What did the genocide in Rwanda mean for the humanitarian movement in general and for MSF in particular?
The genocide itself tore to shreds the humanitarian movement’s famous neutrality. Even when emergency aid saves lives, it cannot justify neutrality when faced with a political movement determined to exterminate an entire group of human beings. The only way to oppose such a movement is to call for armed intervention against the aggressors. That is what MSF did in June 1994 with its call, “Doctors can’t stop genocide.” Genocide is that exceptional situation in which, contrary to the rule prohibiting participation in hostilities, the humanitarian movement declares support for military intervention. Unfortunately, an international military intervention against the genocide never came to pass and the Rwandan Patriotic Front did not win its military victory until after the vast majority of victims were killed. The United Nations, which was present militarily in the country at the time, bears the heavy burden of failing to try to protect the Rwandan Tutsis, but France is guilty of supporting
