Roméo Dallaire

Biography

Roméo Dallaire was born on June 25, 1946, in Denekamp, Netherlands, to a Canadian father and Dutch mother, and grew up in Montreal. He rose through the Canadian Forces to become a Major-General, and in 1993 was appointed Force Commander of UNAMIR — the UN Mission for Rwanda. In January 1994, Dallaire sent a now-legendary cable to UN headquarters in New York — the 'Genocide Fax' — warning that an informant had revealed weapons caches, death lists, and plans for mass killing. The UN's response, orchestrated by Kofi Annan's Department of Peacekeeping Operations, was to order Dallaire not to raid the weapons caches and to inform the Rwandan government of the informant. When the genocide began in April 1994, Dallaire remained in Rwanda with a skeleton force after most nations withdrew their troops. With only 450 soldiers he managed to save tens of thousands of lives by maintaining safe zones. He begged repeatedly for reinforcements and a mandate to use force, but was denied by the Security Council. The experience destroyed him psychologically. After returning to Canada he suffered severe PTSD, alcoholism, and a near-fatal suicide attempt in a park. He wrote Shake Hands with the Devil (2003), became a Senator, and dedicated his later career to preventing genocide and advocating for mental health treatment for soldiers. He retired from public life as one of history's most important moral witnesses.

Key Battles