Rwanda and Genocide in the Twentieth Century

By Alain Destexhe

Book Overview

The massacre of the Tutsis in Rwanda, argues Alain Destexhe, is the first incontestable case of genocide since 1945. Yet the term has been frequently used by the media to emphasise the horror of many of the world's mass killings: from Cambodia and East Timor to Somalia and Bosnia.Destexhe demonstrates that genocide has a very specific definition and places the concept under close scrutiny, arguing that failure to limit the term to situations where it is clearly applicable under the terms of the UN Convention on Genocide detracts from the gravity of the offence.It must now be reinstated as the most infamous of all crimes. Setting the study in its historical context by analysing the Armenian and Jewish genocides, Destexhe concludes that a failure to grasp the reality of the situation in Rwanda undoubtedly explains the failure of the international community to take adequate action.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0745310419
• ISBN13: 9780745310411
• Release Date: October 1995
• Publisher: Pluto Press
• Length: 104 Pages
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.3" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Immensely Important Work

This is an immensely important piece of work. In a subject such as genocide, which is one of the most controversial, disturbing, and hardest to understand areas of (in)human behavior, we cannot afford to trivialize analysis as "dry" or "a good read." Understanding genocide and all dehumanizing behavior takes work and all work on it is inevitably slightly skewed.* Destexhe's work, however, is a fantastic piece with the best-researched history and historical analysis, does not mince words, and asserts the importance of and furthers understanding of humanity. I read this several years ago before I started courses in genocide and still find it invaluable. Pieces like this are rare gems. *As I interpret Primo Levi to have said in "The Saved and the Drowned." Please correct me if you disagree.

Required Reading

While it is possible to list dozens of examples of crimes against humanity, there are only three that meet the strict definition of "Genocide," according to Mr. Destexhe, Secretary General of Doctors Without Borders. The systematic elimination of Tutsis by the Hutus in Rwanda in 1994 is one such instance. This concise treatise should be required reading for all human rights activists.