The Special Adviser's Mandate
In a 2004 letter (S/2004/567) to the President of the Security Council, the Secretary-General listed the SAPG’s responsibilities as follows:
- to collect existing information, in particular from within the United Nations system, on massive and serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law of ethnic and racial origin that, if not prevented or halted, might lead to genocide;
- to act as a mechanism of early warning to the Secretary-General, and through him to the Security Council, by bringing to their attention situations that could potentially result in genocide;
- to make recommendations to the Security Council, through the Secretary-General, on actions to prevent or halt genocide;
- and to liaise with the United Nations system on activities for the prevention of genocide and work to enhance the United Nations’ capacity to analyze and manage information regarding genocide or related crimes.
How does the Special Adviser discharge his mandate?
The OSAPG adopts a broad-based approach to the prevention of genocide that involves cooperation with UN departments and agencies, human rights bodies and mechanisms, regional and sub-regional organizations, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, academic and research institutions, members of civil society, and independent scholars and experts on genocide prevention. More specifically, OSAPG[i] follows developments in all countries and regions, undertakes missions to specific countries, if necessary, and analyzes situations to determine whether there may be a risk of genocide [ii]. Where there is cause for concern, OSAPG advises the Secretary-General and relevant UN departments and recommends preventive action, sometimes including that the Secretary-General address the Security Council. The Advisory Committee on Genocide Prevention, which was established in May 2006, provides guidance and support to the work of OSAPG, and contributes to the broader efforts of the UN in this area.
Raising awareness about genocide, its causes and the role of the international community is an important preventive function. For this reason OSAPG maintains an ongoing dialogue with Governments and civil society in all regions, especially through regional consultations. In addition, OSAPG seeks to identify situations where genocide was successfully prevented, to learn how this was achieved, and, ultimately, how diversity can be managed constructively.
The duty to prevent genocide implies that national sovereignty cannot be invoked as a barricade against preventive involvement by the international community when genocide may occur; this fundamental principle is enshrined in Article 1 of the Genocide Convention. Furthermore, the concept of ‘sovereignty as responsibility’, reflected in the commitment of Member States in the 2005 World Outcome Document to a ‘responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity’, stipulates that sovereign authorities must protect the human rights of their populations and provide for their needs; where national authorities lack the capacity to discharge their responsibility toward their populations, the international community is called upon to step in and assist states to enhance their protective capacity; where the problem is lack of political will on the part of the State concerned, the international community assumes that responsibility more assertively. OSAPG works, therefore, closely with the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect.
^ [i] The Office is currently staffed by five professional staff and two support staff.
^ [ii] The framework of analysis used by the OSAPG includes information about the existence of a national, ethnic, racial or religious group at risk, discrimination and other human rights violations committed against the group, including in the past, the circumstances that negatively affect domestic capacity to prevent genocide, the existence of armed elements drawing their membership from the different groups, the existence of political or economic motivations for leading actors in the State or region to encourage divisions between national, racial, ethnic or religious groups, the occurrence of human rights violations that can be possible elements of the crime of genocide, any reasons to believe that there may be an intent to destroy in whole or in part a group, and moments of vulnerability/triggering factors.