President Paul Kagame of Rwanda

Paul Kagame, the President of the Republic of Rwanda and central figure in the civil war that ended the 1994 genocide portrayed in the film Hotel Rwanda, will give an address at the University of Connecticut on Monday, September 19 on human rights in his nation. Introducing Kagame will be retired Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire, a Canadian who served as the top U.N. commander in Rwanda in 1994 and author of a book on the subject entitled “Shaking Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda.” Dallaire was played by actor Nick Nolte in the film.

Kagame wasborn in central Rwanda in 1957 but fled to Uganda in 1960. He became involved in the Ugandan army and attended military training in the United States before returning to Rwanda in 1990. Rwanda was experiencing bitter division and violence orchestrated by the majority Hutu ethnic group against the minority Tutsis. After returning to his native country, Kagame led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a guerrilla army which eventually forced the Hutus from power, ending the genocide that claimed an estimated 800,000 lives in 100 days. Kagame became vice-president in July 1994 and president in 2000 following the previous president’s resignation. He was elected to a full term as Rwanda’s head of state in 2003. Kagame has been critical of the U.N. failure to stop the extreme violence in his nation. His presentation is entitled “The Challenges of Human Rights in Rwanda After the 1994 Genocide.”

The event was organized by Professor Amii Omara-Otunnu, the only Chair-holder of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Human Rights in North America. It is part of the UNESCO Chair in Comparative Human Rights Presidential Lectures series. Omara-Otunnu is also head of the UConn-African National Congress Partnership. For more on his office, visit: http://web.uconn.edu/unescochair/home.htm

“President Kagame has been the dominant figure in Rwandan politics since the genocide just over a decade ago,” said Omara-Otunnu. “In 2003, he romped home in presidential elections, which marked the end of nine years of transitional government. He won a seven year term after running on a platform of national unity, boosting economic growth, strengthening governance and delivering justice. Since coming to power, President Kagame has consistently downplayed any ethnic agenda in Rwanda, presenting himself as a Rwandan and not a Tutsi, and has taken a strong line with elements accused of spreading any form of ethnic “divisionism” and those involved in any form of corruption. Along with addressing poverty and corruption, President Paul Kagame has placed security at the top of his agenda. President Kagame is an ascetic leader, and is regarded by most observers as an incorruptible and strong disciplinarian.”