We remember the Canadian Veterans who served in UN Peacekeeping efforts in Rwanda from 1993 to 1996.

Canada played an important role in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions in the African nation of Rwanda from 1993 to 1996. Juvénal Habyarimana, the Hutu president of Rwanda, was assassinated on 6 April 1994. Hutu extremists retaliated with a nightmare of violence. Over the next 100 days, more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus died. This was one of the worst genocides of the 20th century. UN peacekeepers were unable to stop the worst of the violence. Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members tried to restore order. They delivered needed humanitarian aid and other help. Hundreds of CAF members returned from Rwanda affected by the horrors they had seen.

Canadian Veterans in Rwanda Peacekeeping Timeline

October 1990 - August 1993: Renewed civil warfare in Rwanda displaces hundreds of thousands of people

4 August 1993: Rwandan government and Rwandan Patriotic Front sign the Arusha Peace Agreement

5 October 1993: United Nations (UN) creates the United Nationals Assistance Mission for Rwanda. Canada's Major-General Roméo Dallaire is its commander

6 April 1994: Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana is assassinated

7 April 1994: Hutu extremists launch a genocide against the Tutsi and moderate Hutus. They kill more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus over the next 100 days

May 1994: UN launches renewed peacekeeping effort, called the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda II (UNAMIR II). Its mission is to try to protect civilians and provide humanitarian aid

July 1994: Worst of genocide ends. New government established in Rwanda, though violence persists

Late July 1994: First large contingent of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members deployed to Rwanda for UNAMIR II

August 1994: Canada's Major-General Guy Tousignant assumes UNAMIR II command

15 February 1996: Last UNAMIR II Canadian peacekeepers leave Rwanda


(Source: Veterans Affairs Canada)