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OverviewWhy was the UN a bystander during the Rwandan genocide? Do its sins of omission leave it morally responsible for the hundreds of thousands of dead? Michael Barnett, who worked at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations from 1993 to 1994, covered Rwanda for much of the genocide. Based on his first-hand experiences, archival work, and interviews with many key participants, he reconstructs the history of the UN's involvement in Rwanda. In the weeks leading up to the genocide, the author documents, the UN was increasingly aware or had good reason to suspect that Rwanda was a site of crimes against humanity. Yet it failed to act. In Eyewitness to a Genocide, Barnett argues that its indifference was driven not by incompetence or cynicism but rather by reasoned choices cradled by moral considerations. Employing a novel approach to ethics in practice and in relationship to international organizations, Barnett offers an unsettling possibility: the UN culture recast the ethical commitments of well-intentioned individuals, arresting any duty to aid at the outset of the genocide. Barnett argues that the UN bears some moral responsibility for the genocide. Particularly disturbing is his observation that not only did the UN violate its moral responsibilities, but also that many in New York believed that they were ""doing the right thing"" as they did so. Barnett addresses the ways in which the Rwandan genocide raises a warning about this age of humanitarianism and concludes by asking whether it is possible to build moral institutions. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Michael BarnettPublisher: Cornell University Press Imprint: Cornell University Press Dimensions: Width: 15.20cm , Height: 0.50cm , Length: 22.90cm Weight: 0.425kg ISBN: 9780801488672ISBN 10: 0801488672 Pages: 240 Publication Date: 17 July 2003 Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , General , Undergraduate Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Out of Print Availability: In Print  Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock. Language: English Table of Contents"Introduction: Depraved Indifference 1. It Was a Very Good Year 2. Rwanda Through Rose-Colored Glasses 3. ""If This Is an Easy Operation..."" 4. The Fog of Genocide 5. Diplomatic Games 6. The Hunt for Moral Responsibility Brief Chronology of Rwandan Conflict Selected Chronology of United Nations' Security Agenda Acknowledgments Notes Index"ReviewsMichael Barnett offers a chilling explanation of why the UN froze while about 800,000 Tutsis and Hutu moderates were hacked to death in Rwanda in 1994. . . . [Barnett] blames an institutional culture which led the UN's well-intentioned staff to become entangled in conflicting interests and end up concluding that doing nothing was the proper way to proceed. The bureaucratic culture within the UN . . . produced a common understanding of the organization's role in world politics. This vision was embodied in abstract concepts such as neutrality, impartially, and consent. . . . Applied to the Rwanda genocide, these benchmarks dictated inaction. As a result, many UN officials sincerely believed that standing idly by was not only correct but also the morally virtuous stance. A chilling work despite its pervasive academic jargon; recommended for all international affairs collections. -Library Journal, April 2002 Author InformationMichael Barnett is University Professor of International Affairs and Political Science at The George Washington University. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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