Statement by the Secretary-General on the Responsibility to Protect

This morning, the General Assembly adopted its first resolution on the responsibility to protect, taking note of my report on Implementing the Responsibility to Protect (A/63/677) and deciding to continue the Assembly's consideration. It is most significant that this resolution was adopted by consensus. I welcome it as an important step as we chart a common path towards meeting the commitment made at the 2005 World Summit to protect the world's peoples from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity.

I now look forward to further deepening our dialogue on how best to implement the responsibility to protect, building on the important debate the General Assembly held in late July. It was heartening to hear so many Member States, from every part of the world, reaffirm in a constructive and forward-looking debate the commitment made in 2005. I found the statements by Member States that had suffered such traumas to be particularly meaningful.

I have asked my Special Adviser, Professor Edward Luck, together with the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Professor Francis Deng, to continue their wide-ranging consultations with Member States, relevant departments and agencies, regional and sub-regional organizations, and civil society on the many implementation questions still before us. In all our efforts, we should be guided and united by the ultimate purpose of the responsibility to protect: to save lives by preventing the most egregious mass violations of human rights.