Strengthening State Resilience for the Prevention of Mass Atrocity Crimes

It is now ten years since the 2005 United Nations World Summit where states unanimously endorsed the responsibility to protect (R2P), as articulated in paragraphs 138-139.1 Although its application in some cases has been controversial, one recurring theme that surfaced at this year’s UN informal dialogue on R2P was that the vast majority of participating states shared a broad consensus on the principles underpinning the concept.2 In particular, many states endorsed Pillars One and Two, emphasising the greatest value of R2P lay in the prevention of the four atrocity crimes. They stressed the need for a better understanding of how R2P can inform processes at the domestic level, in order to manage challenges before they manifest into violence associated with the four crimes. As such, there has been a decisive shift toward questions of implementation, particularly in relation to prevention. The broad commitment by UN member states to Pillar One in particular should be leveraged by the UN and member states as they consider the implementation phase of R2P...