Romeo A. Dallaire

Lieutenant-General Romeo A. Dallaire "joined the Canadian army in 1964. He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General in July 1989. In 1993, while commander of 5e Groupe-brigade mécanisé du Canada at Valcartier, Quebec he was given command of the UN Observer Mission Uganda-Rwanda (UNOMUR). This mission was integrated into the UN Assistance Mission in Rwanda (UNAMIR) in October 1993, and Dallaire was appointed Force Commander. As the leader of a United Nations peacekeeping mission, Dallaire arrived in Rwanda prepared to enforce a recently completed peace treaty. Instead, he found a humanitarian disaster. During Dallaire's time in Rwanda, 800,000 people were killed in just 100 days, despite his best efforts to warn the UN about the impending genocide. Upon his return from serving as Force Commander of the UN mission to Rwanda, Dallaire served as Commander of the 1st Canadian Division and Deputy-Commander of the Canadian Army. On promotion to Lieutenant-General, he was appointed to various senior positions including Assistant Deputy Minister (Human Resources-Military) in the Ministry of National Defence. He retired from the Canadian army in 2000 and is now a special advisor to the Canadian Minister responsible for Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) on matters relating to war affected children around the world and to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade on the non-proliferation of small arms. He is a best-selling author, his recent book, Shake Hands With the Devil, is a stirring account of his experiences in Rwanda."


 * Carr Center, Former Fellows 2004/05
 * Winner of the 2004 International Rescue Committee: Freedom Award
 * Advisory Board, Genocide Watch
 * Patron, Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
 * Endorser, Genocide Intervention Network
 * Patron, Aegis Trust