iR2P

Three years after saying “We accept that responsibility”, the United Nations General Assembly will soon debate how to put ‘the Responsibility to Protect‘ into practice. How do we know this? Because UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon plans to present to the General Assembly some proposals on the subject by the end of 2008. 

Forget about UN procedures, complicated politics and differing interpretations of sovereignty for a moment - the question is really quite simple: What does the world need to do differently to protect people from genocide? How can we ensure that governments meet their responsibilities in places where there are clear signals (including recent interethnic violence and ongoing incitement) that a situation risks degenerating into the worst kind of organized, widespread atrocities?

Imagine your own neighbourhood is becoming increasingly divided and tense - perhaps jobs and land are scarce, and past injustices have brewed distrust and resentment. Moderate voices seem to have gone quiet, while others are using recent incidents to stir up fear and hostility. The rest of the world doesn’t appear to have noticed, but friends of yours are worried and thinking of leaving. Practically speaking, what things need to happen to make the situation safer? Who should do what, how and with what sort of support and resources?

And now the more tricky bit: clearly the authorities are supposed to provide proper security, but what if some of those in power seem to be part of the problem, privileging one group while marginalizing another, restricting access to the area, letting criminal acts go unpunished and perhaps even arming militia groups and gangs? Let’s assume that by now enough people in other countries- including parliamentarians and ministers - have recognized the danger and agreed not to ignore their duty to act - what are some effective ways they could collaborate to help save lives without making things worse?

Whatever your experience, intuition and imagination might tell you in response to these questions, we’d welcome your thoughts and ideas (leave a reply below or use the contact form), and encourage you to discuss them with friends. To judge by history, the world hasn’t come up with very satisfactory answers so far, so how can we do better? We promise to publish and pass on the most promising practical and creative suggestions received before September 12 for consideration by Ban Ki-moon’s Special Advisor on the Responsibility to Protect, Professor Ed Luck (who, happily, is a patron of iR2P).