A decorated Lieutenant General, Roméo Dallaire served for 35 years with the Canadian Armed Forces. A best-selling author, his recently released book, Shake Hands with the Devil, is a stirring account of his experience as the Force Commander of the United Nations Mission to Rwanda and exposes the failures by humanity to stop the worst genocide in the 20th century.
Lt. General Roméo Dallaire's story shares the most extreme results of being given responsibility without authority: limited by immovable parameters; being overseen by an organisation who do not fully support the mission and put into situations which force you to question your ethics every step of the way.
As Commander of the UN Assistance Mission in Rwanda and Uganda, this is the situation that faced Roméo Dallaire. Ten years hence, Dallaire's leadership and courage in the face of the Rwandan genocide tragedy have earned him international respect, and he returned to Canada with ever-stronger beliefs in the value of our humanity.
Dallaire's areas of expertise, now shared with audiences around the world, include presentations on leadership and conflict resolution. His compelling presentations use military and business experience, addressing the whole area of conflict, of ethical and moral decisions, of humanity; the arena in which one could sit back and ponder the following question: are all humans, human? Or, are some more human than others?
He states that if our vision is our self-interest and the advancement of our nation, there should also be a strategic focus on that higher plane called humanity. We are not allowed to abdicate that responsibility.
General Dallaire has received a Fellowship at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Kennedy School of Government, at Harvard University to pursue his research in conflict resolution. The producer of the Oscar award-winning Bowling for Columbine plans to make a movie of Dallaire's life story.