Office of The Special Adviser on The Prevention of Genocide

Work of the Office

Training Programme

Since 2009, the Office has been organizing training for UN staff, government officials and civil society in order to assist in developing capacity to analyze and manage information on genocide. war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, in particular within the United Nations system. This work is carried out in line with the Office’s mandate and as part of its broader efforts to raise awareness about the causes and dynamics of genocide and other atrocity crimes and to mainstream their prevention. The training program aims to facilitate and stimulate discussion on effective and practical means and ways in which participants possessing different roles, skills and experience could contribute to prevention of genocide and related atrocities in the region in which they are working. The Office also collaborates with other training institutions to organize workshops and seminars for government officials and civil society.

The seminars focus on key aspects of preventing and responding to genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity at the international, regional and domestic levels. They cover aspects of the principles of the Responsibility to Protect; the function and methodology of the United Nations early-warning mechanism for genocide prevention; the process of genocide from a socio-historical and human rights perspective, and genocide as an extreme form of identity-related conflict, the prevention of which calls for constructive management of diversity.

If your organization is interested in participating in the Office’s training activities, please contact us at osapg@un.org.

Key training seminars conducted by the Office to date include:

• On 13 November 2011, the Office contributed a day of training as part of a one-week seminar co-organized with the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation for 22 government officials from 17 countries from around the world. The goals of the seminar were to familiarize participants with the concept of genocide and related crimes; provide participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to identify and prevent the risk of genocide and engage in transitional justice mechanisms; reinforce the norm of the Responsibility to Protect; and contribute to a global network of genocide-sensitive policymakers.
• On 11-30 October 2011, the Office organized an outreach mission to Southeast Asia. The Office organized seven capacity-building workshops in three countries for 92 government officials, United Nations staff and representatives from civil society organizations.  The objective of the workshops was to facilitate discussions on effective and practical means for participants with different roles, mandates and responsibilities to contribute to preventing genocide and related crimes, including in collaboration with Member States, regional organizations, the UN and civil society.
• On 7 October 2011, the Office organized an abbreviated seminar for some ten United Nations staff who are members of the Expert Reference Group of the United Nations Inter-Agency Framework Team for Preventive Action. The training consisted of presentations focusing on key aspects of prevention and response, both at the international and domestic levels. The seminar also facilitated a discussion on the function and methodology of the United Nations early-warning mechanism on genocide and mass atrocities. It also addressed socio-historical dynamics and entry points for mass atrocity prevention and response.
• From 25-29 July 2011, the Office conducted three seminars in Juba, South Sudan for UN officials, civil society groups, and the Government of South Sudan, including officials from the South Sudan Human Rights Commission, the Judiciary, the Ministry of Justice and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA).  The training providing a forum for the 65 participants to learn about early warning systems to prevent mass atrocities and enabled them to contribute to the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities in the newly independent country. 
• On 1 July 2011, the Office contributed to the eleventh summer course on International Humanitarian Law organized by the International Institute for Humanitarian Law (IIHL), based in San Remo, Italy. About 50 government officials, NGO representatives and UN field staff were trained on genocide prevention, including early warning and risk assessment.
• From 27-29 June 2011, the Office collaborated with the Geneva Centre for Security Policy to host a training seminar entitled “Preventing and Responding to the Threat of Mass Atrocities under the Principles of R2P” for officials from 20 Permanent Missions in Geneva as well as a seminar for 30 civil society organizations active in the field of human rights, minority issues, humanitarian affairs, peace and security, and conflict prevention.
• From 20-24 June 2011, the Office supported the Sarajevo-based Centre for Justice and Reconciliation in the organization of a training seminar in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina for 30 civil society participants active in the field of dialogue and conflict prevention. The Office also conducted a seminar for officials of international organizations and the United Nations.
• On 27 and 29 April 2011, the Office conducted two specialized seminars for representatives of Permanent Missions in New York entitled “Preventing and Responding to Genocide and Mass Atrocities.”  Participants from 41 Member States discussed concrete measures to strengthen political will in the fight against mass atrocities. 
• On 15-16 March 2011, the Office organized training seminars in Kyrgyzstan for government officials and representatives from UN country teams and civil society organisations working in Central Asia. Over 100 participants learned about genocide and mass violence from a socio-historical approach. Drawing on historical and contemporary case studies, participants learned about preventive options to mitigate the risk of genocide during normal times and during impending crises.
• On 9 December 2010, the 62nd anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the Office held a training seminar for 30 staff from the United Nations Headquarters and international non-governmental organizations in New York City.
• On 3-4 November 2010, in cooperation with a network of international NGOs, the Office organized a training seminar for 35 civil society representatives on the sidelines of the international conference organized by Oxfam Australia on “Early Warning for Protection: Technologies and practise for the prevention of mass atrocity crimes”, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
• On 20 and 22 September 2010, in collaboration with OHCHR and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), which brings together 11 States, the Office organized a training seminar for 20 UN staff from the Great Lakes region working on human rights and protection, and another for state representatives of the ICGLR and Ugandan civil society organisations. The objectives of the second seminar included the creation of a network of state representatives at the regional level specializing in genocide prevention and strengthening the capacity of ICGLR member states.
• On 2 July 2010, the Office contributed to the tenth summer course on International Humanitarian Law organized by the International Institute for Humanitarian Law (IIHL), based in San Remo, Italy, at which 50 government officials, NGOs and UN field staff were trained on genocide prevention, including early warning and risk assessment. The IIHL has included a genocide prevention component in its course curriculum since 2009.
• From 22-25 June 2010, the Office contributed to a week -long course on “Mass atrocity prevention in military practice” for the US Armed Forces Fort Leavenworth Command and General Staff College students organized by the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation. The course focused on familiarizing some 20 army officers with the concept of genocide prevention and the analytical tools and means to prevent genocide that they will have at their disposal in their military careers.
• On 18-20 April 2010, the Office held three one-day training seminars in Bogota, Colombia, for OHCHR staff working in Colombia, Chile and Guatamala and the Colombia UN Country Team on “A Framework for Genocide Prevention.” Approximately 50 UN staff participated, including national and international staff. Participants learned about genocide and mass atrocities, gained an understanding of the working methodology of the Office (notably the Analysis Framework) and discussed practical and effective ways they could contribute to preventing mass atrocities in Latin America.