Johan Swinnen

This article is about the diplomat. For the economist, see Johan Swinnen (economist).

Johan Swinnen (born 1947) is a Belgian diplomat who was ambassador in Rwanda during the Rwandan genocide.^[1]

Life

Education

Johan Swinnen obtained a doctorate in law and a license in notarial law from the Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968).^[2] He also studied international law at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva.^[3] In 1973, he became an assistant to the Executive Secretariat in preparation for the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe in Geneva, and in 1975 he joined the United Nations Legal Service. From 1988 to 1990, he was the spokesman for Foreign Affairs Department.^[4]

Career

Swinnen was ambassador in Kigali from 1990 to 1994. He is known for sending Brussels early warnings of what became the upcoming Rwandan genocide while ambassador in Rwanda. In 1992, he cabled Brussels that the Interahamwe militia had taken part in the carefully planned killings of around 300 Tutsis in southeastern Rwanda's Bugesera District.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10]} In January 1994, several months before the Rwandan genocide, Brussels about calls on the radio for the extermination of the Tutsi.^[11] He warned that as long as the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda did not intervene, arms would be distributed to the Interahamwe.^[12][13]

He was successively ambassador in The Hague (1997-2002), Kinshasa (2004-2008) and Madrid (2009-2011).

Swinnen has also been a diplomatic advisor to Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene.^[14]

Since 2015, he is chair of the board of the Brussels-based International Peace Information Service, an independent think tank that works on peace, sustainable development and human rights.^[15]

Recognition

In 2014, Philippe of Belgium granted him the noble title of baron.^[16]

References

1. Ernhede, Christian (4 September 2019). "25 years after the genocide in Rwanda many questions still remain unanswered". The Brussels Time.
2. "Alumnus and honorary ambassador Johan Swinnen talks about Rwanda's darkest days". KU Leuven.
3. "CHAPITRE DE BRUXELLES: CONFÉRENCE DE JOHAN SWINNEN SUR LE GÉNOCIDE RWANDAIS". Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.
4. "Diplomacy in times of crisis: The Rwandan genocide , story of a diplomat". Thomas More University of Applied Sciences.
5. Melven, Linda (2004). Conspiracy to Murder: The Rwandan Genocide. New York: Verso. p. 28. ISBN 9781844675425.
6. "VRT MAX". www.vrt.be. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
7. verzamelacocunt, werkt hier niet meer (2016-11-14). "Aangrijpend relaas over genocide: ambassadeur zoekt waarheid". EWmagazine.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-05-05.
8. "Les souvenirs de Johan Swinnen, ambassadeur de Belgique au Rwanda en 1994". Le Soir (in French). 6 April 2017. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
9. "Oud-ambassadeur: "25 jaar later blijf ik met dezelfde vragen zitten over de genocide in Rwanda"". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 2019-04-07. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
10. Swinnen, Johan. "Kortsluiting tussen Brussel en Kigali biedt kansen". De Standaard (in Flemish). Retrieved 2023-05-05.
11. Part 1 - ENTRETIEN AVEC SEM JOHAN SWINNEN ANCIEN AMBASSADEUR DE BELGIQUE AU RWANDA - 1990 -1994., retrieved 2023-05-05
12. Melvern, Linda (2000). A People Betrayed: The Role of the West in Rwanda's Genocide. Zed Books. ISBN 9781856498319.
13. Melvern, Linda (2004). Conspiracy to Murder: The Rwandan Genocide. New York: Verso. p. 102. ISBN 9781844675425.
14. "Memcon PM Jean-Luc Dehaene of Belgium" (PDF). National Archives.
15. Gerig, Laure. "Johan Swinnen". IPIS (in French). Retrieved 2023-05-05.
16. "Diplomacy in times of crisis: The Rwandan genocide , story of a diplomat". Thomas More University of Applied Sciences.