The Details

posted by Susan

Admittedly, what I’m about to post for you is DRY and kind of DULL “wonk” reading, but here’s the thing:  If we, as a world, are ever going to work out the kinks and disagreements on when and how R2P can be used as an appropriate strategy, I expect this is where it’s going to happen. Also, I have to remind myself, and thereby remind you, that the main disagreement seems to come when the use of military action starts being considered.  That’s not to say that disagreements don’t occur between the powerbrokers in the UN over definitions, resolutions and sanctions, but it seems to me the real sticking point, and the place where even supporters of the norm have trouble, is when there is any question that a country’s sovereignty may be infringed upon. And so, if we have an interest in this issue at all, if we believe that we have a responsibility to act or if we believe we don’t, this is how we find out what the people who are making the case are saying. So friend, pour yourself a hot cup of coffee, and read on.

In 2009, the UN General Assembly held the first Informal Interactive Dialogue on R2P.  This is a link to the Secretary General’s report on that first annual event.

The report was followed by the second annual UN General Assembly Informal Interactive Dialogue, a recap of which can be found here.

And now, just around the corner, the third annual — I’ll call it I-I-D on R2P:

“General Assembly informal interactive dialogue on RtoP

The UN General Assembly will convene its 3rd annual informal interactive dialogue of RtoP on 12 July 2011, which will focus on the role of regional and sub-regional organizations in implementing the Responsibility to Protect. 

The dialogue will be an opportunity to advance the General Assembly's consideration of RtoP, specifically regarding the role that regional organizations play in preventing and halting mass atrocities and how to strengthen regional capacity to protect. The dialogue is to be based on a report of the Secretary-General, to be released in the coming weeks. While no details have been released concerning the format of the dialogue, we expect it to feature a panel of experts, including the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Francis Deng and the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, Ed Luck as well as other officials from regional and sub-regional organizations. We also expect civil society to be able to contribute to the dialogue.”

Now, if you live in New York or can get there easily, the International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect is co-hosting a civil society panel on the role of regional organizations and RtoP. The information is below:

Civil Society Perspectives: The Role of Regional and Sub-Regional Organizations in Implementing the Responsibility to Protect and Reflections on Application of RtoP to Country Cases 

Church Center, 2^nd floor

UN Plaza, 44^th and 1^st Avenue

9:30-2:00

In preparation for the July 12 General Assembly interactive dialogue, ICRtoP, in association with the Stanley Foundation, the Friedrich-Ebert- Stiftung and the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, will host a half day panel open to the general public on 11 July entitled: Civil Society Perspectives: The Role of Regional and Sub-Regional Organizations in Implementing the Responsibility to Protect and Reflections on Application of RtoP to Country Cases. Panelists will examine how RtoP has been strengthened and implemented by regional organizations as well as reflect on the application of RtoP in country situations such as Libya, Cote D’Ivoire, Guinea, and Kenya. Edward Luck, Special Advisor on RtoP will open the event and Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, will provide the keynote address. Other speakers include: 

On The Role of Regional and Sub-regional Organizations in Implementing RtoP:

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

Emmanuel BOMBANDE, Executive Director, West Africa Network for Peacebuilding, Ghana

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

Dr. Pranee THIPARAT, Assistant Professor at the Department of International Relations, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

European Union (EU)

Daniel FIOTT, Research Fellow, Madariaga- College of Europe Foundation, Belgium

Organization of American States (OAS) and Union of South American Nations (UNASUR)

Dr. Andres SERBIN, Executive Director, Coordinadora Regional de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales (CRIES), Argentina

African Union (AU)

Don DEYA, Executive Director, Pan African Lawyers Union, Tanzania

Reflections on the application of RtoP to country cases: Libya, Cote D’Ivoire, + non military cases such as Kenya, Guinea and Sudan

Mr. Kenneth ROTH, Executive Director, Human Rights Watch

Dr. Gilles Olakounlé YABI, West Africa Project Director, International Crisis Group, Senegal

Dismas NKUNDA, Co-Director, International Refugee Rights Initiative/Darfur Consortium, Uganda

Dr. James PISCATORI, Professor of International Relations and Head of School of Government and International Affairs, Durham University, United Kingdom

For more information or to rsvp, you can contact info AT responsibilitytoprotect DOT org.

Anyone thinking of attending?