Rwanda Promised ‘Never Again’ So Why Is Sudan Burning?

“Genocide anywhere implicates everyone.” — Alison Des Forges 

Darfur is and has been on fire. 

Villages in Western Sudan have been deliberately targeted by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since 2023. Women and children have been brutally raped and killed, entire communities have been forced to flee across borders and seek asylum, and over 75,000 Sudanese people have been savagely executed. The United Nations and many other International organizations have been warned; the severity and scale of the famine, the documented large-scale international crimes, and described patterns of ethnic targeting that echo the darkest chapters of the twentieth century. Yet, despite the decades of reforms, safeguards, and initiatives that the international communities have promised, they have failed once again. 

History of the Rwanda genocide 

We have seen this before. In 1994, the Rwandan genocide occurred, constituting one of the most rapid episodes of mass killing in the twentieth century. In just one hundred days, more than 800,000 Tutsi civilians and moderate Hutus were systematically murdered. These are breakdowns of human rights protection in modern history. Communities were targeted, bloodlines were erased, and civilians were brutally hunted and executed in their homes, churches, and schools. These inhumane killings were not spontaneous outbreaks of havoc but intentional, coordinated acts of extermination carried out with chilling efficiency. The prominent driver of this genocide was the curated, systematic use of propaganda to normalize and encourage violence and mobilize civilian participation. 

Propaganda in Rwanda 

The primary source of information and instruction the Hutu extremist militias were receiving was through the radio, a broadcast known as the Radio-Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM). RTLM was the most infamous radio station in Rwanda. It was launched in 1993, roughly a year before the genocide began. The RTLM was founded and owned by political actors associated with hardliners within the then-ruling regime. The broadcasts started off less harmful and were almost playful; that sarcastic comedic tone quickly shifted in a very alarming direction. The daily broadcasts repeatedly dehumanized Tutsi people as “inyenzi” (cockroaches) and framed their extermination as necessary to protect Rwanda. The content of these broadcasts rapidly escalated to guiding the killers with lists of names, personal addresses, and direct hits on specific prominent Tutsi leaders and their families. 

History Repeating: The Pattern of International Inaction

The parallels between Rwanda and Sudan are not identical. History never repeats itself perfectly, but it is disturbingly familiar. Understanding the international response to the Rwandan genocide is essential for evaluating how the global community is responding to mass violence in Sudan today. As we saw in 1994 when Rwanda fell to pieces, we are seeing a very parallel repeat in Darfur. Since April 2023, violent conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has produced widespread civilian targeting, ethnic cleansing, mass displacement, and systematic sexual violence. This ongoing humanitarian collapse has left millions in dangerous or deadly conditions. The lack of international action is astounding. As of early 2026, the United Nations has not formally declared that a genocide is taking place in Sudan. Yet, the UN has characterized the situation as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with over 12.5 million displaced and 50,000+ killed since April 2023. In contrast, on January 7th, 2025, the US Department of State officially determined that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are committing genocide against non-Arab communities in Darfur. These contradicting statements undermine the severity of the crisis and reveal the extremely fragmented international response that highlights the lack of urgency, accountability, and intervention. When International organizations or countries go without acknowledging or failing to agree, this prolongs the crisis and leaves millions at risk by allowing the atrocity to escalate unchecked. The hesitation that the UN has displayed reflects the troubling pattern seen during the Rwandan genocide, when international actors avoided recognizing genocide to evade legal and political obligations under the Genocide Convention. 

Institutional Failure and Global Responsibility

Following the 1994 genocide, the international community established many new and improved frameworks to prevent future atrocities from occurring, particularly the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), the commitment promised that states and international institutions would intervene when populations face mass atrocity crimes. Despite the creation of this legally binding commitment, the crisis in Sudan is a prime example of a contemporary Rwandan genocide all over again. Despite the reports and media coverage of ethnic targeting, mass displacement, famine, and crimes against humanity, the United Nations Security Council remains politically divided and underfunded. Much like Rwanda, the international community as a whole is failing Sudan. 

UN failure from ‘94 to the present day in Sudan 

In the midst of the Rwandan genocide, the UN not only failed to strengthen UNAMIR but actually reduced its troop presence at the height of the massacres, leaving fewer than 300 peacekeepers in a nation where hundreds of thousands were being exterminated. The UN’s failure was not due to complete ignorance but derived from a deficient moral framework that prioritized institutional neutrality over the protection of innocent civilians. This came across as a sign of no repercussions or consequences for the Hutus who were killing. Meaning, with no international intervention occurring, the perpetrators can continue the act of mass violence. Effective atrocity-prevention systems are primarily characterized by strong field-based monitoring networks, the use of multiple qualitative and quantitative sources of information, appropriate communication frameworks, consistent reporting to national and international stakeholders, and most importantly dependable links to rapid response mechanisms. In Rwanda, these elements were either absent or fatally disconnected from political decision-making.

Sudan is reflecting the same patterns today; the extreme lack of institutional assistance and the prominence of political paralysis are deeply concerning. Regardless of the early warnings, humanitarian collapse, and credible reports of rape, mass violence, and ethnic cleansing, a proper intervention is yet to materialize. 

Resolution 

The deadlock in Sudan demonstrates that the international community has learned nothing from the Rwandan genocide. Despite the decades of creating pacts, implementing reforms, and solidifying commitments, mass atrocities are still taking place, while international response continues to fail. If the 1994 genocide taught the international community anything, it would be that urgency is absolutely crucial in these situations, and delayed recognition and political hesitation enable violence rather than forestall it. 

Moving forward, the international community and international organizations, such as the UN, must change their approach to ensure the enforcement of international law, security and to hold themselves accountable for the implementation of basic human rights. Early intervention and coordinated humanitarian response are essential to preventing further atrocities. Understanding the Rwanda genocide requires more than historical acknowledgment; it demands critical reflection on how political hesitation and inadequate international intervention enabled mass violence.Without decisive intervention in Sudan, the promise of “Never Again” risks becoming a record of repeated failure.

Ava Meates is a second-year BA candidate in Political Science & International Studies at Saint Louis University - Madrid. She serves as Co–Vice President of the Political Affairs Club, where she works to raise awareness about contemporary global issues within the university community. As a member of the Human Rights Club committee, she contributes to organizing events that promote dialogue and advocacy around human rights and international accountability. Her research interests focus on human rights and women’s rights, particularly in the African region, in relation to international action and inaction in response to humanitarian crises.

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To quote this article, please use the following reference:

Meates, A. (2026, February). Rwanda Promised “Never Again” So Why Is Sudan Burning? Observatory On Contemporary Crises. https://www.crisesobservatory.org/post/Rwanda-Promised-Never-Again-So-Why-Is-Sudan-Burning