Friday, February 6, 2015

[RED DEMOCRATICA] Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect Quarterly Newsletter

 

The Global Centre's quarterly newsletter. No Images? Click here
 
   
 

January 2015

The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect’s (R2P) Newsletter is intended to highlight recent activities of interest to our colleagues and supporters worldwide. Highlights from our activities since September 2014 include an R2P course at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Ghana and the Fourth Annual Gareth Evans Lecture delivered by Ms. Navi Pillay.

 
 
 

Sections:

  • Our Work
  • Public Outreach 
  • Recent Publications
  • Global Centre in the Media

 
 
 

Our Work:

 

1. R2P course at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre

In cooperation with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) and the Government of Denmark, the Global Centre for R2P developed a two-week course on the Responsibility to Protect at KAIPTC in Accra, Ghana. The course took place from 10 to 21 November and was the first of its kind to be launched by an African peacekeeping training center. 

The aim of the course was to train security sector personnel, including senior military and police officers, as well as African policymakers and civil society representatives, on implementing and incorporating a R2P focus into their day-to-day work. The course analyzed operational issues faced by participants in protecting civilians in situations of mass atrocity crimes, and shared "lessons learned" from the field. Representatives from over 20 African countries participated in the course. The course is scheduled to be offered again in November 2015.

Ghana's Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Alhassan (front frow, center) with course participants and facilitators, including Jaclyn Streitfeld-Hall of the Global Centre, outside the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center following the course's closing ceremony.

 

2.  Regulating the Veto on the UN Security Council in Mass Atrocity Situations

On 25 September 2014 the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development of France, H.E. Mr. Laurent Fabius, and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, H.E. Mr. José Antonio Meade Kuribreña, co-convened a Ministerial-level side event on the margins of the opening of the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly, entitled "Regulating the veto in the event of mass atrocities."

Ahead of the 25 September side-event, the Global Centre led a civil society initiative to release a joint letter, calling for veto restraint by the UN Security Council. The letter can be accessed here

The Executive Director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, Dr. Simon Adams, read a joint NGO statement and delivered additional commentary on behalf of the Global Centre on the panel of the Ministerial side-event. The statement is available here

On 21 January Dr. Adams also spoke at an event hosted by the Paris School of International Affairs of Sciences Po and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs entitled “Limiting the Use of Veto at the UN Security Council in Case of Mass Atrocities.” The event brought together international experts to discuss a way forward for France’s initiative on a “statement of principles" regarding the use of the veto by the UN Security Council. Additionally, two members of the Global Centre's International Advisory Board also participated in the event: The Rt. Hon. Mr. Gareth Evans and Mr. Edward Mortimer. Dr. Adams's speech is available here: The responsibility not to veto.  

The Global Centre continues its advocacy regarding the issue of regulating the veto in mass atrocity situations. For the full list of activities and resources, please visit our veto reform page.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, H.E. Mr Laurent Fabius, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, H.E. Mr. José Antonio Meade Kuribreña, and Executive Director of the Global Centre, Dr. Adams, during the September Ministerial Meeting held at the UN General Assembly.

 

3. Fourth Annual Gareth Evans Lecture delivered by Ms. Navi Pillay, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

On 29 October Ms. Navi Pillay, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, delivered the Fourth Annual Gareth Evans Lecture. The transcript of her speech, entitled “Stopping mass atrocities and promoting human rights: My work as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,” is available on our website. 

The Annual Gareth Evans Lecture series was instituted by the Global Centre in 2010 to honor the contributions made by Hon. Gareth Evans in the development of the norm of the Responsibility to Protect. The lecture series provides an opportunity for eminent public figures to share their experiences in the field of mass atrocity prevention.

 

4.  Seventh Annual Ministerial Roundtable Discussion on R2P: Responsibility to Protect and Human Rights

Coinciding with the opening of the 69th UN General Assembly, on 25 September the governments of the Netherlands and Ghana, in association with the Global Centre, co-hosted the 7th Annual Ministerial Meeting on the Responsibility to Protect.

Ministers representing eight governments participated in the meeting while 20 other countries from across the globe attended as observers. The UN Deputy Secretary-General, Mr. Jan Eliasson, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, H.E. Mr. Zeid al-Hussein, the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Mr. Adama Dieng, and the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, Dr. Jennifer Welsh, also actively participated. The discussion was structured around the topic of the Responsibility to Protect and Human Rights. A full summary of the meeting is available here

The three co-hosts - Dr. Adams of the Global Centre, H.E. Mr. Frans Timmermans of the Netherlands and H.E. Ms. Hanna Tetteh of Ghana (center) - together with Deputy Secretary-General Eliasson (left) and High Commissioner Hussein (right) during the 7th Annual Ministerial Meeting on R2P.  

 

5.  R2P Monitor and International Response Timelines

Between September 2014 and January 2015 the Global Centre released Issues 17 – 19 of the R2P Monitor, a bimonthly bulletin which applies an R2P lens to situations where mass atrocity crimes are occurring or are at risk of occurring. These issues analyzed the situations in Syria, Central African Republic, Sudan, South Sudan, Nigeria, Iraq, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burma/Myanmar and Libya.

The latest R2P Monitor can be downloaded from our R2P Monitor webpage.  Monthly updates are also available on our Populations at Risk webpage.

