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Article: U.S. self-interest fails floundering United Nations. (peacekeeping in Rwanda and elsewhere) (Cover Story) (Editorial)
- Article from:
- National Catholic Reporter
- Article date:
- August 12, 1994
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 National Catholic Reporter. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The appalling tragedies of Rwanda highlight once again the desperate need for some world force to anticipate and alleviate crises of this magnitude. The "blue helmets" of the United Nations are doing precisely that in 17 missions currently under way worldwide.
The U.N. peacekeepers have been engaged in 20 complex and violent disputes in the past four years; the total number of such missions during the prior 40 years was only 13. Despite this new and effective trend, U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali pleaded in vain for an international response to the war in Rwanda in which up to 500,000 people have been slaughtered. Only France finally intervened -- ...