Jennifer Walsh: Defining the "Responsibility to Protect" (R2P):
R2P - responsibility of states to "protect" their populations from genocide, war crime, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity
Jennifer Welsh: Members of International community felt a mea culpa over Rwanda.
Welsh: The majority of genocides are committed within the context of armed conflict
Jennifer Walsh: Responsibility to Protect also includes an obligation to "Prevent" i.e. prevent mass atrocity from happening
Jennifer Walsh: Atrocity prevention and conflict prevention are two different concepts, but are often conflated
Jennifer Walsh: Not all mass atrocity crimes occur as part of armed conflict. 33% of mass atrocity crimes committed since 1945 have NOT occurred within the context of armed conflict
Jennifer Walsh: Conflict prevention seeks the elimination and resolution of all conflict. R2P on the other hand permits the use of coercive means when peaceful means fail (e.g. Libyan scenario)
Welsh: The UN's approach to conflict resolution is built around a 'culture of impartiality' - a conscious effort to treat all sides as morally equal
Welsh: Scenarios in which mass atrocity has been committed call into question that 'culture of impartiality', and nudge the UN into taking sides
Welsh: The Path of Escalation (for the Prevention of Mass Atrocity): Level 1: Preconditions | Level 2: Crisis and Mobilisation | Level 3: Imminent Emergency
Now speaking: Kyle Matthews, Lead Researcher, Will to Intervene Project, Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, Concordia University
Matthews: Canada has one of the most open refugee policies in the world
Matthews: Unprecedented: Obama's appointment of a Genocide Prevention Expert (Samantha Power) to the White House
Matthews: Parliaments across the world are demonstrating greater interest in the prevention of genocide
Matthews: Note to Journalists: The word "Genocide" should be avoided in reporting, because of its controversial nature. "Mass Atrocity" preferable.
Welsh: The principle of the R2P was almost killed by the Iraq War. The conflict damaged all sense of goodwill that the intervention might be for humanitarian purposes
Welsh: There's a responsibility to react that doesn't automatically mean a responsibility to intervene with military force #R2P
Former head of Pakistan's intelligence agency, Ehsan ul- Haq, says he doesn't believe Osama bin Laden was in Abbottabad compound for five years #trfmeet
