Engage Early, More Decisively in Curbing Atrocities, Urges Secretary-General, Telling Focal Points Responsibility to Protect Has Never Been More Urgent

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s video message to the sixth annual meeting of the Global Network of Responsibility to Protect Focal Points, in Seoul today:

Excellencies,

Colleagues,

Friends,

Upholding our collective responsibility to protect has never been more urgent.  Across the world, we are seeing an alarming disregard for international humanitarian and human rights law.  We see the wide-spread and systematic targeting of civilians, attacks against schools and hospitals, and atrocity crimes carried out with impunity.

I commend the Global Network of Responsibility to Protect Focal Points as a valuable platform through which States can work together to prevent atrocity crimes.  I thank the hosts — the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and the Republic of Korea — as well as the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect.

I hope this meeting will advance the responsibility to protect in Asia, and that more Asian States will appoint [responsibility to protect] focal points.  I encourage you to focus on pragmatic initiatives that can strengthen national institutions and improve the relevant architecture at all levels.

Internally, we have launched the Human Rights up Front initiative to ensure early, principled and wide-ranging action by the UN system.  Protection is best ensured through prevention.

There has been progress, but Member States must do far more to engage earlier and more decisively, especially on violations of human rights and other warning signs.

Thank you for your important efforts to protect people and defend the UN Charter.  Please accept my best wishes for a successful meeting.