Office of The Special Adviser on The Prevention of Genocide

Work of the Office

Outreach

Public Briefings

• On 26 April 2012, the Office participated in a workshop on “Operationalising the Responsibility to Protect” in Brussels, Belgium, organised by the Global Governance Institute, the Madariaga-College of Europe Foundation, the Global Action to Prevent War and the International Coalition on the Responsibility to Protect.  The workshop brought together policy-makers from the European Union, the United Nations and regional organisations, scholars and civil society to debate the civilian and military challenges of the third (response) pillar of the Responsibility to Protect principle.
• On 25 April 2012, the Office participated in a roundtable discussion in Brussels, Belgium, hosted by the Task Force for the Improvement of the European Union’s Capacities to Prevent Mass Atrocities and the Foundation for the International Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities.  The meeting brought together leading experts in conflict and mass atrocities prevention and representatives of European Union institutions, Member States and civil society to take stock of the European Union’s current capabilities and practices in mass atrocity prevention and to discuss options for improving the warning-response linkage.
• On 23 April 2012, Special Adviser Francis Deng spoke at the second annual National Day of Remembrance and Action on Mass Atrocities, hosted by the Canadian All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity in partnership with the Canadian Centre for International Justice in Ottawa, Canada.  Conceived as a call to action, the event aimed to raise awareness and public interest in the ongoing struggle against present and future atrocities around the world.  The event also examined Canada’s responsibility to past victims of mass atrocities by highlighting the urgent need to prevent and address ongoing threats.
• On 14-15 April 2012, Special Adviser Francis Deng participated in the Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa, in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. This year’s forum, entitled “African voices in the global security agenda”, was organized by the Institute for Peace and Security Studies.   Two key themes were discussed, namely:  (1) state fragility and the prospects of peace in Africa, with a focus on protracted conflict and regional response; and (2) managing diversity to promote peace and stability, focussing on the African Peer Review Mechanism and diversity governance as structural prevention.
• On 11 April 2012, Special Adviser Edward Luck participated in a ceremony to commemorate the Rwandan Genocide organized by the United Nations Department of Public Information in cooperation with the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Rwanda to the United Nations, in New York. The theme of this year’s commemoration was “Learning from history to shape a bright future.” Mr. Luck participated in the reading of letters from Rwandan orphans, widows and imprisoned genocidaires. Other speakers included the President of the General Assembly, the Deputy Secretary-General, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Rwanda to the United Nations, the Chairperson of the African Group and the Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations.  
• On 5 April 2012, the Office participated in a public briefing in New York entitled “Learning from history to shape a bright future,” in observance of the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Rwanda Genocide.  Hosted by the United Nations Department of Public Information, the briefing aimed to facilitate the exchange of information and support the development of partnerships with civil society.
• On 13 March 2012, Mr. Deng provided a lunch-time briefing in The Hague for government officials from the Dutch Ministries of Foreign Affairs and National Defence, representatives from civil society organisations and academics. Mr. Deng spoke about his approach to his mandate and lessons learned during his assignment as Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide.

• On 1-2 March 2012, Special Adviser Francis Deng took part in a roundtable debate, hosted by the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation for its 50th anniversary celebrations. Alongside Martti Ahtisarri, Lakhdar Brahimi and Jan Eliasson, Mr. Deng discussed issues related to his mandate in the context of security, development, conflict prevention, mediation, post-conflict reconstruction and justice as well as other contemporary challenges confronting the international community.
• On 24-26 February 2012, the Office participated in a preparatory workshop in New York, USA, for the second meeting of the Responsibility to Protect Focal Points Network, co-convened by the Stanley Foundation and the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect.
• On 9 January 2012, Special Adviser Edward Luck participated as a panellist in a discussion on the “International Responsibility After Libya”, hosted by the Brookings-London School of Economics project on Internal Displacement in Washington, D.C., USA.   On 10 January 2012, Mr. Luck participated in a panel discussion on “the Responsibility to Protect After Libya” in New York, USA, hosted by the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect.
• Special Adviser Edward Luck took part as keynote speaker at a meeting on operationalizing the Responsibility to Protect at the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict, at the University of Oxford (10 December 2011).
• The Office contributed to an international conference organized by the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and hosted by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. The conference brought together professionals with expertise in human rights, international humanitarian law, genocide, international courts, gender, refugee law, the arms trade, environmental law and UN institutions and mechanisms to discuss the intersection of these related topics (1 December 2011). Consideration was given to the Responsibility to Protect as a cross-cutting issue.
• Special Adviser Francis Deng lectured at the Italian Society for International Organizations (United Nations Association – Italy) and at the Guido Carli Free International University for Social Studies and provided a briefing to the Community of Sant’Egidio (21-24 November 2011).
• Special Adviser Edward Luck delivered the keynote address at the 44th Annual Sutton Colloquium at the University of Denver, Colorado, entitled “The Arab Spring and Its Unfinished Business: Law & Policy Issues” (5 November 2011).
• “Exploring new capacities to address the threat of atrocity crimes”, organized by the United Nations Information Service in Vienna, Austria (23 to 25 May 2011)
• On 12-13 May, 2011, the Office participated in a workshop entitled “Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities”, hosted by the Madariaga – College of Europe Foundation and the Folke Bernadotte Academy in Brussels, with the support of the Hungarian Presidency of the European Union, and in cooperation with the European External Action Service and the European Peacebuilding Liaison Office. The final report of the workshop, including the Office’s contributions, can be found here.
• Third Regional Forum on the Prevention of Genocide organized by the Governments of Argentina, Switzerland and Tanzania (4-6 April 2011)
• International Symposium on Preventing Genocide and Mass Atrocities, organized by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Mémorial de la Shoah, Paris, France (15 November 2010)
• Early Warning for Protection: Technologies and practise for the prevention of mass atrocity crimes, organized by Oxfam Australia and the Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, Phnom Penh, Cambodia (3-4 November 2010)
• “Dangerous speech on the road to genocide” at the UN Headquarters in New York (28 October 2010)
• Dag Hammarskjöld Lecture 2010 on “Idealism and Realism: Negotiating sovereignty in divided nations”, Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, Uppsala, Sweden (10 September 2010) Video of lecture
• Informal interactive dialogue of the UN General Assembly on "Early Warning, Assessment and the Responsibility to Protect", New York, United States of America (9 August 2010)
• Canadian All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity, Ottawa, Canada (4 May 2010)
• Second Regional Forum on the Prevention of Genocide organized by the Governments of Argentina, Switzerland and Tanzania, Arusha, Tanzania (3-5 March 2010)
• Symposium on Unity and Self Determination, “Prospects for Reconciling Self-Determination with Unity in Sudan, Khartoum, Sudan (2 November 2009)
• Event to mark the 70th anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogrom, “Lessons Learned: Holocaust remembrance and combating anti-Semitism in 2008”, Hofburg, Vienna, Austria (10 November 2008)

