Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect

Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Founded 2008 (2008)
Type Non-profit NGO
Focus Mass atrocity prevention and the Responsibility to Protect
Location
Area served
Worldwide
Product Responsibility to Protect advocacy
Key people
 Dr. Simon Adams
(Executive Director)
Website globalr2p.org

The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on mass atrocity prevention in support of the international norm of the Responsibility to Protect.[1] The Global Centre is based at the Graduate Center, CUNY, New York City, with an office also located in Geneva.[2]

History

The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect was established in February 2008 to "transform the principle of the Responsibility to Protect into a practical guide for action in the face of mass atrocities".[2] The organization was founded by leading figures from the human rights field (including former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, former Australian Foreign Minister Hon. Gareth Evans and former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson), as well as five of the world’s leading international non-governmental organizations (Human Rights Watch, International Crisis Group, Oxfam International, Refugees International and the World Federalist Movement) and several supportive governments.[3]

Activities

Advocacy

The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect undertakes advocacy to address issues related to mass atrocity prevention, populations at risk and the norm of the Responsibility to Protect. The Global Centre works closely with governments, regional organizations, the UN Security Council and the UN Secretariat to provide policymakers with advice and help mobilize meaningful action.[4]

The Global Centre has worked closely with the co-chairs of the Group of Friends of R2P, Rwanda and the Netherlands, in strengthening support for R2P at the United Nations. The Group of Friends of R2P is a large cross-regional group of UN member states that share a common interest in advancing R2P within the UN-system.[5] In 2015, at the request of member states, the Global Centre was asked to assist in establishing a similar Group of Friends of R2P at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Some of the Global Centre's advocacy initiatives include a Code of Conduct for members of the UN Security Council in mass atrocity situations.[6] The Global Centre has also engaged in advocacy surrounding the 20th commemoration of the genocides in Rwanda and Srebrenica, and in support of the Kigali Principles for the reform of UN peacekeeping.[7]

Populations at Risk

The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect applies an R2P lens to situations where populations are experiencing, or are at risk of, genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity or ethnic cleansing. Assessments of at risk populations are issued through statements, policy briefs and the R2P Monitor.[8]

The Global Centre has analysed populations at risk in these countries: Burma/Myanmar, Burundi, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Guinea, Iraq, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Syria and Yemen as well as the crimes committed by the Lord’s Resistance Army.[9][10]

Notably, the Global Centre has done extensive advocacy with the UN Security Council and Human Rights Council on the situations in Burma/Myanmar,[11] Syria[12][13][14][15][16] and the Central African Republic.[17][18]

R2P Focal Points

Acting as the Secretariat of the Global Network of R2P Focal Points, the Global Centre co-convenes the annual meeting of senior-level government officials who facilitate national mechanisms for atrocity prevention and promote international cooperation. Meetings have been held in New York, USA (2011, 2012),[19] Accra, Ghana (2013),[20] Gaborone, Botswana (2014),[21] Madrid, Spain (2015)[22] and Seoul, Republic of Korea (2016).[23] During these annual meetings, the R2P Focal Points discuss their role within their governments as well as substantive ways to prevent mass atrocity crimes and protect vulnerable populations.[24]

In December 2015, the UN Security Council released the summary of the fifth annual meeting as an official document, S/2015/815.[25] The summary was initially transmitted to the UNSC under the agenda item Threats to International Peace and Security by the Permanent Representatives of Chile and Spain on 22 October 2015. Additionally, the UN Security Council held and open Arria formula meeting on the Responsibility to Protect, where Edward C. Luck, member of the Global Centre's International Advisory Board, gave remarks on behalf of the Global Centre.[26]

Annual R2P Ministerial Meeting and Policy Forums

Since its inception in 2008, the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect has co-hosted an annual Ministerial Meeting on R2P during the opening of the UN General Assembly session. These meetings allow high-level policymakers to debate and discuss issues related to implementation of R2P. The R2P Ministerial Meeting is co-hosted by different governmental partners each year in association with the Global Centre, include the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Denmark, Ghana, Guatemala, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Rwanda and Timor–Leste.[27][28][29] Attendees to date have included the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Deputy Secretary-General, H.E. Mr. Jan Eliasson[30] the UN Special Advisers on Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect and more than 25 Foreign Ministers from around the world.

