Collective guilt over the genocide in 1994 has shaped the world’s relations with Rwanda ever since. Without question, the systematic killing of 800,000 people is one of the foremost historic blights of the last century. And the international community deserves blame for ignoring facts and avoiding action when intervention could have saved thousands.
But it’s time to take off the kid gloves when dealing with this tiny, landlocked country with outsized influence in East Africa. If there’s any hope of Rwanda winning truly lasting stability, it must change course and stop fueling conflicts across its borders.
The progress Rwanda has made since the genocide is nothing less than remarkable. Any visitor to Kigali today will immediately note the clean new streets. The capital is filled with new malls catering to the wealthy, restaurants offering panoramic views of the city and cafés brewing Rwanda’s own world-renowned coffee.
Over the last decade, Rwanda’s economy has averaged above 8 percent growth per year, according to the I.M.F., and it is considered the best place in Africa to start a business, according to the World Bank’s latest rankings. Millions have been pulled out of poverty, people live more than 20 years longer than they did in the 1990s, maternal and child mortality rates have dropped dramatically, and health care coverage is nearly universal. When I was working with the U.S. Agency for International Development on health and economic projects in Rwanda, I couldn’t help but be impressed by how quickly the country was developing.
All of this has made Rwanda a darling of aid donors, and Rwandan leaders are deft at handling them. Officials feel at home at international summit meetings and President Paul Kagame — one of the most popular African leaders on Twitter — exudes confidence on the global stage.
This combination of international sympathy, impressive economic growth and political savvy has caused the United States, Britain and other powers to largely turn a blind eye to Kigali’s transgressions.
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