ABSTRACT
While describing how the idea of humanitarian space came to emerge in 1994, this chapter considers what the experiences of the Rwandan genocide mean for human rights and the practice of humanitarian space. To use Lefebvre's term, the Rwandan genocide provides the 'trial by space' in its severest terms by showing to what extent the norm of human rights was successfully spatialized. And in this respect, the case, which revolves around the French creation of their 'humanitarian' space, will suggest the norm's rather limited status in international politics. The chapter shows how the 'safe humanitarian zone' (SHZ) helped construct conflicting conceptions of 'Rwanda' which produced conflicts within Rwanda and in the region. However, the nebulous humanitarianism of the SHZ soon became reality as RPF soldiers reached the zone's border. The SHZ was a humanitarian space protected by a neutral and impartial force, justified as a contribution to the stability of Rwanda and the region and authorized by Security Council resolutions.
