Romeo Dallaire (Syuzanna Petrosyan, Neon Tommy)

As the Force Commander for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) in 1993, where he witnessed the country descend into chaos and genocide, LGen Dallaire has become an outspoken advocate for human rights, genocide prevention, mental health and war-affected children. 

During the mission, he provided the United Nations with information about the planned massacre but permission to intervene was denied and the UN withdrew its peacekeeping forces. LGen Dallaire, along with a small contingent of Ghanaian soldiers and military observers, disobeyed the command to withdraw and remained in Rwanda to fulfill their ethical obligation to protect those who sought refuge with the UN forces.

LGen Dallaire touched upon questions which he believes our generation will need to answer if humanity is to thrive instead of simply survive. 

"Are all humans human?" He asks. More people were killed, raped, and turned into refugees in 100 days in Rwanda than during the six-year Yugoslav crisis, yet 67,000 troops were deployed to Yugoslavia while Dallaire was struggling to keep 400 in Rwanda. 

During the first week of the crisis in Rwanda, major powers observed and decided to not intervene because they said, "There is nothing here, no oil, no strategic location. All there is are human beings and there is too many of them," LGen Dallaire recalls. 

"Inaction is an action," he stresses. "Deciding to not do anything is an active decision." The old era of nation-states against nation-states is over and in the new era of nation-states against failed states, inter-ethnic, inter-religious conflict is filled with ethical, moral and legal dilemmas. Do we negotiate with terrorists? Do we kill child criminals? Do we choose sovereignty over crimes against humanity?

There is a necessity for world powers to adapt to new methods of conflict resolution with a higher focus on the responsibility to protect as well as sovereignty of not just the state but of the individual. Sovereignty, he believes, is no more absolute and individual's sovereignty dominates that of the states, and the great equalizer of the two is human rights protection. 

In what Dallaire calls the "New World Disorder," leading middle powers need to be activated to take action during crises. Big powers, such as the United States, come with too much baggage when it comes to humanitarian intervention, however, they have the power to get the middle powers engaged.  

Most importantly, Dallaire believes that the deep source of crises needs to be resolved, which is poverty reduction. For him, this should be done through the empowerment of women as fully participating members of societies, education of children, stressing mutual respect instead of tolerance, and understanding the responsibility to protect. 

Concluding his presentation, LGen Dallaire encouraged students to travel to poor countries and to feel, touch, and smell how 80% of humanity lives in poverty. He stressed the importance of working with non-governmental organizations in tackling poverty reduction and protecting human rights. 

Returning to his experience in Rwanda, a student in the audience asked Dallaire whether or not he has been able to forgive the perpetrators and bystanders of the Rwandan Genocide, to which he replied: "How can I forgive them when I haven't been able to forgive myself yet for failing."

Reach Executive Producer Syuzanna Petrosyan here. Follow her on Twitter.