Note to Correspondents

Day-Long Event on Genocide Prevention to Feature Human Rights Leaders

 

John Prendergast, Francis Deng, at Headquarters, 20 May

 

Francis Deng, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, and John Prendergast, co-founder of the Enough Project, will open a one-day event on genocide, organized by the United Nations Department of Public Information, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Conference Room 4, at New York Headquarters, on 20 May.

These two prominent leaders in the field of human rights will engage the audience in a dialogue on genocide prevention from the political, social and human rights perspectives.  Under-Secretary-General Deng, an expert on internally displaced persons, is a former Ambassador and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Sudan.  Mr. Deng has been an advocate for peaceful resolution of the conflict in Sudan, has called for the strengthening of the United Nations early warning capacity and continues to advise the Secretary-General on actions to prevent or halt genocide.

Mr. Prendergast is a leading non-governmental human rights activist who has focused the world’s attention on Darfur through the Enough Project.  Together with George Clooney, a United Nations Messenger of Peace, he launched the Satellite Sentinel Project, which monitors the crisis in Sudan.  “We can witness in near-real time and put all parties on notice that if they commit war crimes, we will all be watching, and pressuring policymakers to take action,” he said.

The morning discussion, to be moderated by Maher Nasser, Director of the Outreach Division, is part of an educators’ workshop led by the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme and Facing History and Ourselves.  During the afternoon session, participants will explore various questions that arise when teaching Holocaust history and its lessons, and generate ideas that help to build human rights defenders in every community.  All guests must pre-register for the event by e-mail:  holocaustremembrance@un.org.

A noted author, John Prendergast has written several books, including Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond, co-authored with Don Cheadle, and The Enough Moment:  Fighting to End Africa’s Worst Human Rights Crimes.  His newest book, Unlikely Brothers, which chronicles his story as a Big Brother to a seven-year-old boy living in a crime-ridden neighbourhood in Washington, D.C., will be available for sale by the United Nations Bookshop.  Sudan at the Brink:  Self-Determination and National Unity by Francis Deng, will also be sold.

The event is one of many activities organized by the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, Outreach Division, to encourage learning about and remembrance of the Holocaust, in order to help prevent future acts of genocide (www.un.org/holocaustremembrance).  The Enough Project is an advocacy group that was founded in 2007 with the goal of preventing genocide and crimes against humanity by working with policymakers and empowering diverse groups to make their voices heard (www.enoughproject.org).  Through examination of the events that led to the Holocaust, as well as recent cases of genocide, Facing History and Ourselves educates about tolerance and combating bigotry and prejudice.  For more information, see the website:  www.facinghistory.org.

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For information media • not an official record