilitate a meeting between themselves and the presidents of Burundi, Rwanda, and Tanzania – countries collectively known as the Great Lakes region of Africa – to negotiate a regional initiative to combat the climate of genocide, repatriate 1.7 million Rwandan refugees, and curb violence in the region. President Carter was joined in this effort by former Tanzania President Julius Nyerere, former Mali President Amadou Touré, and South Africa Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

After summits in Cairo and Tunis in March 1996, the presidents agreed to:

1. Prevent cross-border raids into any country
2. Halt arms flow to rebel groups
3. Remove people stirring fears that it is unsafe to return to Rwanda from refugee camps
4. Return military equipment to its country of origin, including Rwandan equipment held in Zaire
5. Turn over individuals indicted for genocide crimes to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and
6. Allow some 300 human rights observers in Rwanda to work with returning refugees.

However, despite these important commitments and strenuous efforts to implement them, there was little support from the international community, and most refugees finally returned to Rwanda only when full-scale violence broke out in Zaire.

Mediating Conflict

In October 1995, heads of state in the Great Lakes region of Africa asked The Carter Center to help them undertake a regional initiative to stimulate the repatriation of 1.7 million Rwandan refugees and curb violence in the region. Subsequently, the presidents of Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zaire held summits in Cairo (November 1995) and in Tunis (March 1996), where they agreed upon actions that would be required by their countries and the international community to finally bring peace, justice, reconciliation, stability, and development to this troubled region. Invited by the African presidents to facilitate those formal meetings and ongoing consultations were former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, former Tanzania President Julius Nyerere, former Mali President Amadou Touré, and South Africa Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Commitments made by the heads of state in Cairo and Tunis included promises to: prevent cross-border raids into any country and halt arms flow to rebel groups making incursions; remove from refugee camps in Zaire intimidators stirring fears it was unsafe to return to Rwanda; return military equipment to its country of origin, including that of the Rwandan government held in Zaire; deliver individuals indicted for crimes of genocide to the International Tribunal for Rwanda; identify and destroy hate radio inciting violence in Burundi; quickly create a justice system in Rwanda; and allow as many as 300 human rights observers in Rwanda to reassure returning refugees who fear for their safety. Read full text >