INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MUST REMAIN COMMITTED TO ‘RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT’ PRINCIPLE – BAN

From: UNNews <UNNews@un.org>
Date: 11 Sep 2013 14:00:01 -0400
Subject: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MUST REMAIN COMMITTED TO
'RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT' PRINCIPLE – BAN
To: news11@ny-mail-p-lb-028.ptc.un.org

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MUST REMAIN COMMITTED TO 'RESPONSIBILITY TO
PROTECT' PRINCIPLE – BANNew York, Sep 11 2013 2:00PMCountries must
remain committed to protecting populations from mass atrocities,
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told an informal dialogue in the General
Assembly today, stressing this does not only entail acting in the face
of violence, but also focusing on conflict prevention.

"Let us […] remember that the responsibility to protect seeks not only
to protect populations at the eleventh hour but, first and foremost,
to prevent crises from erupting at all," Mr. Ban said in his
<"http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=7070">remarks at to
the General Assembly's Informal Interactive Dialogue and panel
discussion on "The Responsibility to protect: State Responsibility and
Prevention."

"Prevention may sound abstract, but it is very concrete and specific.
It means, among many things, that States translate obligations and
standards set out in international law, notably international
humanitarian and human rights law, into policies, programmes, laws and
institutions that protect and empower their people," Mr. Ban said.

Sometimes known as 'R2P,' the principle of the responsibility to
protect holds States responsible for shielding their own populations
from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and related crimes
against humanity and requires the international community to step in
if this obligation is not met.

Mr. Ban noted that the concept of R2P arose out of the brutal legacy
of the 20th century, including the Holocaust, the genocides in Rwanda
and Srebrenica, and other large-scale tragedies that underlined the
failure of individual States to live up to their protection
responsibilities.

He noted that his fifth report on R2P aims to provide analysis and
strategies that can help States fulfil their responsibilities by
building societies that "embrace diversity and where disputes are
resolved amicably, under the rule of law."

Mr. Ban also addressed the issue of the Syrian conflict, saying it
illustrates the challenges that States continue to face, in spite of
efforts by the international community to end the violence and push
for a political solution.

"Many observers regard the international community's divisions and
immobility as a failure of the responsibility to protect. But this
critique misses the mark. The concept itself is not to blame," Mr. Ban
said.

A number of protection measures have been put in place in response to
atrocities and as a way to prevent further escalation, he said. These
include the Commission of Inquiry established by the Human Rights
Council, the imposition of sanctions and asset freezes by States or
regional organizations, and the humanitarian assistance efforts of UN
entities and our partners.

"These are all part of the responsibility to protect," he said.
"Notwithstanding these steps, and as I state in the report that is now
before you, our collective failure to prevent atrocity crimes in Syria
over the past two and a half years will remain a heavy burden on the
standing of the United Nations and its Member States."

Mr. Ban said he hoped that current discussions related to safeguarding
Syria's chemical weapon stocks will lead to the Security Council
playing an effective role in promoting an end to the Syrian tragedy.

In his remarks, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson underlined that
States must acknowledge that atrocity crimes are processes, not single
events, which requires conflict prevention to be a continuous
endeavour.

"It starts with Member States taking decisive steps to fulfil their
human rights obligations, and regional actors and international
institutions to assist them in building societies based on the rule of
law," he said. "We pay an enormous price for waiting for conflicts to
get worse."

Mr. Eliasson added that the international community must strive to
boost to build a spirit of co-operation dedicated to atrocity
prevention. This must be rooted in national efforts as well as in the
work of regional and international organizations. "Everybody has a
role to play. Nobody can do everything; and everybody can do
something," he concluded.Sep 11 2013 2:00PM
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