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The following are the recommendations from More Than an Ounce Required: Summoning the Political Will to Prevent Genocide and Mass Atrocity Crimes in the 21st Century. To the UN Secretariat: Within the UN, the Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide (OSAPG) and other special advisers (for instance, on the “responsibility to protect”) have been authorized to lead the UN system on prevention of mass atrocity crimes. (The official UN mandate for the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, from 2004, is available here.) To prioritize prevention at the UN, the UN Secretariat needs to strengthen the ability of the OSAPG to fulfill its mandate, supporting its efforts to gather information on early warning signs, recommend approaches, and encourage ongoing diplomacy to thwart a descent into mass violence. To member states: The Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and related advisers need champions among member states. Such groups – sometimes called “friends” groups – exist on related issues. These states, as a formal or informal group, would help the OSAPG forge a closer link to the UN Security Council and other UN bodies. One way to do this would be to have a group of member states request a regular monthly report by the OSAPG to the UN Security Council. National governments could also adopt a prevention framework as official domestic policy, and at a minimum, designate a highest-level official to coordinate his or her government’s international response to potential and ongoing mass atrocity crises. To the UN Security Council: If and when prevention fails, the international community needs to be prepared to act to protect civilians. This would require well-trained peacekeepers and logistical equipment to be at the ready. The idea of a permanent civilian protection capacity based at the UN has been discussed since the founding of the body. We recommend that it be revisited. These recommendations are explained in more detail in our report. |
