R2P in Focus, No. 19, November 2018 No Images? Click here R2P in Focus R2P in Focus is a monthly publication from the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect designed to highlight recent events and political developments concerning the prevention of mass atrocities. R2P at the UN General Assembly The opening of the 73rd UN General Assembly provided an opportunity for states to reaffirm their commitment to prevent and protect vulnerable populations from mass atrocities throughout the world. The Global Centre also co-hosted and participated in a number of events. Prosecuting Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes at the International Criminal Court Although sexual violence in conflict is a historically hidden crime that has largely gone unpunished, over the past few decades the international community has made significant progress in combatting sexual and gender-based crimes. On 25 September the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, in collaboration with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the governments of Belgium, Finland, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom, co-hosted a meeting in honor of the 20th Anniversary of the Rome Statute of the ICC. The event highlighted the historic importance of the ICC holding perpetrators accountable for sexual and gender-based crimes. During the event ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and Professor Elisabeth Jean Wood of Yale University delivered presentations on measures undertaken by the ICC to address such crimes. Human Rights and the Maintenance of On 26 September the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, in collaboration with the governments of Argentina, Belgium and Germany, co-hosted a meeting on integrating human rights into discussions and policies of prevention across the UN system. The event was moderated by Dr. Simon Adams, Executive Director of the Global Centre, and featured panel presentations by Mr. Andrew Gilmour, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights; Ms. Hina Jilani, former Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and Member of The Elders; Ms. Sarah Cleveland, Professor at Columbia Law School; Mr. Tawanda Mutasah, Senior Director of Law and Policy at Amnesty International; and Mr. Philippe Bolopion, Deputy Director for Global Advocacy at Human Rights Watch. The Responsibility to Protect in a Peacekeeping Context: Currently more than 95 percent of military, police and civilian staff deployed to UN Peacekeeping missions around the world are operating in environments where populations are at risk of mass atrocity crimes. On 27 September the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, together with the governments of Italy, Qatar and the Netherlands, co-hosted an interactive dialogue at UN Headquarters on how UN Peacekeeping Operations can better protect populations from atrocity crimes. The meeting highlighted the new “Action for Peacekeeping” initiative launched by the UN Secretary-General and other recent reviews of UN Peacekeeping, focusing on how to improve the capacity of peacekeepers to prevent atrocities. The event featured speakers representing Host States, UN Security Council members, Troop Contributing Countries and the UN Secretariat – including the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Mr. Adama Dieng. Global Network of R2P Focal Points Annual Working Lunch Every year the Global Centre organizes a working luncheon with senior members of the Global Network of R2P Focal Points who are in New York for the opening of the UN General Assembly. The luncheons serve as an opportunity for R2P Focal Points to informally discuss issues of common concern and receive relevant briefings. On 28 September the UN Special Adviser of on the Prevention of Genocide, Mr. Adama Dieng, as well as the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Mr. Andrew Gilmour, briefed R2P Focal Points on situations of concern to their respective offices and provided recommendations for addressing those risks. The briefings were followed by an informal discussion among participants and an update on the Global Centre’s Peacekeeping training project, delivered by Deputy Executive Director Ms. Savita Pawnday. R2P on the Formal Agenda of the UN General Assembly's 73rd Session On 21 September the UN General Assembly voted to include a supplementary item entitled, “the responsibility to protect and the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity,” on its formal agenda for the second year in a row. The supplementary item was requested by a cross-regional group of nine member states (Afghanistan, Denmark, Guatemala, Japan, Netherlands, Romania, Rwanda, Ukraine and Uruguay) and ninety-three member states voted in favour of its inclusion on the agenda. Following eight annual interactive dialogues on R2P, on 25 June and 2 July the General Assembly held its first debate on the Responsibility to Protect since 2009. Continued consideration of R2P by the General Assembly will foster further dialogue regarding how the UN and its member states can more effectively prevent mass atrocity crimes. 39th Session of the UN Human Rights Council From 10 to 28 September the Human Rights Council (HRC) held its 39th regular session in Geneva. As the primary international human rights body, the HRC has the capacity to help prevent mass atrocity crimes, as systematic violations and abuses of human rights can be potential precursors of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity or ethnic cleansing. As part of the session, the Netherlands and Rwanda delivered statements on behalf of members of the Group of Friends of R2P during a high-level panel discussion to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Genocide Convention, as well as during an Interactive Dialogue with the new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet. During its 39th session, the HRC referred to states’ responsibility to protect their populations in three country-specific resolutions concerning the situations in Syria, Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of the Congo. On 12 October the UN General Assembly elected 18 states to the HRC for the 2019-2021 term. With the elections of Argentina, Bangladesh, Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy and Uruguay, 20 of the 47 Council members during 2019 will be members of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect. Unfortunately, this year’s HRC election saw ‘clean slates’ in all of the five regional groups, and four out of the eighteen elected governments have been, or are currently, listed on the Global Centre’s Populations at Risk assessment. The Global Centre has compiled profiles on each of the newly-elected Council members, providing a basic overview of their commitment to prevent mass atrocities by protecting and promoting human rights: 2019-2021 Human Rights Council Elections and the Responsibility to Protect. Remembering Mohamed Sahnoun On 20 September former co-chair of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, Mohamed Sahnoun, passed away at the age of 87. A fearless diplomat, Mr. Sahnoun served as Algeria’s Ambassador, as the Deputy Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity and the League of Arab States, and in various capacities at the United Nations, perhaps most notably as the Special Representative to Somalia during 1992. Mohamed was committed to advancing the principle that the world can and should do more to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Mr. Sahnoun also played a leading role in the establishment of the Global Centre during 2008 and as a founding co-chair of our International Advisory Board until the time of his death. Mohamed was a friend of all those who fight for human rights and an enemy of impunity and injustice. May he rest in peace. Any Other Business
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