‘No Society Immune from Risk of Atrocity Crimes’, Secretary-General Tells General Assembly, Noting Prevention Must Begin at Home

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the General Assembly on the twentieth anniversary of the responsibility to protect, in New York today:

Twenty years ago, leaders gathered at the 2005 World Summit and committed to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

In doing so, they recognized that sovereignty carries not only rights, but responsibilities — first and foremost, the duty of each State to protect its own people.

They underlined the duty of the international community to support States in this effort, and they highlighted the need for collective, timely and decisive action in line with the Charter of the United Nations, when national authorities manifestly fail to do so.

Today, we mark the twentieth anniversary of the responsibility to protect at a time of profound global turbulence.

We are witnessing the highest number of armed conflicts since the end of the Second World War.

These are marked by rising identity-based violence, widespread violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law, and deepening impunity.

Conflicts are becoming more protracted, more complex and interconnected.

Emerging threats such as the weaponization of new technologies and the proliferation of advanced weaponry require a constant adaptation of our efforts to prevent the commission of atrocity crimes and to protect populations.

In addition, too often, early warnings go unheeded, and alleged evidence of crimes committed by States and non-State actors are met with denial, indifference or repression.

Responses are often too little, too late, inconsistent or undermined by double standards.  Civilians are paying the highest price.

Credibility as the guardian of peace and security, development and human rights requires consistency with the Charter of the UN.

On this anniversary, we must recognize that the responsibility to protect is more than a principle — it is a moral imperative, rooted in our shared humanity and the Charter of the UN.

In that spirit, I share today the seventeenth report of the Secretary-General on the responsibility to protect.  It reflects two decades of efforts, calls for revitalized action and includes insights from a survey conducted in preparation for this report.

We found that the principle holds strong support among Member States.  Communities affected by violence see it as offering a ray of hope.  But they also call for effective implementation at all levels.

The report highlights efforts realized through national prevention mechanisms of a regional nature — from the African Union to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Organization of American States (OAS); and multilateral initiatives such as the Group of Friends of R2P, the ACT Code of Conduct and the call for veto restraint in the face of mass atrocities.

It shows that early diplomacy, early warning and institutional innovation to prevent and respond to atrocity crimes can be effective.  It also underscores the need to mainstream atrocity prevention across the United Nations system — from humanitarian action to peacekeeping to human rights.  And it calls for integrating early warning, supporting national prevention mechanisms and embedding atrocity prevention in the broader agendas of sustaining peace, human rights and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

No society is immune from the risk of atrocity crimes.  Prevention must begin at home — with leadership that protects rights, embraces diversity and upholds the rule of law.  And it must be supported globally — through multilateral cooperation, principled diplomacy and early and decisive action to effectively protect populations.

Two decades on, the responsibility to protect remains both an urgent necessity, a moral imperative and an unfulfilled promise.

Let us keep the promise, deepen our commitment, strengthen our cooperation, and ensure that atrocity prevention and protecting populations becomes a permanent and universal practice.

Let us move forward with resolve, unity and the courage to act.