Office of The Special Adviser on The Prevention of Genocide

The Responsibility to Protect

Prevention requires apportioning responsibility to and promoting collaboration between concerned States and the international community. The duty to prevent and halt genocide and mass atrocities lies first and foremost with the State, but the international community has a role that cannot be blocked by the invocation of sovereignty. Sovereignty no longer exclusively protects States from foreign interference; it is a charge of responsibility where States are accountable for the welfare of their people. This principle is enshrined in article 1 of the Genocide Convention and embodied in the principle of “sovereignty as responsibility” and in the concept of the Responsibility to Protect.

The three pillars of the responsibility to protect, as stipulated in the Outcome Document of the 2005 United Nations World Summit (A/RES/60/1, para. 138-140) and formulated in the Secretary-General's 2009 Report (A/63/677) on Implementing the Responsibility to Protect are:

1. The State carries the primary responsibility for protecting populations from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing, and their incitement;
2. The international community has a responsibility to encourage and assist States in fulfilling this responsibility;
3. The international community has a responsibility to use appropriate diplomatic, humanitarian and other means to protect populations from these crimes. If a State is manifestly failing to protect its populations, the international community must be prepared to take collective action to protect populations, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.

The work of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Mr. Francis Deng, should be viewed in conjunction with the closely related work of the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, Mr. Edward Luck, who focuses on developing the conceptual, political and operational aspects of the Responsibility to Protect. In order to eliminate redundancy and maximize effective use of resources, the Secretary-General directed the two Special Advisers to form a joint office and merge their functions and activities. This decision was referred to in the Secretary-General’s letter to the President of the Security Council of 31 August 2007 (S/2007/721), as well in his statements and reports to the General Assembly on the responsibility to protect in 2009 and 2010 (A/63/677, A/64/864). These followed extensive consultations with Member States and United Nations entities, including multiple meetings of the Secretary-General’s Policy Committee dedicated to the responsibility to protect. This merger has resulted in changes to the conceptual framework, methodology and operational activities of the Office.

In July 2009, the Secretary-General presented his report on “Implementing the responsibility to protect” (A/63/677) to the General Assembly during an informal interactive dialogue.  Following the informal discussion, the General Assembly continued to debate how best to implement the Responsibility to Protect and the Secretary-General’s strategy. On 2 October 2009, the General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/63/308) to continue consideration of the Responsibility to Protect. Mr. Luck delivered remarks during the July 2009 dialogue on implementing the Responsibility to Protect.

On 9 August 2010, the Secretary-General addressed an informal interactive General Assembly dialogue on “Early warning, assessment and the responsibility to protect” as part of the General Assembly’s continued consideration of the emerging concept. The Secretary-General’s report (A/64/864) on the issue highlights existing early warning and assessment mechanisms within the UN system, identifies gaps and proposes ways to improve the UN’s ability to use available early warning information effectively, including information from field operations, and to improve early, flexible and balanced responses where there is a risk of the genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or ethnic cleansing. Mr. Luck delivered remarks during the August 2010 dialogue on early warning, assessment and the Responsibility to Protect.

On 12 July 2011, the General Assembly held an informal interactive dialogue on “The role of regional and sub-regional arrangements in implementing the responsibility to protect”. The Secretary-General’s report (A/65/877-S2011/393) emphasizes how effective global-regional collaboration is essential for realizing the promise embodied in the Responsibility to Protect. The report identifies gaps and proposes ways for the UN to strengthen its cooperation and draw on information and analysis from regional and sub-regional arrangements to identify signs of danger and undertake or support timely and effective preventive action at the sub-regional, regional, or global level. See the UN press release and part I and part II of the debates and Mr. Luck delivered remarks during the July 2011 dialogue on the role of regional and sub-regional arrangements in implementing the Responsibility to Protect.