S/P/314. Master's Dissertation. State Sovereignty versus Individual Human Rights in Rwandan Genocide of 1994

The dissertation looks at the genocide of Rwanda's government against its citizens in 1994 addressing the contradiction between the observance of the country's independence from foreign interference, on the one hand, and the violation of human rights within the country, on the other hand. Literature is reviewed on the theoretical aspects of state sovereignty, human rights law, the causes and consequences of Rwandan genocide, the role of the media, the church, international organisations such as IMF and World Bank (WB), etc. Research is conducted into the attitudes of citizens about Rwanda's sovereignty to determine whether it was used as a shield to conceal individual rights' violations from international view. The methods of primary data collection (through questionnaires within a sample group) are combined with the research of secondary data. Conclusions are made about the current human rights observance in Rwanda and the functions of the international human rights bodies suggesting recommendations about their work in times of crisis.