Roméo Antonius Dallaire

When the killing began in Rwanda in April 1994, Roméo Dallaire stayed. His United Nations force was being reduced, his mandate severely constrained what his peacekeepers could do, and Rwanda was descending into one of the most horrific genocides of the twentieth century. Dallaire could not stop the catastrophe with the resources placed under his command, but he continued to lead, negotiate, protect civilians and bear witness. His experience as Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda, UNAMIR, would make the Canadian lieutenant-general one of the most recognized military figures associated with the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. The Royal Military College of Canada credits his influence and that of his remaining peacekeepers with helping save approximately 32,000 Rwandans.

Roméo Antonius Dallaire was born on 25 June 1946 in Denekamp, Netherlands, into a Canadian military family and grew up in Montréal. He entered the Canadian military college system at Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean in 1964 and graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada in 1969 with a Bachelor of Science degree. Commissioned into the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery, he later attended the Canadian Land Force Command and Staff College, the United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and the British Higher Command and Staff Course. His rise through the Canadian Forces included command of the 5e Régiment d’artillerie légère du Canada, service as Director of Land Requirements, command of CMR Saint-Jean from 1989 to 1991, and command of 5e Groupe-brigade mécanisé du Canada at Valcartier.

In 1993, Dallaire was given command of the United Nations Observer Mission Uganda-Rwanda, UNOMUR, and then UNAMIR, which was created to help implement the Arusha peace agreement between the Rwandan government and the Rwandan Patriotic Front. On 11 January 1994, Dallaire sent the cable that later became famous as the “Genocide Fax.” It reported alarming information from an informant about preparations for violence and weapons caches. The cable later became one of the defining pieces of evidence in discussions about the warnings available to the international community before the genocide. Subsequent United Nations reviews concluded that Rwanda presented ample early warning and opportunities for preventive action.

The crisis exploded after the aircraft carrying Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana was shot down on 6 April 1994. Extremist forces launched systematic killings of Tutsi civilians and moderate Hutus, while civil war resumed. More than 800,000 Rwandans were murdered before the genocide and war reached their conclusion in July. UNAMIR was left with only a fraction of its original strength, yet Dallaire and the peacekeepers who remained continued operating protected sites, negotiating movement through hostile territory and attempting to shield civilians from massacre. The official RMC account records that his contingent remained under constant threat and that his influence is credited with helping save some 32,000 people.

Canada formally recognized Dallaire’s leadership in Rwanda with the Meritorious Service Cross, MSC, awarded on 20 May 1994 and invested on 30 September 1994. The Governor General’s official citation praised his exceptional professionalism, leadership and extraordinary altruism under perilous conditions. It specifically recognized his efforts to negotiate ceasefires, restore civil order, evacuate foreign nationals and protect Rwandan refugees, concluding that thousands of lives were saved through his efforts. The citation records his rank during these events as Major-General, an important distinction from his later and final rank of lieutenant-general.

After Rwanda, Dallaire returned to senior command in Canada. Later in 1994 he became Commander of the 1st Canadian Division and Deputy Commander of Canadian Land Forces. In 1996 he became Chief of Staff to the Assistant Deputy Minister, Personnel, at National Defence Headquarters. He was promoted to Lieutenant-General in 1998 and became the first Assistant Deputy Minister, Human Resources Military. His experience in Rwanda, however, had left profound psychological injuries. After periods of sick leave related to what the Canadian military described as an Operational Stress Injury, he served as Special Advisor to the Chief of the Defence Staff on officer professional development before being medically released from the Canadian Forces in April 2000, completing approximately 36 years of military service.

His honours reflected both his military leadership and the humanitarian work that followed it. Dallaire had been appointed an Officer of the Order of Military Merit in 1987 and was promoted to Commander of the Order of Military Merit in 1996, with his investiture as Commander taking place on 5 February 1997. In 2002 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. The official Order of Canada citation praised more than three decades of distinguished military service, his professionalism and leadership during the United Nations missions in Uganda and Rwanda, and his continuing work on behalf of war-affected children and people suffering from post-traumatic stress. It described him as a model of dedication and selflessness whose service continued beyond his military career.

Quebec appointed Dallaire a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec in 2005. The province’s official biography highlighted his 36 years of distinguished service in the Canadian Forces and the exemplary dedication he demonstrated during his United Nations commands. It also records his appointment as an Officer of the United States Legion of Merit in 1996. His official Royal Military College profile accordingly identifies him as OC, CMM, GOQ, MSC, CD, and also recognizes his United States Legion of Merit.

Dallaire’s struggle did not end when he removed his uniform. He became one of Canada’s most prominent voices on post-traumatic stress injury and operational stress injuries, speaking publicly about the psychological consequences of military service and helping bring an issue once discussed largely in silence into national conversation. He later served as an advisor on war-affected children, genocide prevention and defence matters, while a fellowship at Harvard University allowed him to study the use of children as instruments of war.

In 2005, Dallaire was appointed to the Senate of Canada, where his work included veterans, national security and defence issues. He left the Senate in 2014 to devote greater attention to the campaign against the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict. The organization he founded became the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security, carrying forward one of the central missions of his post-military life.

His memoir, Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, brought the experience of UNAMIR and the failure to prevent the Rwandan genocide to a worldwide readership. The book received the Governor General’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction and the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, and later inspired both a documentary and a feature film. His subsequent work, including They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children, extended his focus from Rwanda to the global problem of children used in warfare.

Roméo Dallaire’s legacy is difficult to separate from the tragedy he witnessed, but it should not be reduced to that tragedy. He was an artillery officer, general, United Nations force commander, senator, author and humanitarian advocate whose career became a lifelong examination of command responsibility, moral courage and the consequences of international inaction. Rwanda placed him in circumstances no commander would wish to face. What followed was a lifetime spent ensuring that what he witnessed there would neither be forgotten nor treated as inevitable.