The Global Centre also engages with United Nations member states through regional forums to bridge the knowledge gap between the United Nations and national capitals with regard to deepening understanding of R2P. By building regional support on all continents the Global Centre aims to strengthen international capacity to prevent and halt mass atrocity crimes. To this end, the Global Centre works with partners to facilitate regional policy discussions aimed at identifying strategies for strengthening international understanding of R2P and ensuring its effective implementation. Such forums have been held in Brazil, Chile, India, Liberia and South Africa, as well as with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP).

Occasional Paper Series

In 2010, the Global Centre produced their first Occasional Paper in a series that highlights the Responsibility to Protect in mass atrocity situations. Since this time, seven papers have been published on conflicts including Darfur, Burundi, Libya, Kenya, Syria, West Africa and the Central African Republic.

International Advisory Board

The International Advisory Board includes the following members:[31]

Patrons

References

  1. ↑ "Calls for next UN chief to tackle refugee crisis". RTE.ie. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  2. 1 2 "About Us". The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. Retrieved 2015-10-21.
  3. ↑ "New Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect Opens". CUNY Graduate Centre News. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  4. ↑ Evans, Gareth (November 2013). "Mass Atrocity Crimes after Syria: The Future of the Responsibility to Protect" (PDF). Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  5. ↑ Evans, Gareth (2009). The Responsibility to Protect: Ending Mass Atrocity Crimes Once and For All. Brookings Institution Press. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-8157-0334-1.
  6. ↑ "United Nations Security Council Code of Conduct". Global Centre for R2P. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  7. ↑ "Peacekeeping and the Kigali Principles". Global Centre for R2P. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  8. ↑ "Organizations". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
  9. ↑ "R2P Monitor". The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. Retrieved 2015-10-21.
  10. ↑ "R2P monitor - 15 March 2016 issue 26". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
  11. ↑ Post, The Jakarta. "ASEAN has responsibility to protect the Rohingya from genocide". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  12. ↑ "Beyond Chemical Weapons: What Next in Syria's Sectarian Civil War?". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  13. ↑ "Peace Versus Justice in Syria's Civil War". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  14. ↑ "Rwanda, Syria and the Responsibility to Protect". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  15. ↑ "A Diplomatic Surge for Syria?". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  16. ↑ "Russia Veto". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  17. ↑ "Déjà Vu in the Central African Republic as UN Looks to Intervene". IPI Global Observatory. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  18. ↑ Cinq-Mars, Evan (20 November 2013). "A familiar sick feeling" (PDF). Op-Ed: A familiar sick feeling. Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  19. ↑ "Meeting of National Focal Points on R2P convened by Costa Rica, Denmark and Ghana, New York" (PDF). Global Centre for R2P. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  20. ↑ "Third Meeting of the Global Network of R2P Focal Points" (PDF). Global Centre for R2P. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  21. ↑ "AIPR Participates in Global R2P Focal Points Meeting - Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation". Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  22. ↑ "Madrid hosts 5th meeting of Global Network of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) Focal Points". www.exteriores.gob.es. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  23. ↑ "Press Release: Sixth Annual Meeting of the Global Network of R2P Focal Points: Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect". www.globalr2p.org. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  24. ↑ "R2P Focal Points". The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. Retrieved 2015-10-21.
  25. ↑ "United Nations Security Council S/2015/815" (PDF). 26 October 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  26. ↑ "Arria-Formula Meeting: Responsibility to Protect and Non-State Actors : What's In Blue". www.whatsinblue.org. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  27. ↑ "Remarks on the 8th Annual Ministerial Meeting on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  28. ↑ "8th Ministerial meeting on the Responsibility to Protect". webtv.un.org. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  29. ↑ "Our Work". The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. Retrieved 2015-10-21.
  30. ↑ Section, United Nations Web Services. "United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Statements". www.un.org. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  31. ↑ "International Advisory Board". The Global Centre for the Responsibility to. Retrieved 2015-10-21.
  32. ↑ Evans, Gareth. "Learning from Libya". Project Syndicate. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  33. ↑ "HU CEO Joins Global Centre for Responsibility to Protect Advisory Board Humanity United". humanityunited.org. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
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