The Arusha Accords or otherwise known as the Arusha Peace Agreement is important to know in order to understand the rise of the 1990 Civil War in Rwanda. The Arusha Accords consisted of five separate yet interrelated accords that made protocols regarding the ceasefire agreement between the government of Rwanda and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). This agreement was made on August 4th of 1993 and was made in order to establish a ceasefire, which, under meditation, would end the 3-year Rwandan Civil War. The Accords were organized and mediated by the United States of America, France and the Organization of the African Union. Talks of this accord started as early as July 12 of 1993 and lasted until June 24, 1993. As you guys may already know, the Rwandan people consisted of the lower-class known as the Hutus along with the aristocratic Tutsis. The Arusha Accords established a Broad –Based Transitional Government otherwise known, informally as the BBTG, which included the insurgent Rwandan Patriotic Front with the five political parties that had composed a temporary government since April 1992. The Arusha Accords also made plans of negotiations, which included key points, necessary for lasting peace. These points included but were not limited to: a rule of law, the proper and immediate repatriation of refugees both from fighting and from power sharing agreements and lastly, the merging of government and rebel armies. The impact of this agreement was huge. There was, in large, a greater international cooperation coming from the United Nations. On October 5 of 1993, the UN Security Council commissioned Resolution 872, which established the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda. The objective of the UN led Peacekeeping Mission was under the assistance and supervision of the Arusha Accords. Nevertheless, the peace talks along with the commissioned cease-fire went well underway and had plans on promoting a peaceful transition to ending the civil strife that was existence in Rwanda.

Click on the PDF file below for more information regarding the Arusha Accords and to read it in it's full context.