On 13 December 1946, the United Nations and Belgium signed an agreement establishing Ruanda-Urundi as a UN trust territory. This agreement was later ratified by the Belgian Parliament, officially placing the region under Belgium’s administrative control under the supervision of the UN Trusteeship Council.
Key Details:
- Background:
- Ruanda-Urundi (modern-day Rwanda and Burundi) had previously been administered by Belgium as a League of Nations mandate following World War I.
- After the dissolution of the League of Nations in 1946, the United Nations established the Trusteeship System, and Belgium was assigned responsibility for Ruanda-Urundi under this framework.
- Terms of the Trusteeship:
- Belgium was tasked with preparing Ruanda-Urundi for eventual independence.
- The agreement included commitments to improve education, health care, infrastructure, and political representation for the population.
- Belgium was also required to report periodically to the UN Trusteeship Council on its administration of the territory.
- Impact on Rwanda and Burundi:
- While Belgium increased investments in education and infrastructure, its policies deepened ethnic divisions between the Hutu and Tutsi populations, which had been institutionalized during the colonial period.
- This division sowed the seeds for future political and ethnic conflicts in both countries.
- Path to Independence:
- Rwanda and Burundi remained under Belgian trusteeship until the early 1960s, gaining independence in 1962.
- The legacy of Belgian administration during the trusteeship era, particularly its ethnically divisive policies, significantly influenced post-independence conflicts.
Significance:
The 13 December 1946 agreement marked a pivotal moment in the history of Rwanda and Burundi, as it formalized Belgium’s role in guiding the territories toward independence. However, the trusteeship system failed to address the root causes of social and political inequalities, leaving a legacy of division that contributed to future unrest and violence.