UN General Assembly adopts a new resolution on the Responsibility to Protect and the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity
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Photo Source: © UN Photo/Cia Pak UN General Assembly Resolutions Referencing R2P
The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a new resolution on the responsibility to protect the vulnerable population in the midst of atrocious crimes like genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. This is good news in the advancement of human rights globally.
During the 66th Plenary UN General Assembly held on 17 and 18 May 2021, on “The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity”, 115 states voted for the Resolution on the Responsibility to Protect, 15 voted against and 28 states abstained. With this overwhelming vote for the resolution, the members of the United Nations has formally requested that the Secretary-General should reports annually on the topic.
Voted on 18 May 2021, following the annual UN General Assembly debate on Responsibility to Protect (R2P), it was the first resolution on R2P adopted in the General Assembly since 2009 member states voted to adopt Resolution 75/L.82 (The responsibility to protect and the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity) UNSG-2021-R2PReport-En
It is worthy to note that most African Countries abstained during the voting session. Cameroon where gross human rights violations has been going on in the North West and South West Regions for closed to five years was abstained during the vote. The Centre for Human Rights and Demcoracy in Africa established in their 2019 Human Rights Report entitled “CAMEROON’S UNFOLDING CATASTROPHE” that crimes against humanity and war crimes have been committed in Cameroon.
This Resolution is a great move towards the protection of the vulnerable population in times of armed conflict. The responsibility to protect embodies a political commitment to end the worst forms of violence and persecution. It seeks to narrow the gap between Member States’ pre-existing obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law and the reality faced by populations at risk of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.
After pleading with the members of the United Nations to find a common ground to prevent worst crimes against humanity, Kofi Annan in his 2000 Millennium Report insisted that “if humanitarian intervention is, indeed, an unacceptable assault on sovereignty, how should we respond to a Rwanda, to a Srebrenica, to gross and systematic violation of human rights that offend every precept of our common humanity?”
The Responsibility to protect places the primary responsibility on the states to protect it citizens and to the international community to intervene when a state fails to in case of serious crimes like genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.“our shared responsibility (A/59/565) and the Secretary-General’s 2005 report In Larger Freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all (A/59/2005) endorsed the principle that State sovereignty carried with it the obligation of the State to protect its own people, and that if the State was unwilling or unable to do so, the responsibility shifted to the international community to use diplomatic, humanitarian and other means to protect them. Neither report asserted a basis to use force for this purpose other than Security Council authorisation under Chapter VII of the Charter as a last resort, in the event of genocide and other serious international crimes.”
There are three pillars of the responsibility to protect, that is
- Pillar I: The protection responsibilities of the state– “Each individual state has the responsibility to protect its population from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity”
- Pillar II: International assistance and capacity-building –States pledge to assist each other in their protection responsibilities
- Pillar III: Timely and decisive collective response –If any state is “manifestly failing” in its protection responsibilities, then states should take collective action to protect the population
Paragraphs on the Responsibility to Protect during the 2005 World Summit Out Document: 138. Each individual State has the responsibility to protect its populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. This responsibility entails the prevention of such crimes, including their incitement, through appropriate and necessary means. We accept that responsibility and will act in accordance with it. The international community should, as appropriate, encourage and help States to exercise this responsibility and support the United Nations in establishing an early warning capability.
139. The international community, through the United Nations, also has the responsibility to use appropriate diplomatic, humanitarian and other peaceful means, in accordance with Chapters VI and VIII of the Charter, to help protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. In this context, we are prepared to take collective action, in a timely and decisive manner, through the Security Council, in accordance with the Charter, including Chapter VII, on a case-by-case basis and in cooperation with relevant regional organizations as appropriate, should peaceful means be inadequate and national authorities manifestly fail to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. We stress the need for the General Assembly to continue consideration of the responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity and its implications, bearing in mind the principles of the Charter and international law. We also intend to commit ourselves, as necessary and appropriate, to helping States build capacity to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity and to assisting those which are under stress before crises and conflicts break out.
140. We fully support the mission of the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide.
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to protect has published a comprehensive summary of of the report as follows. The thirteenth report of the UN Secretary-General on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), entitled “Advancing atrocity prevention: Report of the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect,” reflects on how the UN has operationalized R2P through its prevention, early warning and response work. In doing so the Secretary-General provides an overview of how the UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect (“the Office”) has led the UN’s efforts to halt the commission of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.
KEY POINTS (Source: Global Centre for the Responsibility)
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect would like to highlight the following key points from the report:
• Systematic and grave human rights violations, widespread impunity, hate speech, exclusion and discrimination can all increase the risk of atrocity crimes. Prioritization of prevention remains crucial. Atrocity prevention should be integrated into all relevant fields of the work of the UN.
• Timely, reliable and accurate information on current and emerging human rights crises and atrocity situations is essential. The UN Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes is useful for identifying structural risk factors for atrocity crimes and may aid in mobilizing preventive measures.
• The Secretary-General’s “Call to Action for Human Rights” puts human rights at the center of UN action in areas central to upholding R2P.
• Working in coordination with various UN departments and field presences, the Office provides support to member states, as well as regional and subregional organizations, to help mitigate the risk of atrocity crimes and support populations at risk. Such efforts aid in establishing a complementarity between national, subregional, regional and international initiatives to prevent atrocities.
• A people-centered approach that includes the perspectives and priorities of both survivors of violence and agents of change continues to be at the forefront of the UN’s atrocity prevention work. The Office invests in building the capacity of civil society and strengthening women’s roles in atrocity prevention.
• A key part of the mandates of the two Special Advisers involves advising member states, UN bodies and regional organizations on measures to mitigate the risk of atrocity crimes. Issuing joint statements on country situations and having access to brief the UN Security Council and Human Rights Council are integral to upholding this mandate.
• The Office’s investment in two priority fields – engagement with religious leaders and actors and countering and addressing hate speech – have had an important impact on the prevention of incitement to violence and atrocities.
The thirteenth report of the UN Secretary-General on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), entitled “Advancing atrocity prevention: Report of the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect,” reflects on how the UN has operationalized R2P through its prevention, early warning and response work. In doing so the Secretary-General provides an overview of how the UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect (“the Office”) has led the UN’s efforts to halt the commission of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.
Read details through the link below: Summary of the UN Secretary-General’s 2021 Report on R2P, Advancing atrocity prevention: Report of the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect – Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (globalr2p.org)
Berinyuy Cajetan is the founder and publisher of Human Rights and Legal Research Centre (HRLRC) since 2017. He has intensive experience in strategic communications for Civil Society Organizations, campaign and advocacy, and social issues. He has an intensive experiencing in human rights monitoring, documentation and reporting.
