Operation “Assurance”: Planning A Multi-National Force For Rwanda/Zaïre

Introduction

In November 1996, as a by-product of the genocide in Rwanda two years earlier, a major humanitarian crisis erupted in Central Africa on the border between Zaïre and Rwanda. Hundreds of thousands of refugees — this time Hutus — fled into the jungles of the region and appeared on the verge of starvation. Canada took a leading role in forming a UN multinational force to provide aid and protection to the refugees. This proved to be a major challenge. Canada last took the lead in the formation of a multi-national UN force in 1956 (UNEF I), and had never led a UN Chapter VII operation. The Canadian government offered to deploy 1,500 personnel, including headquarters, transport, aviation and security elements, in addition to the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART). It was estimated that the mission would last up to four months, and that the cost would approach $60 to $100 million.