The Global Centre also regularly updates its International Response Timelines on the situations in Burma/MyanmarCentral African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Kordofan and Blue Nile States (Sudan), South Sudan and Syria

 
 
 

Public outreach:

1. Preventing Genocide and Mass Atrocities: International Law and the Responsibility to Protect

On 13 January Dr. Simon Adams spoke on a panel entitled “Preventing Genocide and Mass Atrocities: International Law and the Responsibility to Protect” hosted by the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation and the New York City Bar Association. The panel also included the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Mr. Adama Dieng. The main focus of this event was to discuss challenges in preventing mass atrocities within the existing international legal framework.

 2. Parliamentarians’ Dialogue on Pillar II of the Responsibility to Protect

On 11 December the Global Centre’s Director of Programs, Ms. Savita Pawnday, participated in a roundtable panel discussion on Pillar II of the Responsibility to Protect along with parliamentarians from Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Paraguay and Tanzania. The event was jointly organized by the UN Office on Genocide Prevention and R2P, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Foundation, The Heinrich Böll Foundation, the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation and the Stanley Foundation.

3. Focal Points Meeting of the Latin American Network for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention

Ms. Nadira Khudayberdieva represented the Global Centre at the Focal Points Meeting of the Latin American Network for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention held in Panama City, Panama on 4 December. The meeting was organized by the Ombudsman’s Office of Panama, together with the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation and the Stanley Foundation.  

4. Briefing incoming UN Security Council members on R2P

On 12 November Dr. Adams briefed incoming UN Security Council members on the Responsibility to Protect, during the Orientation Course on the Security Council for new Members of the Council, organized by the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). Hon. Gareth Evans, the co-chair of the Global Centre's International Advisory Board, delivered a keynote address entitled, "Five Challenges for the UN Security Council."

5. Harvard’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy

On 6 November Dr. Adams delivered a talk at Harvard’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, focusing on the role of the UN system as well as the role of the United States government and the Atrocity Prevention Board in the prevention of mass atrocities worldwide. The interview can be accessed here.

6. Briefing Parliamentarians on the Responsibility to Protect

In November and December Dr. Adams, Mr. Ryan D’Souza and Mr. Evan Cinq-Mars briefed visiting parliamentary delegations from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands and Norway on R2P and mass atrocity prevention.

7. The Hague Institute Conference: The Responsibility to Protect and the Prevention of Mass Atrocities

Dr. Adams spoke at a conference on “The Responsibility to Protect and the Prevention of Mass Atrocities” organized by The Hague Institute for Global Justice on 22 October. Dr. Adams was also interviewed on R2P, Syria and reform of the UN Security Council during the conference. The interview can be accessed here.

8.     R2P Focal Points Luncheon

On 26 September the Global Centre co-hosted a working luncheon, alongside the government of Denmark, on the margins of the opening of the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly. The luncheon brought together R2P Focal Points from 17 different countries who were visiting New York. Delegates included Directors of Multilateral Affairs and other senior officials from capitals around the world.   

 
 
 

Recent Global Centre for R2P Publications

  1. 28 January, Statement on recent Boko Haram atrocities and the upcoming election in Nigeria.
  2. 21 January, Joint NGO Letter: Recommendations by African and International Civil Society for the 24th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union.
  3. 22 December, Statement on today's UN Security Council meeting on the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
  4. 15 December, Statement on the anniversary of the civil war in South Sudan.
  5. 14 November, References on the need for veto restraint by the UN Security Council in mass atrocity situations.
  6. 4 November, The Responsibility to Protect: A Background Briefing (updated).      
  7. 3 November, R2P at the Opening of the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly.        
  8. 16 October, 2015-2016 UN Security Council Elections and the Responsibility to Protect
  9. 25 September, Joint NGO Letter to H.E. Mr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCON, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, on the crisis in the northeast and the urgency to protect the civilian population.          
  10. 24 September, Summary of the Sixth Informal Interactive Dialogue of the UN General Assembly on the Responsibility to Protect.
  11. 24 September, Remarks at Ministerial side event on "Towards inclusive societies: empowerment and education as a strategy to prevent genocide" during the Opening of the UN General Assembly.
 
 
 

Global Centre for R2P in the Media


Staff Articles in the Media

  1. "Political Deadlock and Impunity Fuel Central African Republic Killings," analysis by Evan Cinq-Mars, in International Peace Institute's The Global Observatory, 29 October 2014. 
  2. Since September, Dr. Adams has been interviewed numerous times on Al Jazeera regarding the situations in the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea and Iraq. Dr. Adams has also been interviewed by ARD Germany on the situation in Iraq. 

 Staff Quoted in the Media

  1. Evan Cinq-Mars quoted in "Kidnappings Threaten Fragile CAR Peace Process," Voice of America, 29 January.
  2. Dr. Simon Adams quoted in “A Month After Mass Rapes Were Reported in Darfur, the UN Remains Silent,” Vice News, 28 November.
  3. Global Centre referenced in “Let's act on time to stop atrocity – IGP,” Ghana Web, 22 November.
  4. Global Centre referenced in “Denmark Lauds Ghana For National Peace Council,” Government of Ghana Official Portal, 12 November. 
  5. Dr. Simon Adams quoted in “KAIPTC holds maiden Responsibility to Protect Course,” Vibe Ghana Newspaper, 10 November.
  6. Evan Cinq-Mars quoted in "Violent Attacks Across Central African Republic Highlight Limitations of International Response,” Vice News, 7 November.  
  7. Evan Cinq-Mars quoted in "Should I stay or go? UN's dilemma in CAR after new attack on peacekeepers," interviewed by Radio France Internationale, 12 October. 

IAB in the Media

  1. "Limiting the Security Council Veto," Gareth Evans, Project Syndicate, 4 February.
  2. "The Security Council's Credibility Test," Gareth Evans, Project Syndicate, 28 October. 
 
 

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