High-Level Meetings

• On 3 April 2012, Special Adviser Edward Luck participated in an informal meeting of Member States from Latin America and the Caribbean, hosted by the Permanent Mission of Chile to the United Nations. The meeting, entitled “The Responsibility to Protect: Looking into the Future”, explored challenges facing the Responsibility to Protect. Member States debated the need to address conceptual issues and deepen the global consensus, consolidate the principle through practice, mainstream the Responsibility to Protect within regional organisations and build capacities at the global, regional and national levels.
• On 21 February 2012, the Permanent Mission of Brazil to the United Nations hosted an informal discussion in the General Assembly of its paper on “Responsibility while protecting: elements for the development and promotion of a concept” (A/66/551-S/2011/701). The discussion was co-chaired by His Excellency Ambassador Anotonio de Aguiar Patriota, Minister of External Relations of Brazil, and by Special Adviser Edward Luck.  Special Adviser Francis Deng also participated in the discussion. Mr. Luck’s opening remarks are available here and Mr. Deng’s statement is available here.

• On 18 January 2012, Special Advisers Francis Deng and Edward Luck both participated in a high-level conference, entitled “R2P: The Next Decade” in New York, United States of America. Hosted by the Stanley Foundation in partnership with the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the MacArthur Foundation, the conference traced the course of the Responsibility to Protect through past experience and contemporary realities, and considered the prospects and challenges steering its evolution from political principle to policy doctrine into the next decade.   United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon delivered a keynote speech on making 2012 the “Year of Prevention”.
• On 8-9 December 2011, Special Adviser Edward Luck participated in an informal retreat in Tarrytown, United States of America on “The Responsibility to Protect after Libya”, hosted by the Netherlands Permanent Mission. Mr. Luck participated as an expert panellist to discuss progress and challenges for the Responsibility to Protect within the UN secretariat.
• On 23 September 2011, during the first week of the General Assembly, the Special Advisers participated in the Fourth Annual Ministerial Meeting on “Upholding the Responsibility to Protect: Responding to future threats of mass atrocities”, hosted by the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, in collaboration with the Foreign Ministries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Republic of Guatemala in New York.  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attended the meeting and delivered a statement. At the completion of the meeting the Global Centre, the Netherlands and Guatemala, issued a joint statement about the event. 

Brownbag Lunch Series

• As part of the Office’s activities to commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, the Office hosted a brown bag lunch seminar on 7 December 2011 in New York for some 25 United Nations staff from the Departments of Political Affairs and Peacekeeping Operations as well as the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights and other relevant UN entities.  Panellists included Alex Bellamy, Professor of International Security at the Griffith Asia Institute, and Dr. Felice Gaer, Director of the Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights.  The panellists discussed the structural risk factors that exist in all regions that could lead to a risk of genocide or related crimes and the legal norms and standards that may be invoked to strengthen the basis for taking action to prevent genocide and related crimes as well as how the United Nations could support Member States to effectively manage inter-group relations to reduce the risk of inter-ethnic conflicts, including the risk of genocide.
• On 6 October, the Office hosted a brown bag lunch seminar in New York for some 55 United Nations staff from the Departments of Political Affairs and Peacekeeping Operations as well as the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights and other relevant UN entities.  Special Adviser Edward Luck presented an overview of the United Nations’ strategy for the further development and implementation of the Responsibility to Protect and discussed some of the challenges to its implementation.

Other initiatives

On 28-30 March, the Office participated in the launch of the Latin American Network for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention. This Network has been established under the leadership of Argentina (Secretariat for Human Rights of the Ministry of Justice, Department of Human Rights of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship), Brazil (Secretariat of Human Rights at the Office of the President), and the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation. This network, comprising 18 participating States, aims to develop a community of genocide prevention-sensitive civil servants and to contribute to regional dialogue on individual and collective efforts for the prevention of genocide and mass atrocity crimes in the region and beyond. The Office endorsed the initiative and proposed options to strengthen regional cooperation on this matter.