UNA-UK has written to the Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP, to ask that the British government lends its full support to a UN General Assembly (GA) draft resolution on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P).The letter is co-signed by the International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect (ICRtoP).
R2P is an international principle agreed in 2005 that sets out the responsibility of member states to protect civilians from atrocity crimes; defined as war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and ethnic cleansing.
The draft GA resolution calls for member states to recommit to R2P and for discussions on R2P to be put on the formal agenda for debate at the GA. This marks an important shift in the UN’s engagement with the issue: until now R2P has been largely the premise of the Security Council and action to prevent atrocity crimes has often suffered from political gridlock. However, atrocity prevention is a global responsibility and no region or society is immune to the risk. As such, the UN's most democratic and inclusive organ - the General Assembly - should be empowered to provide an arena for action on R2P.
In the joint letter, UNA-UK and ICRtoP urge the UK Government to back the draft resolution and to foster unanimous support in the GA.
The UK has also recently taken positive steps on R2P at the national level, reaffirming its commitment through the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence Review and a recent event held by the President of the GA. The letter commends the Government and asks that it continues to improve its capacity to prevent atrocities, as well as that of the international community.
The full text of the letter to the Foreign Secretary is attached below. This page will be updated once a response has been received.
If you would like to know more about UNA-UK’s advocacy work on atrocity prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, please contact Alexandra Buskie, Policy and Advocacy Manager, on buskie@una.org.uk or 020 7766 3445.
Image: The President of the UN General Assembly meets Panellists on the Responsibility to Protect - 26 February 2016. Copyright UN Photo/Rick Bajornas
