FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Quarterman, [email protected], 202-372-6295
Mass Atrocity Prevention Post Rwanda and Darfur
Washington, DC – Today, Rwandans and the international community will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 1994 genocide that killed 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in 100 days. As commemorations unfold worldwide, an Enough Project report, released today, discusses modern mass atrocity prevention as we mark the anniversary of Rwanda’s genocide and recognize the 10th year of genocide in Darfur. The report “Rwanda 20 and Darfur 10: New Responses to Africa's Mass Atrocities” calls for a renewed approach to addressing the interlinked nature of modern-day African conflicts and mass atrocity crimes.
In the twenty years since the Rwandan genocide, Africa’s wars have become increasingly marked by integrated conflict systems, which spill over borders and include an array of armed groups. The conflicts, spanning the Horn of Africa, East Africa, and Central Africa, have taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Conventional peace processes and peacekeeping operations, however, are limited in scope and have largely failed to address the complexities of modern African conflict and mass atrocities. As a result, they fail to address the core systemic drivers of violence.
Enough Project co-founder and author of the report, John Prendergast, says:
"Without addressing the complicated transnational root causes of conflict and mass atrocities, without being much more inclusive, without dealing decisively with spoilers, and without integrating broader regional actors, today’s peace processes have no chance of producing sustainable peace."
To combat this, the report argues for new approaches to peacemaking and civilian protection that make a real difference in the lives of people in conflict-ridden regions. A new strategy should be marked by broader peace mechanisms, which include an effective response system from the international community and comprehensive and regional peace processes that address core drivers of conflict.
Read the report, “Rwanda 20 and Darfur 10: New Responses to Africa's Mass Atrocities” – https://enoughproject.org/files/Rwanda-20-and-Darfur-10.pdf