The method (of peace keeping) was put on test during the the genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994, the massacre in Srebrenica in 1995 and Bosnia and Herzegovia, where the peace keeping forces (several Belgian soldiers) were forced to watch the ongoing massacres and the killing of innocent people with out being allowed to engage in the conflict. 


It’s also an eye opener to see how countries in the UN such as the U.S. try to avoid helping countries in Africa such as Rwanda during their time of need. Rwanda’s time of need being the Rwand Genocide  that took place during 1994. The genocide killed approximately 20% of the Rwandan population. 
The majority of the people killed were Tutsis, one ethnic group of Rwanda who were opposed to the Hutus. While the massacre was in progress the U.S. did nothing to help the citizens of the country. 
They, along with the UN, simply decided to pull out all of their citizens. During/before the withdraw there were thousands of troops in Rwanda that could have been used to stop the conflict, but what did these countries with troops in Rwanda have to gain from doing so? Because there were no easily visible advantages of risking soldiers’ lives, the U.S. along with other countries withdrew their troops and let thousands of innocent people get slaughtered. 


They claimed not to have knowledge of how bad the situation was even though it was reported to them by a few citizens who decided to stay, as well as from reporters that decided to travel to Rwanda to report the story.

This has shocked the international community and led to unwillingness on the part of nations not otherwise involved to enter peacekeeping operations in potentially “hot” conflicts unless they have the ability to use force if necessary.

UN accused of sexual abuse:	UN peace keeper involved in child abuse and prostitution. To read the whole article click on next.

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